The district season comes early for about half of our area schools this week.
I love the start of district. You spend more than a month prognosticating and analyzing how certain districts will play out, which is perfectly fine. But now you get to prove everything on the field.
It’s a short intro for this week, but I’ll share a couple links. I broke down all four district races that start tonight, and I also got 6-2A Division II coaches to answer some questions and be candid about their race.
Also, I spent 90 minutes with Frank Johnson and Rudy Hawkins – two guys who know a thing or two about football – on Johnson’s football/BBQ podcast. Combined, the three of us have 231 coaching victories to our credit, and we broke down Week 5 but also just had a blast talking area high school football.
We also had a couple six-man games from last night – Chillicothe suffered its first loss, meaning Electra is the last unbeaten team standing (the Tigers are off this week).
Where I’ll be at: Abilene Cooper (1-3) at Memorial (3-1): I’m going to be doing the WFISD YouTube broadcast with Jonathan Hull and Cory Hogue and probably write a quick highlights story from Friday’s district openers. The 5:30 a.m. leave time for Memorial tennis the next morning helped make my decision (I didn’t want to stray too far from home), but also this is the area’s best district opener. The Cougars’ record is deceiving – they are definitely in the hunt for a top seed in 2-5A Division II. Memorial’s offense is humming, and I think Memorial Stadium could see a lot of points Friday night.
Games that intrigue me: Vernon (3-1) at Paradise (2-2); Holliday (3-1) at Jim Ned (2-2): The first one is an important district opener with the winner feeling like they should be a favorite to win 4-3A Division I and the loser still having to play Ponder and Peaster, among others. The Lions welcomed back QB Tru Scott last week, while I’m told the Panthers have some injuries at quarterback. The Holliday-Jim Ned game is a fantastic non-district finale that will help us see how the Eagles line up against Jacksboro, which fell to the Indians 42-40 last week. Jim Ned was able to run the ball well against the Tigers. How will the shorthanded Eagles respond to that? Should be a good one.
Game that could be more interesting than I thought: Haskell (2-2) at Petrolia (3-1): We talked about this on Coach J’s Gridiron BBQ podcast, but I’ll reiterate it here. This is an important 6-2A Division II opener in terms of playoff chances. Are you eliminated if you lose? No, of course not. But it’s an uphill climb because you still have Windthorst, Seymour, Archer City and Electra left on your schedule. It was the same deal last year when Petrolia and Electra opened together. The Pirates won 28-16, and while the Tigers played some decent ball the rest of the way (losing to AC by one and Haskell by 10), I never considered them a playoff threat after the Petrolia loss.
Game that would be fun to check out if you haven’t before: Windthorst (3-1) at Seymour (1-3). The quarterback matchup at Fair Park Stadium on Friday night is one of the best you’ll see this year. Brayden Loyd leads the area with 1,231 yards and has 12 TDs, while Brock Belcher has thrown for 1,029 yards and 13 scores. These teams have played every season since 2006 and are 9-9 against each other during that time. I originally thought this would decide the 6-2A Division II title, and it still very well could. But the Trojans have played at a higher level through four weeks.
Games with the closest spread according to pigskinprep.com: A quartet of games are predicted to be within a touchdown. Holliday is a one-point underdog at Jim Ned, while Petrolia is a three-point underdog against Haskell. Nocona opens district against Alvord as a five-point underdog, while Olney (six-point underdog) looks for its first win against Chico.
WEEK 5
THURSDAY
Non-District
Anton 51, Chillicothe 6
Blanket 64, Throckmorton 0
FRIDAY
District 2-5A Division II
Abilene Cooper at Memorial, 7 p.m.
Legacy at Abilene Wylie, 7 p.m.
District 3-3A Division I
Bowie at Peaster, 7 p.m.
Vernon at Paradise, 7 p.m.
District 6-2A Division I
Alvord at Nocona, 7 p.m.
District 6-2A Division II
Windthorst at Seymour, 7 p.m.
Archer City at Munday, 7 p.m.
Haskell at Petrolia, 7 p.m.
Non-District
Jacksboro at Burkburnett, 7 p.m.
Graham at Lake Worth, 7 p.m.
Childress at City View
Holliday at Jim Ned
Chico at Olney, 7 p.m.
Stamford at Henrietta
Quanah at Hamlin
Crowell at Knox City
Wichita Christian at Newcastle
Woodson at Bryson
Northside at Forestburg
Hedley at Harrold, 7 p.m.
Gold-Burg at Granbury Grace Classical
Bye: Iowa Park, Electra