Hurst Bell (6-3, 5-1) at Euless Trinity (7-2, 6-0): Expect Pennington Field to be buzzing on Thursday night with the 8-6A district title on the line as H-E-B rivals Bell and Trinity collide in front of what should be a crowd of over 12,000. Bell comes into this one surging after three straight wins, including last week’s 64-10 rout of Irving MacArthur. The Blue Raiders ground game was again the catalyst in the win as RB’s Jeremiah Houston and Roland Taylay combined for 249 yards rushing and six touchdowns. Bell’s defense played well limiting the Cardinals passing game and forcing a pair of key early turnovers that helped blow the game open. Speaking of defense, Trinity needed a big performance last week to keep their district record unblemished as they slipped past a tough Haltom squad in a 17-9 slugfest. Trinity’s defense held a potent Haltom ground attack in check and the offense got just enough production to get the job done. QB Mack Lineweaver threw a touchdown pass and Lineweaver combined with RB’s Prince Ngandu, Marcus Turner and Percy Barber to run for 174 yards. Both teams run the ball well, but Trinity has two big edges in this one - the Trojans offense is a bit more balanced and they are better at stopping the run. That puts them ahead of the curve in what is expected to be a low-scoring, rock-fight. Stepp’s Pick: Euless Trinity by 7
Killeen Harker Heights (7-2, 5-0) at Waco Midway (8-1, 5-0): A district crown is on the line in 12-6A between the top two large school teams in Central Texas the past few seasons. If you are looking for a game that has playoff implications, this isn’t it as both teams are locked in as the top seed in their respective divisions. But in the Super CenTex, a district title still means a ton. Harker Heights took some time to get going last week, but the Knights dominated the second half in a 28-10 win over Copperas Cove. QB Hudson Humble connected with UTSA WR commit Arshawn Spann for a pair of touchdowns and the Knights’ running game kept the chains moving and wore down the Cove defense. Heights has another UTSA commit on the outside in Ryan Taylor, who was quiet last week, but is also fully capable of taking the top off the defense as well. Midway has had two weeks to get ready for this showdown as the Panthers had the Week 10 bye. In their last outing against Copperas Cove, it was all Midway as the Panther drilled Cove 63-14. Notre Dame RB commit Lathan Whisenton ran for 81 yards and three scores on just 11 carries and junior RB Jaden Fields-Vaughn tacked on 73 yards rushing and two scores on just ten carries. QB Cort Strickland had a big night as well with 224 yards through the air and two scores; he also tallied a rushing score. Midway’s offense scored on their first nine drives of the game and just had a field day, while the defense did an outstanding job limiting a good Copperas Cove rushing attack. This will be a knock-down drag out game; no saving anything for the playoffs with these two as that district title means something here. Midway’s running game, depth and defensive front seven are their edge in this showdown. Stepp’s Pick: Waco Midway by 11
