The must-see Thursday night games of Week 11

[caption id="attachment_26933" align="alignright" width="350"]Stratford QB Mark Murdock (Photo by Rudy Hardy) Stratford QB Mark Murdock (Photo by Rudy Hardy)[/caption] Week 11 supplies the best Thursday night slate of games this season with quality matchups across the state. Here are a few to monitor on the final week of the regular season. DeSoto at South Grand Prairie The amount of future FBS talent on the field will be staggering. DeSoto is our top-ranked team in Class 6A and will be among the favorites to claim a Division II title. The Eagles are 9-0, outscoring opponents 440-139 while notching non-district victories over Dallas Jesuit, Denton Guyer and Midland before opening district play with a resounding victory over Cedar Hill. South Grand Prairie hopes to spoil the hype. The Warriors are 6-3 and once again headed to the playoffs. South Grand Prairie lost to Cedar Hill by seven points last week. San Angelo Central at Tascosa San Angelo Central remains one of the best stories of the year in Class 6A. The Bobcats can cap off an undefeated regular season and another district championship with a road game against Tascosa. A high-flying team with defensive pop, San Angelo Central is one of the most entertaining teams to watch in the state. Tascosa is a playoff team in search of a signature win before the postseason begins. Expect a shootout. Abilene at Timber Creek Abilene clinches an undefeated district campaign with a road victory over Timber Creek. Abilene’s only blemish this season was a blowout loss to San Angelo Central in Week 1. The Eagles rebounded to secure wins over Midland Lee and Abilene Cooper before beginning a dominant roll during district play. Abilene has scored at least 44 in each of its five district games, never winning by fewer than 29 points. Timber Creek offers the final district test. The Falcons are 6-3 and average 37.3 points per game. Houston Stratford at Klein Two playoff contenders from District 15-6A square off. Stratford lost to Ridge Point in non-district and then to district champion Klein Collins, scoring just three points total in its two combined losses. When the offense is scoring, Stratford is a stern test. The Spartans average 31 points in victories. It’ll be up to Klein to slow down Stratford’s offense, since their offense averages 36 points per game. There's your edge. Abilene Cooper at Coronado Drop down to Class 5A to watch the District 4 championship decided between two teams playing excellent defense within district play. Through four district games, Cooper has given up a total of 43 points. Coronado has given up 76 in that span, with 34 of those points scored by Lubbock Cooper in Coronado’s lone defeat of the season.

———