The must-see games in every 11-man division during the regional semifinals

[caption id="attachment_27530" align="alignright" width="350"]Allen RB Kirby Bennett (Photo by Gary Sanderson) Allen RB Kirby Bennett (Photo by Gary Sanderson)[/caption] Class 6A Division I: San Angelo Central vs. Allen The biggest game in Texas takes place in West Texas. Finding a ticket will be next to impossible as San Angelo Central tries to move one step closer to breaking West Texas’ championship drought with a win over Allen. With DeSoto in Division II, Allen is the highest ranked team in the Division I bracket. San Angelo Central ended the season ranked sixth in the state. Allen is a perennial power used to postseason success. The Eagles won three straight state championships with Kyler Murray at the helm before Westlake knocked them out of last year’s playoffs in the state semifinals. San Angelo Central is the underdog with a home-field advantage. Allen holds the advantage in the trenches. San Angelo Central sports a great quarterback and loaded skill positions. The winner emerges as a state championship favorite. Class 6A Division II: John Tyler vs. Klein Collins Athleticism will be on full display between these two squads. John Tyler is one point from being undefeated this season, dropping a 59-58 slugfest with Rockwall back on Sep. 16. The Lions built a solid non-district resume by beating Ennis and Easton (La.). Rockwall’s win made John Tyler 0-1 in district play, but Ricklan Holmes’ team ripped off six straight district wins before the playoffs begin. John Tyler snuck past rival Lufkin in the area round, winning 50-49. Klein Collins needed overtime to upset Cedar Ridge. The Tigers haven’t lost since Katy snipped them by a point in overtime in Week 2. Klein Collins also holds a non-district victory over Houston Lamar. Class 5A Division I: Cedar Park vs. Manvel A state title caliber game in the third round of the playoffs? Sure, why not. Cedar Park, the defending Class 5A Division II state champion, takes on Manvel, the team favorited to win the Division I state championship this season. Cedar Park caught a tough break in the final week of the regular season when district happenings outside the Timberwolves' control resulted in Cedar Park moving to Division I. It set up this potential clash in the third round. Manvel is loaded. The Mavericks swept a non-district schedule of Crosby, North Shore and Pearland. Manvel outscored its first two playoff opponents 147-27 and hasn’t scored fewer than 40 points since Sep. 9 against Class 6A Pearland. [caption id="attachment_27533" align="alignleft" width="350"]Henderson QB Trae Hall (Photo by Mark Martin) Henderson QB Trae Hall (Photo by Mark Martin)[/caption] Class 5A Division II: Lancaster vs. Wylie East This game might require slow motion. Lancaster is widely viewed as the fastest team in Class 5A, if not the entire state. Wylie East is home to all-everything Eno Benjamin. In the area round victory over The Colony, Benjamin racked up 270 yards and five touchdowns on 35 carries. For the season, he’s approaching 2,500 yards while averaging 7.5 yards per carry. Lancaster hasn’t lost since a Week 1 showdown with state-ranked Denton Ryan. The Tigers are averaging 57 points a game in the playoffs. Class 4A Division I: Carthage vs. Henderson It is Thanksgiving week, so that means Carthage is set for a meaningful playoff game. This time the opponent is a familiar one. To advance to the regional finals again, Carthage must advance past Henderson, a team that beat Carthage in district play. The Bulldogs followed that loss up with another defeat to Kilgore the following week, but haven’t lost since. Henderson’s only loss the season was to Kilgore. The winner likely faces Stafford, which knocked off Kilgore in the area round of the playoffs. Class 4A Division II: Cuero vs. Wimberley Cuero rolls into the third round of the state playoffs with a mighty defense and consistency on offense. The defense gave up 90 points in the first 12 games, keeping eight of those opponents under 10 points. Oh, and the offense averages nearly 48 points per game. It’ll be a tall test for Wimberley, but a doable one. The Texans won by seven against Sinton in the area round of the state playoffs after beating Pearsall to begin a playoff run. The winner probably gets Geronimo Navarro. Class 3A Division I: Malakoff vs. Rockdale Cameron Yoe grew accustomed to dominating this region and the Yoemen could still do that with two more wins. Rockdale beat Cameron Yoe in the regular season and the winner of this game emerges as the favorite to represent Region III in the state semifinals. Rockdale is an offensive juggernaut, scoring 80 points in the win against Yoe and averaging 44 points per game. Malakoff also won a district title, enters the game undefeated and ranked second in the state behind defending champion West Orange-Stark. Malakoff averages 45 points a game and allowed over 20 points just twice. [caption id="attachment_27534" align="alignright" width="350"]East Bernard QB Thomas Long (Photo by Artie Guerrero) East Bernard QB Thomas Long (Photo by Artie Guerrero)[/caption] Class 3A Division II: Lexington vs. East Bernard East Bernard shut out five of its first 12 opponents and outscored its first two playoff opponents 100-0. The Brahmas beat their last five opponents 231-3. It’s been a dominant season for East Bernard and it looks primed to exit Region IV as the best threat to a rolling Newton Eagles team. Lexington hopes to play spoiler. The Eagles are 10-2, averaging 54.3 points per game. The two losses were in non-district against Mart and Rockdale. Class 2A Division I: Crawford vs. Mart Mart is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state by the AP. Crawford exited the regular season ranked in the top five. The winner of this game likely represents Region II. Mart clinched a district championship with a victory over Bosqueville in Week 11. The Panthers are one of the fastest small-school teams in the state and will hold a speed advantage. Crawford hasn’t lost since a game against Tolar in Week 1. The Pirates beat Bosqueville in non-district, winning by a larger margin than Crawford. Class 2A Division II: Munday vs. Muenster Region II is loaded. An argument could be made that the other semifinal in the same region between Albany and Iraan is the game of the week. Munday and Muenster could be a classic. The two are 11-1 and enter the clash ranked fifth and sixth in our rankings, respectfully. Munday’s loss came in Week 1 against Hawley. Since then, Munday is winners of 10 straight, beating opponents by an average score of 40-9. Muenster enjoyed an equal level of dominance after falling in non-district to Howe in Week 3. The Hornets have scored at least 50 points in seven straight games.

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