TEPPER: Surprise! The most unexpected undefeated Texas high school football teams

Pop quiz: how many Texas high school football teams are currently undefeated? Maybe you’ve got your hands out and are counting along to the ones you can think of. Maybe you’re doing some sort of complicated algorithm. Or maybe you’re just taking a shot in the dark. Give up? The answer: across all classifications, private and public, there are currently 125 undefeated Texas high school football teams. If that seems like a lot, it’s because it is — the 2016 season finished with just eight undefeated teams, and 2015 finished with 13 unbeatens. So, if history holds, approximately 110 of the current 125 undefeated squads are not long for this perfect world. Of course, in those 125 undefeated teams are some predictable ones. Nobody is shocked that Allen is undefeated. Same goes with Katy and Converse Judson. Ditto for Manvel, Carthage, Mason and Aledo. We’re not here to talk about those teams, for the same reason nobody writes a story about the sun rising. Instead, let’s talk about the teams that we’re surprised to see among the ranks of the unbeaten, squads that still have a zero in the loss column that we didn’t expect this late in the season. So: who are the most surprising undefeated teams in Texas through the first seven weeks of the season? Here’s my Top 10. Let me know what you think on Twitter. Be gentle. 10: Conroe Oak Ridge (6-0) A year after going 4-6, the War Eagles have surged out to a terrific start thanks to a lockdown defense. Most importantly, they’re already out to a 3-0 start in the always dangerous District 12-6A race, all but clinching a playoff spot. A number of underclassmen have stepped up, including sophomore RB Nick McCants and junior DB DJ Hurd. That said, the toughest tests are still ahead of them — The Woodlands, Lufkin and Beaumont West Brook still loom on the schedule. Toughest Game Left: Oct. 20 vs. The Woodlands9: Blackwell (7-0) Six-man football tends have a bit more of a divide between the proverbial haves and have-nots — most of the Class 1A undefeateds are blue-blood programs like Borden County and Milford — but the Hornets represent perhaps six-man’s biggest surprise. Back-to-back wins over Moran and Veribest were particularly impressive. Fueled by a terrific defense, Blackwell already has more wins in its 7-0 start than it had all of last season (6-4). Not bad for a school with just 46 students. Toughest Game Left: Nov. 9 at Roscoe Highland8: Gatesville (6-0) The Hornets haven’t had a winning season since their standout 13-1 season in 2012, but coach Kyle Cooper has his squad buzzing. A close win over Cameron Yoe was what really got the ball rolling for Gatesville, and since then, QB Jett Truss and company have been nigh impossible to stop. Of course, District 13-4A DI is among the most unforgiving in the state, as they still must face China Spring, Waco La Vega and Liberty Hill to finish the year. Toughest Game Left: Nov. 3 at Waco La Vega7: Friona (6-0) Once upon a time, Friona was a bona fide contender out in the Panhandle. The Chieftains have fallen on hard times of late, but coach Jimmy Arias — a Friona alum — is resurrecting the program. In his first year in 2015, they were 2-8; last season, they were 4-6; now, the Chieftains — behind QB Marco Monreal and WR/LB Jonathan Hernandez — are flying at a 6-0 start. There’s still work to be done, but it’s an incredible story already. Toughest Game Left: Nov. 3 at Shallowater6: Frisco Reedy (6-0) It’s OK if you get the Frisco schools confused — there are, after all, eight of them, with a ninth beginning varsity play next year — but Reedy was perhaps the most unlikely to have a breakout season. In just its second varsity season, the Lions have already doubled its program’s all-time win total. Coach Chad Cole has raved super sophomore Will Harbour, while QB Josh Foskey and RB Justin Gipson have provided their own fireworks. Toughest Game Left: Nov. 3 vs. Frisco Lone Star5: Raymondville (6-0) Yes, technically, the Bearkats were a playoff team last season, making the playoffs at 3-7 before a first-round drubbing at the hands of Cuero. But something has clicked for coach Frank Cantu, specifically on defense, which returned nine starters from last year’s squad. Junior DB Jacob Posas and senior DE Darian Cortez are Raymondville hold opponents to a mere 12.5 points per game so far — a far cry from the 36 points per game they allowed last season. Toughest Game Left: Oct. 27 at Rio Hondo4: Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial (7-0) Vets is easy to lose track of in the mammoth 11-team District 30-5A, but the newest school in Corpus is making some big noise after a 4-6 inaugural varsity season in 2016. A far cry from most neophyte schools, coach Cody Simper’s Eagles feature both a high-powered offense triggered by RB Frank Jones and a lockdown defense anchored by a trio of juniors — LBs Cedric Evans and Kyle McAlister, and DB Davis Horne. Calallen still rules the Corpus Christi roost, but it’s easy to picture this season for Vets as the beginning of something big. Toughest Game Left: Nov. 10 in District 30-5A championship game, likely against Corpus Christi Calallen3: Huntsville (5-0) Let’s go to the Piney Woods, where it’s time to start paying attention to what coach Rodney Southern is putting together in his fourth year at the helm of the Hornets. Just 4-6 last season — and just 16-15 in Southern’s tenure in Huntsville — the program had been relegated to also-ran status in the top-loaded District 20-5A. Admittedly, I had my doubts as recently as last week, but an emphatic win over Magnolia should win over any remaining doubters. QB Jayce Elliott is in full command of the offense, and the defense is flying around. Watch out. Toughest Game Left: Nov. 10 at Magnolia West2: Celeste (6-0) The Blue Devils have basically been an unknown in the Texas high school football world for the better part of this century. Their last winning season was in 2008 (6-5); their last truly statewide impact was back in 2002, when they went to a second consecutive Class 1A title game (they lost both of them); and the program bottomed out last year at 0-10. But now? Coach Demetrius Rector’s squad is back and dangerous — dual-threat QB Logan Franklin has been spectacular, and the defense has lowered its points allowed-per-game average from 47.6 in 2016…to 14 in 2017. Simply remarkable. Toughest Game Left: Oct. 20 at Valley View1: El Paso Pebble Hills Few areas in the state are as steeped in tradition as El Paso — and that includes the dominant forces in football. There tends to be a pretty steep divide between the traditional powers like Andress and Coronado…and everyone else. So what is El Paso Pebble Hills doing here? In just their second year of varsity play (they were 2-8 last season), Mark Torres is leaning on a high-flying offense led by QB Orlando Puig and RB Caleb Gerber, but the defense has been just as good. Oh, and you know those traditional powers? Pebble Hills has already beaten Andress and Coronado this season. No matter how the rest of the season plays out, it’s safe to say that Spartans are causing a seismic shift in the Sun City. Toughest Game Left: Nov. 3 vs. El Paso MontwoodHonorable Mentions: Bishop, Boerne, Houston Heights, Jacksboro, Keller Fossil Ridge, Milano, Texarkana Pleasant Grove, Tidehaven, Wolfe City