CENTRAL TEXAS (KXXV) — Just 44 high school teams are still playing football across the state as it’s the state semifinal week for all 11-man UIL divisions. With 20 games across the state this week, only one of them will have a team from Central Texas. Teams that were looking to make deep runs in the postseason saw their season come to an end in the regional finals. La Vega, Axtell, and Bremond all fell, while Hamilton moves on to the state semi-final and Richland Springs advances to their first state championship game since 2020.
The defending 4-A Division 2 state finalist, the La Vega Pirates, ran into one of the hottest teams in the state in the West Orange-Stark Mustangs and lost 20-35. In the fourth meeting of these two teams in the last two years, the Mustangs reversed the result of the week three matchup where the Pirates won 44-20.
Axtell’s run through the playoffs came to an end without junior quarterback Levi Leathers who was out after getting injured in last week’s game against De Leon. The Longhorns were only able to muster three points against Hamilton in a rematch of last year’s 2-A Division 1 regional final.
The Bremond Tigers quest to return to the 2-A Division 2 state semi-final ended at the hands of the Mount Enterprise Wildcats. Keagan Ash ran all over the Tigers, totaling over 500 yards on the ground on his way to breaking the Texas high school single season rushing record that was previously held by Sugar Land’s Kenneth Hall. His 4,045 yards set in 1953 seemed like a record that would never be broken until now. Hall’s career record of 11,232 could fall next week as well, Ash is just under 90 yards away from that record.
All other athletic associations have completed their championships with all the TAPPS championships wrapping up last week in Waco. With the UIL set to crown their champions next week, we have already seen several schools play for state championships across Central Texas. Congrats to this year’s state champions and state finalist.
STATE FINALIST
TAIAO Division I - BVCHEA MUSTANGS
TCAF – METHODIST CHILDREN’S HOME BULLDOGS
STATE CHAMPIONS
TAPPS 6-Man Division III – VALOR PREP KNIGHTS
TAIAO Division I – TEXAS WIND SKYHAWKS
TCAL Division II – WACO CHRISTIAN WARRIORS
GAMES ACROSS CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE BRAZOS VALLEY
HAMILTON BULLDOGS vs STINNETT WEST TEXAS COMANCHES
The Hamilton Bulldogs have been here before. In last year’s regional final, the Bulldogs traveled to Belton and got the 15-14 win over the Axtell Longhorns. This year’s game was not as close. The Bulldogs scored a touchdown in the first quarter and that is all they would need as they went on to a 24-3 victory.
Under fourth year head coach Ryan Marwitz the Bulldogs have seen unprecedented success. In 2022, Marwitz’s first year, the Bulldogs reached the third round of the playoffs for just the third time in school history. Now the Bulldogs have reached the state semi-final for the second straight year and second time ever. They lost that game 13-28 to Stamford. Marwitz’s Bulldogs look to make history again with a trip to Arlington and the 2-A Division 1 state championship game. The Bulldogs have leaned on the defense all year, allowing only 11 points per game.
For Hamilton to make it to Arlington they will have to beat their second ranked opponent in as many weeks. Stinnett West Texas finished the regular season undefeated and ranked 4th in 2-A Division 1. The Comanches have wins against a ranked Panhandle team and two 3-A schools in Tulia and Amarillo River Road. Head Coach Jeff Smith has made improvement in each of the three years he has been with the Comanches, guiding three team to three postseason appearances and a district championship in 2025. Stopping the run will be key for Hamilton, as the Comanches have leaned on quarterback Cayde Winters and running back Kelby Sherwood running for nearly 4,000 yards. In four playoff games the West Texas offense has rushed for over 1,200 yards and 19 touchdowns.
RICHLAND SPRINGS COYOTES vs JAYTON JAYBIRDS
The four schools in conference 1-A will get the week off before their championship games on Wednesday, December 17. The 1-A Division 1 state championship game between Rankin and Gordon will be at 11 a.m. and the 1-A Division 2 championship game will be played 2 p.m. between Richland Springs and Jayton.
All UIL Football State Championships games will be played next week on December 17-20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. You can find information on every playoff game in the area throughout the playoffs here.
Catch all of the coverage of your favorite team with Shahji Adam and Donna Conrad throughout the playoffs on 25 News and 15 ABC.
