Upset Alert: Favorites that should be especially wary of their opponents in the state quarterfinals

[caption id="attachment_27693" align="alignright" width="350"]Victoria East QB Bailey Zappe (Photo by Mary Scott McNabb) Victoria East QB Bailey Zappe (Photo by Mary Scott McNabb)[/caption] 6A: Round Rock over The Woodlands Round Rock hopes a diverse rushing attack is enough to bully The Woodlands out of the playoffs. The Dragons finished second in their district behind state-ranked Cedar Ridge. But it is Jeff Cheatham’s squad that remains standing from Round Rock ISD. The running game is a big reason why with three rushers topping 800 yards on the ground through 13 games. The Woodlands entered the playoffs as the fifth-ranked team in Class 6A and the clear favorite to win Region II in Division I. 5A: Victoria East over Calallen Victoria East holds three losses on the season. The first two came by a combined six points before Richmond Foster beat the Titans by 20 during district play. Victoria East righted the ship during the playoffs, though it narrowly escaped McCallum in the area round of Region IV Division II of Class 5A. Calallen was the favorite to win Region IV Division II as soon as Cedar Park claimed a Division I berth. Calallen hasn’t dominated of late, leaving room for a potential upset. 4A: China Spring over Waco La Vega Former district clashes usually produce interesting results. For China Spring, it is trying to beat Waco La Vega for the first time in its past four tries. La Vega beat China Spring in district play and in the playoffs last season and is 1-0 against China Spring in 2016. The first game was a defensive struggle. China Spring hung tight against the defending champions, losing by just seven points. If China Spring can find cracks in La Vega’s speed-laced defense, this one could get interesting because China Spring proved in the regular season that its defense is up for the task. 3A: Wall over Brock Losses to Monahans in the season opener, Iowa Park in overtime and Midland Christian put Wall at 3-3 entering district play. The Hawks rolled to a 4-0 finish in district and are playing their best football of the season. Wall outscored district opponents 246 to 28 and scored at least 47 points in all three playoff wins. Brock is the defending state champion and the favorite to repeat. The Eagles are undefeated and scored fewer than 40 points in a game just once this season. 2A: Tenaha over Bremond Bremond is attempting to win its third straight state title. One of the few remaining obstacles is a surging Tenaha team playing its best football of the year. The box scores for Tenaha football games are staggering. The Tigers allowed more than 10 points just three times this season, shutting out eight opponents. Tenaha has allowed just six points since the start of November. This might be Bremond’s toughest test of the year.

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