Katy at Galena Park North Shore: This will be fifth meeting between these two teams since 2016 with North Shore holding a 3-1 edge, including two wins over the Tigers a year ago. Visiting Katy will be explosive on offense with the return of QB Bronson McClelland and dynamic WR Jordan Patrick. Katy also looks strong in the secondary, but there’s definite concerns about youth and inexperience in the trenches on both sides of the ball. North Shore suffered some heavy losses across the front seven of the defense, but the offensive firepower the Mustangs have back is downright scary with QB Dematrius Davis, RB’s Zach Evans and Arkansas-commit John Gentry leading the way.
North Shore does have a significant injury to deal with as Texas A&M commit WR Shadrach Banks is out for this game and likely all of non-district. Alabama commit Damieon George is a mountain of a young man and anchors the North Shore offensive line. Miami commit LB Corey Flagg is the unquestioned leader of the North Shore defense, but he’ll need a young defensive line to keep him clean and allow him to roam and make plays. The secondary looks to be in good shape with Kansas State commit Joseph Wilson and Utah State commit Upton Stout leading the way along with talented young DB Denver Harris. LB Matthew Roberts holds multiple FBS offers and moved in from Kansas and could be a big help for the young defense. North Shore’s defense may give up some points early, but they’ve got fewer questions than Katy at this point and handled the Tigers twice last year. Give the edge to the defending state champions in the first of what could be two meetings between the Houston titans.
Stepp’s Pick: Galena Park North Shore by 6
Plano West at Frisco Reedy: Plano West under new head coach Tyler Soukup, who comes over from Hebron, will look to put an end to its 26-game losing streak. Although the Wolves expect to be improved, they’ll be in for a real challenge against a Reedy squad that broke out with a 13-1 record at the 5A level. The Lions lost a lot of talent from last year’s team, but there’s some talent in the mix at QB with talented junior Ryan Jones and Jalen Kitna, who moved in from Brophy Prep in Arizona over the summer, when his father former Waxahachie head coach John Kitna was hired as an assistant on the Dallas Cowboys staff. Keep an eye on Will Harbour for the Lions. The LB posted over 100 tackles a year ago and also accounted for eight rushing touchdowns and also serves as the Lions kicker. Reedy’s experience and size up front will overwhelm a Plano West squad that’s still got a long way to go to be competitive with strong 5A programs, much less the giants in their 6A district.
Stepp’s Pick: Frisco Reedy by 21
Denison at Sherman: The “Battle of the Ax” is one of the state’s longest running rivalries and depending on who you talk to this will be the 122nd time these two have met. Denison has won six straight in the rivalry and looks like a good bet to make it seven in a row. The ‘Jackets feature a veteran squad led by the one of the state’s most dynamic young backs in Jadarian Price who ran for over 1,400 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman. DB Zaelin Winbush picked off seven passes a year ago and will lead the Denison secondary. Sherman started off slow a year ago, but made a surprise run to the playoffs in 5A-Division I last year and Coach Martinez’s squad would love nothing more than to end the Denison winning streak in the familiar confines of historic Bearcat Stadium. RB Miketavion Brown will lead a veteran Sherman offense. The big key will be how QB Tate Bethel transitions from WR to QB. Denison rolled to an easy win at home last year, expect Sherman to stay in this one to the end as it is much improved from the team that lost in 2018.
Stepp’s Pick: Denison by 7