The must-see games in every 11-man state quarterfinal

[caption id="attachment_27729" align="alignright" width="350"]Ft. Bend Marshall QB Jabari James (Photo by Mark Flanagan) Ft. Bend Marshall QB Jabari James (Photo by Mark Flanagan)[/caption] Every game is a winner at this point in the Texas high school football playoffs, but if we had to be at one, these are the games we'd pick in each bracket. Class 6A Division I: Lake Travis vs. Westlake Both of these teams made a state title in 2016. Westlake lost in overtime to North Shore, while Lake Travis was overwhelmed by a historic Katy team. This year, one of these teams hopes to raise a championship trophy and the winner is two games away. Lake Travis stomped Westlake during district play and the Cavaliers have owned this series as of late. Westlake does possess a strong defense, an improving running game, but won't have Sam Ehlinger, reportedly due to a wrist injury. Lake Travis is the best football team I’ve watched in person this season. Class 6A Division II: DeSoto vs. Cedar Hill Go for the football. Stay for the athletes. Expect nearly 20 future FBS players to suit up for this one. The winner gets bragging rights and the Region I championship – one of the most loaded brackets to begin the postseason. DeSoto is our No. 1 ranked team in the state but narrowly escaped last week’s scare against Abilene. Cedar Hill is used to winning regional championships. The Longhorns are peaking at the right time. Class 5A Division I: Highland Park vs. Mansfield Legacy Highland Park capped the regular season with a 20-0 loss to Wylie East. Now, the Scots are one win away from a state semifinal berth. Standing in the way is an underrated Mansfield Legacy squad. Despite ranking in the top 15 to end the season, few people spoke about Legacy as one of the state title contenders. The Broncos lost a non-district game to Aledo and a district game to Lancaster. Both of these teams are averaging over 40 points per game in the playoffs. Class 5A Division II: Fort Bend Marshall vs. College Station College Station entered the season predicted to finish second in district play behind Temple. Region III in Division II became wide open when Cedar Park, last year’s state champion, moved up to Division I after the results in the final week of season. That opened up this bracket and College Station became the team to beat after an undefeated regular season and a surprise district championship. Fort Bend Marshall’s blemishes occurred in district play, losing to state-ranked Manvel and then Fort Bend Elkins in overtime. Class 4A Division I: Waco La Vega vs. China Spring One of eight rematches from the regular season, China Spring hopes to pull off an upset over defending champion Waco La Vega. A loss would be four straight for China Spring against its rival. The first matchup this season was a hard fought, defensive struggle that La Vega emerged from as a seven-point victor. China Spring was able to slow the athletic offense of La Vega, meaning it is up to the China Spring offense to manufacture at least 20 points to win. Class 4A Division II: Gilmer vs. Celina Two of the premier small-school programs in the state battle it out for a spot in the state semifinal. Gilmer’s lone loss this season came in non-district play to Carthage. The Buckeyes are used to this stage and ready to return to a state championship game. Celina isn’t without plenty of its own history. The Bobcats know how to win state titles and use an uber-aggressive defense that is always entertaining to watch. Celina started off 1-2 with non-district losses to Princeton and Argyle before starting the current 10-game winning streak. Class 3A Division I: Cameron Yoe vs. Malakoff Malakoff is a machine in 2016. The Tigers are ranked second in the state behind Brock and knocked off an impressive Rockdale program by 13 points last week, holding a high-flying Rockdale offense to 14 points. Malakoff is undefeated and tested, beating Teague inside district play. It’ll need that resolve against Cameron Yoe – a program accustomed to winning a regional championship and reaching a state title game. Cameron Yoe allowed 80 points in its district loss to Rockdale. Class 3A Division II: Newton vs. Arp Pound for pound, Newton might be the best team in the state. West Orange-Stark might be the only other program with an argument. Newton is 13-0 and poised for a state title. The Eagles scored 575 points in the first 13 games, allowing just 118 in that same span. A 10-point win over Elysian Fields in the last round was as impressive as the 66-0 victory over Waskom to start this playoff run. Arp is no pushover. The Tigers haven’t lost since a district date against Elysian Fields in September. Class 2A Division I: Refugio vs. Mason Region IV is always where the action is during the early rounds of the Class 2A Division II playoffs. The field is stacked and two teams usually remain – Refugio and Mason. Nothing changed in 2016 as these two familiar powers meet with a trophy on the line once again. Refugio is the favorite. The Bobcats morphed into a multiple running team with a strong, physical offensive and defensive line. This is different than the spread teams we watched reach state finals in the past. Mason started 2-2 with non-district losses to Goldthwaite and Iraan before rounding into its usual form. Class 2A Division II: Iraan vs. Munday Munday earned a shot to play for a regional title by knocking off state-ranked Muenster last week. To advance further, Munday must upset Iraan. The Braves are considered the best bet to stop the dominance Bremond has enjoyed over the past two seasons in the smallest division of 11-man football in the state of Texas. Iraan averages 45 points per game. Munday averages just under 40 points per game and hasn’t lost since a two-point defeat to Hawley in Week 1.

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