SAUNDERS: Six-man playoff picture begins to take shape

Each week, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football six-man insider Leman Saunders offers his thoughts on the six-man weekend that was. -In the big non-district game of the week, Milford hung on to beat Garden City 66-61. At one point in the second half, Garden City recovered three consecutive onside kicks, scoring on all three possessions to storm back from a sizable deficit. But special teams proved to be crucial — Milford blocked a number of Garden City's two-point attempts, which ended up being the difference. Taron Smith ran for 198 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 169 yards and three scores in the win for Milford. Jose Gutierrez's 231 yards and three touchdowns paced Garden City in the loss. -Lueders-Avoca pulled off a big win as it defeated Throckmorton, 36-34, in district play. That puts Throckmorton at 0-2 in district, and likely out of the playoff hunt, while L-A is right in the thick of it. Freshman DaiQuan Brown had a hand in all five of Lueders-Avoca's touchdowns — two rushing and three passing. Special teams were again the difference, as L-A made three extra points to Throckmorton's two. -Whitharral easily handled Lazbuddie in a district game with big playoff implications. The Panthers held the Longhorns to fewer than 70 yards of total offense while racking up 332 yards of their own en route to a 60-0 mercy rule win at halftime. Panther QB Chris Albus threw for 138 yards and three touchdowns and added a 65-yard touchdown run. Whitharral is 2-0 in district play and will travel to 1-0 Amherst this week for what should be the district championship game. -Morton, a Class 2A school playing an outlaw schedule of six-man games for the final half of the season, notched a win over Garden City's JV team in their first abbreviated contest by a final score of 34-12. Morton will face a tough playoff-bound Aspermont this week in Southland. - Far out west, Grandfalls-Royalty has had some ups and downs this season, but the Cowboys have reeled off two straight hard-fought wins over district opponents — defeating Sanderson 43-32 two weeks ago, and Dell City 58-36 last week — to sit atop the District 5-1A standings. Jalen Helms threw for 279 yards and seven touchdowns with another rushing touchdown in their win over Dell City. The big showdown between Grandfalls and Balmorhea will be in Week 11.