Argyle (12-0) vs Waco La Vega (9-2), 7:30 p.m. Friday at Joshua’s Owl Stadium: For the third straight year these two powers in 4A-Division I meet in the playoffs. Will we see a repeat of the last two years where Argyle takes the regular season meeting only to see La Vega reverse the whip in the playoffs? This year has a different vibe to it as Argyle has been every bit as dominant as they usually are, while La Vega even late in the year has had their share of struggles. Last week in their 42-7 win over Wilmer-Hutchins, La Vega was a bit sluggish leading just 21-7 at the half before pulling away in the third quarter. Jar’Que Walton, Ara Rauls and Jordan Rogers combined for 206 yards on the ground and five rushing touchdowns and the Pirates defense forced four turnovers. Argyle continued their demolition of the opposition in Region II scoring 42-first half points in a 56-27 win over Stephenville last week. QB CJ Rogers only needed 11 completions to throw for 304 yards and four touchdowns, while RB Tito Byce ran for 149 yards and three touchdowns. La Vega will absolutely keep this game closer than the regular season meeting, but the Pirates offense just doesn’t have the firepower to keep up with the Eagles and Argyle avenges the two playoff losses to La Vega with a trip to the regional finals. Stepp’s Pick: Argyle by 12
Corpus Christi Calallen (10-2) vs Austin LBJ (7-2), 7:30 p.m. Friday at Pleasanton’s Eagle Stadium: From a stylistic perspective, this is a fascinating matchup as Calallen and their “slow and steady wins the race” style going against the up-tempo and fast paced attack from Austin LBJ. Calallen got a major scare last week against Canyon Lake, scoring the game’s final 16 points to win 37-31. QB Ethan Salinas ran for a score and threw for a touchdown to key the Wildcats comeback, while RB Marvin Beasley ran for two touchdowns in the first half to lead Calallen. LBJ needed no comebacks and no rallies as they just obliterated Alice, 72-20, last week. The Jaguars returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and then recovered two straight pooch kicks to race out to a 20-0 lead and never looked back. LBJ QB Oscar Gordon threw for 197 yards and four touchdowns, while RB Sedrick Alexander had 105 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just six carries. LBJ’s speed shocked Alice, it won’t shock Calallen, who has played the likes of Fort Bend Marshall recently. The Wildcats know how to contain speed and their grind it out offense will frustrate LBJ and keep them off the field. Advantage in this situation to Calallen. Stepp’s Pick: Corpus Christi Calallen by 9