Canyon Randall (11-1) vs Stephenville (11-1), 7 p.m. Friday at Snyder’s Tiger Stadium: Canyon Randall will look to strike a blow for the Texas Panhandle in Snyder Friday night as the Raiders look to take down regional favorite Stephenville. Randall escaped a tough test from Andrews last week, but survived with a 42-36 win. RB Dylan Ray led the Randall offense with 191 yards on the ground and three touchdowns; QB Kaiden Miller also tossed a pair of touchdowns. Randall’s defense did struggle a bit slowing the Andrews Slot-T offense and they’ll have a challenge this week to contain the balanced Stephenville attack. Stephenville struggled for a half against Hereford, but the ‘Jackets pulled away in the second half with a 35-7 win. Texas Tech WR commit Tristan Gentry had a monster night with 14 receptions for 310 yards and a pair of scores. Stephenville scored 28 points in the fourth quarter. Stephenville’s defense kept them in it last week while the offense struggled and that defense is the big difference in this one. Stepp’s Pick: Stephenville by 16
Bay City (11-1) vs Corpus Christi Calallen (10-2), 7 p.m. Friday at Converse’s Rutledge Stadium: While there’s been chaos on the other side of the Region IV bracket, form has held on this side as the district champions from 15-4A Division I and 16-4A Division I will meet up with the winner getting the inside track to that regional crown.Bay City rolled to a 58-21 win over Canyon Lake last week as the Blackcats outscored Canyon Lake 31-7 in the second half. QB Alex Estrada was terrific through the air and added a touchdown on the ground in the win. Bay City also had a pair of defensive touchdowns in the win. Calallen has been impressive in the playoffs with back-to-back dominant wins over El Campo and last week taking down Somerset, 49-28. QB Sebastian Dennis ran for 223 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Wildcats and Calallen’s defense played lights out. They’ll be tested in a major way by the speed on the outside that Bay City brings to the table. If Calallen can control the pace they have a shot, but if Bay City gets the pace pushed, Calallen doesn’t have the firepower to keep pace. Stepp’s Pick: Bay City by 8