Lampasas (5-0) at Lorena (2-2):
Lampasas enters this Thursday night non-district finale as a surprising unbeaten team. Considering the Badgers were gutted by graduation and their best player moved to California this offseason, it’s even more impressive. Lampasas has won the last three games by a total of 15 points, with the defense coming up with key plays in each game. In last week’s 35-28 win over 5A Waco University, Lampasas outscored the Trojans 21-7 in the second half to get the victory. RB’s Wesley Stephens and KJ Reed are a potent duo and QB Bryson Roberts continues to get better week in and week out. Lorena took last week off after they rolled past Cameron Yoe, 42-13. The Leopards were led by RB Brody DeLeon’s three scores, while QB Jaxon Blancett threw for a pair of scores and ran for a score in the win. Both teams have played tough schedules. Lampasas may be more battle-tested with wins over two 5A teams, but this one is in Lorena, so I’ll take the Leopards in a mild upset. Stepp’s Pick: Lorena by 2