The must-see Friday night games during Texas high school football Week 9

6A: San Angelo Central (7-0, 3-0) vs. Odessa Permian (6-0, 3-0) There’s nothing quite like a battle of two unbeaten teams in west Texas as San Angelo Central hosts Odessa Permian in a massive showdown. There are quite a few big time games in Class 6A, including DeSoto-Duncanville, but this game gets a slight edge this time around. The District 2-6A championship is on the line and there will likely be yet another sellout crowd of 20,000-plus at San Angelo Stadium. The Bobcats come in riding a 21-game regular season winning streak, but Permian has been extremely dominant this season. The Panthers defeated Amarillo Tascosa 49-7 last week, and have given up more than 14 points only twice this season. The defense is the team’s strength, but Permian boasts a lot of offensive talent as well. Central is coming off a 49-14 win over Frenship, and will need quarterback Maverick McIvor (2,693 total yards, 35 TDs) to have a big game to overcome a few costly injuries throughout the lineup. 5A: Mansfield Lake Ridge (6-1, 4-0) vs. Mansfield Legacy (6-1, 4-0) Mansfield Lake Ridge and Mansfield Legacy is another matchup that will determine a district champion, this time in District 10-5A. The teams’ only losses came to 6A Denton Guyer and defending state champion Aledo. Lake Ridge enters the week on a six-game winning streak while Legacy has won four straight, including a 39-34 win over Waxahachie last week. The rivalry series shifted in favor of Legacy after last season’s 49-39 win, but the stakes are higher this time around with Lancaster trailing the pack in the district standings. Lake Ridge will use both junior quarterback Chandler Rogers (1,307 total yards, 10 TDs) and senior North Texas commit Jason Bean (772 yards, 9 TDs), but Rogers has been the more effective option and brings more to the table in the run game. For Legacy, the offense is all about the duo of Jalen Catalon (884 total yards, 13 TDs) and RB Grant Johnson (1054 yards, 10 TDs). It’s likely to be an entertaining shootout at Vernon Newsom Stadium. 4A: Sweetwater (7-0, 3-0) vs. Seminole (7-1, 4-0) The Class 4A schedule is loaded this week, but it’s hard to beat the star power that will be on the field in a matchup between Sweetwater and Seminole – not to mention the game is being played in the Mustang Bowl. The Mustangs cruised past Seminole twice last season, eventually defeating the Indians in the Region I final before advancing to the state championship game. Sweetwater hasn’t missed a beat with first-year head coach Ben McGehee taking over, and both teams appear to have the potential for another deep playoff run. Quarterback Chris Thompson (2,495 total yards, 36 TDs) has been absolutely unstoppable for the Mustangs, but Seminole has a lot of firepower of its own behind Army RB/LB commit Cade Barnard and Texas OL commit Reese Moore. This should be an instant classic that may turn into another preview of the Region I final. 3A: Holliday (6-1, 2-0) vs. Henrietta (5-2, 1-1) Holliday made some waves in District 5-3A when it destroyed Nocona 56-14, but the Eagles still have two more key tests to pass before clinching the district title in Henrietta and Jacksboro to close out the season. Henrietta lost to Jacksboro in district the opener, but bounced back with a 34-14 win over Millsap last week. Now the Bearcats have a chance to create some chaos atop the standings. Holliday’s rushing attack has been hard to contain, with senior Justin Jones (1,177 yards, 21 TDs) leading the way for an offense that hasn’t completed a pass since Sept. 29. But the defense has been even more impressive, showing its dominance through a shutout win over City View last week in which the Eagles allowed just seven yards of offense. Henrietta has to rely on Zack West to make some big plays to continue its dominance over Holliday, as the Bearcats have won the last four games between the two teams. 2A: Burton (6-1, 2-0) vs. Milano (7-0, 2-0) Milano’s defense has played the biggest role in the team’s hot start, and the Eagles come into this week giving up an average of just over 10 points per game. Milano hasn’t given up more than seven points since a 28-21 win over Bremond in Week 3, including a 49-6 blowout win over Granger last week. The showdown with Burton will likely determine the District 13-2A championship, as both teams have distanced themselves from the rest of the pack through two games. Burton’s offense has been explosive for the majority of the season to the tune of an average in excess of 47 points per game, but the Milano defense will provide the stiffest test to date. The winner will emerge as one of the favorites in Class 2A DII Region 4, but both programs have shown the potential to make some noise once the postseason rolls around.

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