WEEK 4 PREVIEW: Breaking down the biggest games in Texas high school football

Amarillo Tascosa (2-1) at El Paso Americas (3-0):
If you like physical football and teams who like to run, then this might be your game. Both Amarillo Tascosa and El Paso Americas have an identity and it lies with running the ball, not the spread. Both teams get it done in different ways. Tascosa lines up in the flexbone and comes at you from multiple angles with multiple ball carriers, while El Paso Americas likes to primarily use one of the state’s top junior running backs in Aaron Dumas. Last week, Tascosa rolled past cross-town rival Amarillo Palo Duro, 49-7, in what can only be described as a total domination. The Rebels had 552 yards of offense, while allowing just 101 yards of offense to Palo Duro. QB Joseph Plunk ran for 165 yards and four touchdowns, pacing a ground attack that had six different backs gain at least 40 yards on the ground.

Americas went on the road last week, leaving the state and travelling to Las Cruces, N.M. and leaving with a big 55-14 win over Onate HS. The story of the game was both positive and negative for the Trail Blazers as RB Aaron Dumas went wild, rolling up 373 yards rushing and seven touchdowns, but head coach Patrick Melton can’t be happy about all the penalties he committed. (Granted the rules in New Mexico are different and often times TXHSFB teams get high penalty numbers when playing out of state). The bottom line for Americas is the team needs to play a clean game to pull the upset at home. AHS will match up with Tascosa at the skill spots, but the Rebels have a big size advantage in the trenches. If the Trail Blazers can neutralize that edge and find ways to get Tascosa off schedule in the early downs, they’ll have a chance to hang around in this one.