Tyler Chapel Hill (5-2, 1-2) at Kilgore (5-1, 2-0): It’s a dogfight this week in 9-4A Division I as the Tyler Chapel Hill Bulldogs square off against the No. 8 Kilgore Bulldogs. Tyler Chapel Hill continued its descent from the DCTF rankings as they fell to Palestine last week 30-27. At halftime, Chapel Hill was down 23-0 but they were able to score 27 straight points to get it close to end the game. Freshman quarterback Demetrius Brisbon helped rally his team back as he ran for 150 yards and three touchdowns; Brisbone didn’t start the game but came in to start the third quarter and showed why the coaching staff has been so high on him. After their bye week, Kilgore didn’t miss a beat as they had a dominant 46-26 win over Mabank. Quarterback Da’Marion Van Zandt was 13 of 17 for 274 yards and three touchdowns and one interception. His main target was Dadrian Franklin, who had two touchdowns. Running back Davin Rider had 118 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Chapel Hill will need to come out a lot faster if they want to make sure this game remains close, they cannot afford a third straight slow start and they can’t afford a third straight district loss. Kilgore has been playing great football recently and is simply more consistent than Chapel Hill at this stage. DCTF Intern Joshua Price’s Pick: Kilgore by 10
Monahans (6-0, 0-0) at Snyder (5-2, 0-1): The district race in 1-4A Division II was thought to be Sweetwater’s to lose, but both Monahans and Snyder are showing they’ll be teams to contend with in 2021. Unbeaten Monahans had the week off last week and the Loboes appear to finally be getting the hang of the spread offense under Fred Staugh. Monahans in their six non-district games is averaging over 30 points per game and their defense time and time again has stepped up in key moments as MHS has played several close games. Snyder pushed district favorite Sweetwater to the brink last week, but the Tigers suffered their second straight close loss, this time by a score of 42-37. RB Jorge Martinez led the Snyder attack rushing for 235 yards and three touchdowns, but the Tigers were unable to contain the dynamic Sweetwater offense. They’ll face a similar test this week against this battle hardened Monahans bunch. Expect another down to the wire thriller, but in close games Monahans seems to have the right touch. Stepp’s Pick: Monahans by 4