It’s the final week of the regular season and there is a lot on the line in terms of district championships and playoff spots.
RED ZONE GAME OF THE WEEK
CRAWFORD PIRATES (8-1, 4-0) at ROSEBUD-LOTT COUGARS (8-1, 4-0)
7:30 pm Cougar Stadium, Travis
- The 13-2A Division 1 district championship game. Both teams are securely in the playoffs. The winner will move on as the number one seed and the loser as the number two seed. The winner of this game will get the winner of the Harper-Johnson City game in the bi-district round of the playoffs.
- Both teams have relied on their defenses, allowing just a combined 177 points and seven shutouts all year. The Pirates allow an average of 10 points per game, and the Cougars give up 9 points a game.
- The Cougars are led by quarterback Pryce Rabroker has thrown for over 1,200 yards and 19 touchdowns. The Pirates Wing-T offense has given teams trouble all year.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES ACROSS CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE BRAZOS VALLEY
MIDWAY PANTHERS (8-1, 4-1) at COPPERAS COVE BULLDAWGS (6-3, 3-2)
Thursday, 7pm Bulldawg Stadium, Copperas Cove
- Midway has a spot in the 6A Division 1 bracket and Copperas Cove will also be in the Division 1 bracket with a Harker Heights win over Temple. The winner of this game will be the Division 1 one-seed and earn the right to host a first round playoff game. If Temple wins, Copperas Cove would move down to the Division Two bracket as the two-seed.
- In his first year at Copperas Cove, head coach Rodney Southern has led the Bulldawgs to their first winning record and playoff appearance since 2018. The Bulldawgs have averaged 31 points per game
- Midway’s balanced offense is led through the air by quarterback Andrew NcNair who has thrown for over 1,800 yards and 17 touchdowns. On the ground the Panthers lean on Lathan Whisenton with over 1,100 yards and 20 touchdowns on the season. Whisenton accounts for 55% of the Panthers run game.
WHITNEY WILDCATS (7-2, 4-0) at WEST TROJANS (7-2, 3-1)
7pm Trojan Stadium, West
- Whitney looks to be crowned district champion for the first time since 2019, while West is trying to force a three-way tie for the top of the district with Grandview.
- This game is strength on strength. The Wildcats defense is tough, giving up only 13 points per game. The Trojans offense is explosive as they have averaged 51 points a game this year.
#10 LEXINGTON EAGLES (7-1, 2-1) at ROGERS EAGLES (6-3, 2-1)
7 pm Merk Field, Rogers
- A true battle for second place in district 13-2A Division 2. The winner of this game face the winner of Vanderbilt Industrial and Wallis Brazos, the loser of this game will get the loser of East Bernard and #1 Tidehaven.
- Lexington has battled injuries all year and almost made it unscathed, until Blanco, which remains the only teams to beat the Eagles in the last two regular seasons. The constant has been Senior quarterback, Kase Evans who has thrown for over 2,000 yards, 27 touchdowns, and has only thrown one interception.
- Under new head coach Caser Carr, Rogers has doubled their win total from 2024, from three to six. Quarterback Tyson Sisneroz has led the Eagles offense to an average of over 34 points a game and looks to continue that into the postseason.
MIDFIELD RANKINGS
The Midfield Rankings is a listing of the pound-for-pound best teams in Central Texas and the Brazos Valley regardless of their classification.
- BREMOND TIGERS (9-0) – Bremond returns from Hubbard with a win and look to cap an undefeated season against Frost.
- AQUILLA COUGARS (9-0) – Aquilla will try to avenge their only loses of 2024 against rival Abbott on Friday.
- FAIRFIELD EAGLES (9-0) – The Eagles get a 21-point win at Westwood last and will go for its first undefeated regular season since 2013 against Crockett.
- RICHLAND SPRINGS COYOTES (7-1) – The roll over Rochelle 62-0 and face Lohn this week.
- VALOR PREP KNIGHTS (9-0) – The Knights break into the Midfield Rankings looking to cap an undefeated season on Thursday night against Wichita Falls Christian.
Brenham falls out of the rankings, while Lexington, Chilton, and Jewett Leon sitting just outside trying to play their way into the Midfield Rankings Top 5.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
Several games throughout week and ten and week eleven are playoff games themselves. Here are how some of the district races are playing out.
12-6A – This district can be clear cut and muddy all at the same time, but all games for 12-6A are on Thursday this week and we will know how things shake out before Friday. Harker Heights will be the number seed in Division Two no matter what happens on Thursday.
-A Harker Heights win over Temple keeps Shoemaker in as the number two seed in the Division Two bracket and the Midway-Copperas Cove game becomes a battle for the one-seed in Division One.
-A Temple win over Harker Heights drops Copperas Cove to Division Two and Temple would be the two-seed in Division One. Shoemaker would then fall out of the playoffs altogether.
8-5A Division 1 – Lake Belton is in the playoffs as the fourth seed and Chaparral is out of the playoffs.
10-5A Division 2 – University has emerged as the district champion and the Belton-Brenham game will be for second place. The Ellison Eagles will make the playoffs for the second year-in-a-row, but this time as the fourth seed and Rudder and Waco seasons will come to an end this Friday night.
11-4A Division 2 – Madisonville currently sits as the three-seed, but a win this Friday over Sealy could move them in the second-seed. This will make the difference between the Mustangs playing Robinson and Gatesville. Caldwell will miss the playoffs for the eighth straight year.
11-3A Division 1 – Franklin and Academy are safe at the one- and two-seeds in the district. Troy has a leg up on the three-seed, but the fourth seed is still up for grabs. Cameron Yoe, McGregor, and Rockdale all sit with one district win. Based on the tie-breaker rules for the district, McGregor would advance as the four-seed unless one of those three teams can get a week 11 win.
7-2A Division 1 – Axtell is the one-seed and Bosqueville, Dawson, and Valley Mills are all in but seeding will be decided in week 11.
16-1A Division 2 – Cherokee travels to Calvert for a district championship game against the Trojans. The loser of this game will get Richland Springs in the first round of the playoffs, and the winner will play the week 11 winner between Rochelle and Valera Panther Creek.
For several private schools, the playoffs have already started. Playoff matches for this week include:
TAIAO Division 1 First Round - Waco Texas Wind Skyhawks host Valor North Austin Lions and BVCHEA Mustangs host Corpus Christi Coastal Christian Homeschool
TAIAO Division 2 First Round - Temple Centex Homeschool Chargers host Melissa (Allen) Chant
TAIAO Division 3 First Round - Hill County Wolves vs Hill Country Knights
TCAF Semifinal - Methodist Children’s Home Bulldogs vs Grace Christian Academy
THIL Third Place Game - Centex Sport Association Outlaws vs DASCHE
Don’t forget to watch Red Zone on Friday where Shahji Adam and Donna Conrad will have all the high school football action starting at 10:10PM.
