Euless Trinity (2-2, 1-0) at South Grand Prairie (3-1, 1-0): A district title could be on the line in 8-6A as old rivals who haven’t played in several years renew their rivalry. Trinity, which dropped their final two non-district games to Austin Westlake and Aledo, got their wheels back on in the district opener a week ago in a 62-9 rout of Irving High. QB Mack Lineweaver only threw four passes, but he completed all four of them for 180 yards and three scores. RB Prince Ngandu tallied 87 yards on the ground and three scores as Trinity raced out to a big lead and rotated several players into the game in the second half. South Grand Prairie had a much tougher time in their district opener as the Warriors got pushed, but held off Irving MacArthur 35-20. RB Joshua Armendarez had a big night for SGP tallying 191 yards on the ground and three scores. The good news for the Warriors defense is they forced four turnovers. The bad news is the offense also turned the ball over four times. SGP can’t put the ball on the ground against a good Trinity squad that will simply grind them down if the Warriors defense is on the field too long. Stepp’s Pick: Euless Trinity by 14
Conroe Grand Oaks (3-1, 1-0) at Willis (3-1, 0-1): Playoff positioning could be at play in this one as Grand Oaks heads north on I-45 to take on a Willis squad that is smarting last week after a shockingly lopsided loss to The Woodlands College Park a week ago. Grand Oaks opened up district play with a key 41-25 win over Conroe in a game that had some major playoff implications as the Grizzlies spoiled Conroe’s homecoming. Utah WR commit Darnell Jackson, Jr. hauled in two touchdown passes and RB Kaden Carter tallied a pair of scoring runs to pace the Grizzlies, who jumped out to a quick 21-7 lead and held off a Conroe push before Carter’s second scoring run put the game out of reach. Willis came into the College Park as a slight favorite, but the Wildkats defense, which had been much-improved early in the season, took a massive step back in a 63-28 loss. QB Lincoln Frazier threw for 275 yards and four scores, but he spent much of the game running for his life as the Willis offensive line absolutely struggled. The key for Willis will be limiting the Grand Oaks big plays. Last week College Park gashed the Wildkats defense with multiple chunk plays. If they can do that and keep Fraizer clean, the Wildkats will get a much-needed win. But Grand Oaks is a dangerous squad. I expect Willis at home to come out with a sense of purpose this week and I look for a big night from Frazier. Stepp’s Pick: Willis by 10
