Friday night's must-see Texas high school football games for Week 4

Thursday night's action was packed with a rare mix of top tier names, but don't worry, Friday still has plenty to offer. 6A: Cibolo Steele (1-2) vs. Smithson Valley (3-0) Smithson Valley has been rolling through the early part of its schedule, using a 24-20 win over Pflugerville Hendrickson in the opener to fuel a hot start. The Rangers have now outscored their opponents 106-10 the last two weeks, including a 50-10 win over Round Rock. Steele is limping into District 27-6A play after back-to-back losses, falling to Lake Travis and San Antonio O’Connor in consecutive weeks. The Knights will rely on Rice commit Brenden Brady out of the backfield to control the time of possession in the game, as Brady is averaging 21 carries and 160 yards on the ground per game this season. Smithson Valley will turn to a combination of quarterback Levi Williams (448 yards, 4 TDs) and a stout defense headlined by Trevon Moehrig-Woodard (TCU) in the secondary. The Rangers are looking to claim their first win over Steele in school history, as the Knights have won all three matchups over the last three seasons – including a 24-17 finish last year. 5A: Mansfield Lake Ridge (2-1) vs. Lancaster (2-1) This should be one of the more exciting offensive games of the night, as Lancaster (avg. 45 ppg) takes on Mansfield Lake Ridge and its two-quarterback system involving North Texas commit Jason bean and star junior Chandler Rogers. After falling to Denton Guyer in the season opener, Lake Ridge has responded by knocking off both Prosper and Mesquite Poteet heading into this week. Lancaster lost to the other Denton power, Denton Ryan, in its season opener, and has responded with wins over South Oak Cliff and Corsicana. The Tigers have thrived through a balanced attack offensively, sharing the wealth between quarterback Trevor Hatton (481 yards, 6 TDs) and running back Devante Lacy (397 yards, 7 TDs). But Lancaster needs to be able make some stops defensively, as Rogers (520 yards, 3 TDs) is an explosive playmaker. The teams have combined to score 167 points in their last two meetings, and will likely light up the scoreboard again this time around making for another exciting game. 4A: Gilmer (3-0) vs. Carthage (3-0) OK, we're cheating here since this game is Saturday. But you can't blame us. The Class 4A DI No. 1 team vs. the Class 4A DII No. 3 team – it doesn’t get much better than that. Carthage and Gilmer have established themselves as traditional Texas high school football powers over the years and will square off in a monster showdown at Jeff Traylor Stadium. Gilmer has won two of the last three games between the schools, but Carthage claimed a 55-37 victory a year ago before going on to win another state championship. It’s a clash of styles as Gilmer’s fast-paced offense will look to spread the Carthage defense out while getting a lot of different weapons involved through the arm of senior quarterback Aaron “Poppy” Brown. The Bulldogs are going to line up and run right at Gilmer, relying on the play of Texas commit Keaontay Ingram (457 total yards, 5 TDs) to wear the Buckeyes’ defense down. It’s going to be a fun game in front of a packed house, as two of the state’s blue blood programs go at it. 3A: Eastland (3-0) vs. Wall (3-0) Wall, the No. 1 team in our 3A DI rankings, has earned that spot and given little reason to doubt it through three games. The Hawks have outscored their opponents 128-23, and are putting up more an average of than 340 yards on the ground each game. Eastland, the No. 10 team in 3A DII, has looked strong defensively in the early going– but Wall is a different animal. The Mavericks are playing on their home field though, and have the talent to make this a tightly contested matchup. Wall quarterback Brock Rosenquist (615 total yards, 9 TDs) has the keys to the offense and is the focal point of the unit. But senior Casey Braden has been a nice complementary weapon, averaging just under 100 yards per game with five TDs of his own. The key for Eastland, which has allowed an average of 11 points per game, is finding a way to at least contain the run-heavy attack and get some stops early in the game. 2A: Mason (3-0) vs. Iraan (3-0) A classic matchup of old school, ground-and-pound programs takes place at the Puncherdome, as Iraan and Mason collide. Mason, the No. 3 team in Class 2A DI, is dominating the schedule so far and has outscored its opponents 127-13 – including a 47-6 blowout of Comfort last week. Iraan, the No. 6 team in Class 2A DII, has also been impressive thus far and is coming off a 51-28 win over McCamey. The Braves need a big game from running back Kyle O’Bannon, who scored an eye-popping seven touchdowns in last week’s win. Iraan defeated Mason 24-21 last season, but the Punchers will be out for revenge on their home field this time around in what is sure to be a physical battle.

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