Arlington Martin (6-2, 4-0) at Grand Prairie (6-3, 5-0): The two of the top teams in District 8-6A face off this week at the Gopher Bowl with a district title on the line as state ranked Arlington Martin takes on surprising Grand Prairie. Martin comes off their bye week into this one but in their last appearance they demolished Arlington Bowie 68-14. The Warriors put up 627 yards of offense while limiting Bowie to just 247 yards. Quarterback Cydd Ford threw for 181 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Zaire Burrow was the main beneficiary as he caught five receptions for 87 yards and three touchdowns. Grand Prairie pulled out the win against Arlington Bowie 42-40 last week. The Gophers were powered by a strong running game that put up 430 yards. Running back Drew Damper got the bulk of the carries with 22 for 254 yards and three touchdowns. His partner WR and SMU commit Savion Red had 173 yards receiving and two touchdowns. The state ranked Warriors might be too much for Grand Prairie to handle in this one, the Gophers are a good story and they’ll have their stadium rocking Friday but they don’t have the horses to keep up. DCTF Intern Joshua Price’s Pick: Arlington Martin by 21
Jersey Village (8-0, 5-0) at Houston Stratford (8-0, 5-0): It’s the biggest regular season game in several years at Tully Stadium as unbeaten and now state ranked Jersey Village takes on unbeaten Houston Stratford with the 17-6A district title on the line. Jersey Village blasted past an overmatched Houston Spring Woods squad last Thursday in a 55-3 win. Sophomore QB Adam Tran threw for three touchdowns, while the Falcons had four different backs rush for at least 61 yards on the night. Speaking of domination, Stratford’s 64-0 win over Cypress Creek was certainly eye-popping as the Spartans defense forced five turnovers, including a pick six, Luke Rives returned the game’s opening kickoff for a score and the offense rolled up 469 yards on the night, it was a complete effort in all three phases. Statford’s depth in the trenches on both sides of the ball will be tested in a big way by the team speed Jersey Village brings to the table. This one will be fun, but the slight edge goes to the Falcons in this Saturday night showdown. Stepp’s Pick: Jersey Village by 2