Clear Springs' Stunning Comeback
Undefeated Dickinson looked to be well on its way to an 8-0 record Friday night at home in its District 24-6A showdown with Clear Springs. The Gators led by QB Mike Welch, who had not thrown an interception all year, built a 28-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter and looked to be on cruise control. The Clear Springs Chargers however had other plans, as Todd Hudson on the first play of the final quarter scored on a 5-yard run to cut the lead to 28-7. With just over six minutes left, the lead was cut to 28-14 as Isaiah Bibb hauled in a 14-yard TD catch from Garrett Rooker. Then Kirk Collins, who finished the night with a pair of interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries, returned a Dickinson fumble 48 yards with 3:18 left to cut the lead to 28-21. Just 31 seconds later, Lionel Frederick intercepted a Dickinson pass and returned it 33 yards to tie the game at 28. Just 24 seconds later after another Dickinson turnover, Hudson capped the improbable rally with a 39-yard touchdown run to give Coach Craig Dailey’s squad the amazing 35-28 win and the inside track to the 24-6A title.

The Colony Stuns Frisco Lone Star With a Hook and Lateral
Head coach Rudy Rangel pulled a rabbit out of the hat on Friday night as his The Colony Cougars stunned state ranked Frisco Lone Star 21-14 and put themselves in prime playoff positioning with the win. Coach Rangel’s team facing a fourth and long at their own 43-yard line with less than 30 seconds remaining and trailing 14-13, called “Bronco”, a hook and lateral play, hoping to get a first down and put his team in position to try a game winning field goal on a sloppy track at Toyota Stadium. There ended up being no need for a field goal as Keith Miller caught a 17-yard pass and then executed a perfect lateral to Myles Price who sprinted 40 yards untouched for a miraculous game winning touchdown with just eight seconds left lifting TCHS to a stunning upset.

If you want to see the game winning play check out Bryan Murphy’s tweet below:

Abilene Wylie, 0-7?
It’s been a more than difficult inaugural season on the southern edge of Abilene as the Wylie Bulldogs after Friday’s 64-22 loss to Wichita Falls are off to a miserable 0-7 start. It’s Abilene Wylie’s worst start since at least 1982 and now the Bulldogs are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in 25 years with games still on tap against unbeaten Lubbock Cooper and a solid Canyon Randall bunch. The Bulldogs will need to win out in their final three games and possibly will need a little help in the tiebreakers to see postseason action in 2018.

Paris Proves it’s A Contender in a Loss
After wins over Gilmer, Melissa and Celina, we had an indication the Paris Wildcats were a really strong team as evidenced by Steven Hohenberger’s squad getting into the Top 10 of the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football state rankings this past week. In a hard fought 34-26 loss to Argyle on Friday night, the Wildcats without question showed that they will be a team to be reckoned with in an already loaded Class 4A Division I Region II field. The Wildcats, on the road against an Argyle team ranked No. 1 in the DCTF poll, played a sloppy game, turning the ball over seven times while also having seventeen penalties enforced for 135 yards, but only lost by eight points and had a couple of chances down the stretch to tie the game up after falling behind 14-0 early on. There’s no doubt the Paris coaching staff is disappointed in the sloppy play and the mistakes, but deep down they have to feel pretty good about their chances to make a deep playoff run after giving Argyle all they wanted. If Paris can put it together and play a clean game, this is an off-the-radar team that could make a run all the way to AT&T Stadium.

Wharton Stuns Sweeny
Sweeny spent a couple of weeks as the No. 1 team in DCTF’s Class 4A Division II state rankings and the Bulldogs came into their matchup with Wharton at 6-0 and fielding one of the state’s best defenses. The Tigers, led by head coach Chad Butler, stunned the No. 2 ranked Bulldogs with some stout defense of their own in a 17-15 victory to take charge of the District 11-4A Division II race.

A Major Upset in bEast Texas
The Sabine Cardinals were off to nice start at 4-2 and 1-1 in district play, but were heavy underdogs at home against undefeated West Rusk. Rex Sharp’s squad didn’t get the memo as the Cardinals defense forced five turnovers and held the explosive Raiders attack to just 113 yards in a 23-7 victory Friday night. QB Landon McKinney was the catalyst for the Cardinal offense rushing for two scores and throwing for another as he finished with 212 yards of total offense. That win puts Sabine right into the district title discussion in 8-3A Division I along with West Rusk, Gladewater and Tatum.

Panhandle Showdown Goes to Canadian
It was an instant classic up in the panhandle Friday night as Canadian once again upended Childress, this time, ripping the Bobcats' hearts out late in the game in a 31-30 victory. It was a back and forth affair all night Childress jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Canadian rattled off 17-straight points to take a 17-8 lead. Childress cut the lead to 17-16 at halftime before Canadian pushed it out to 24-16 heading into the fourth quarter. Childress then scored 14-straight points to take a 30-24 lead. The key play was an Isaiah Darter fumble return deep into Canadian territory after the Wildcats appeared ready to seal the game. A couple of plays later Childress QB Luke Lattimer hooked up with Jared Cummins for a 30-yard touchdown giving the Bobcats their first lead since the first quarter. Canadian responded with a championship drive culminating in a six-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left from Casen Cavalier to Trent Evans and the PAT from Edgar Salazar was true giving the Wildcats a 31-30 victory. These two teams met twice a year ago with Canadian winning both, including the matchup in the state quarter-finals. Don’t be surprised if we see these two get together in early December with a regional title on the line once again.

Clifton Knocks off Lexington
The Clifton Cubs remained undefeated and have now put themselves firmly in the discussion as one of the favorites in Class 3A Division II Region II after taking down state power Lexington 27-19 Friday night at home. The vaunted Cubs defense, which has been one of the best in the state all year, proved up to the task in slowing down the Lexington offense. After digging themselves an early 13-0 hole, Clifton cut the lead to six right before the half on a 55-yard touchdown run from Riley Perry. Just 16 seconds later Clifton gained the lead thanks to its defense as T.J. Ferch scooped up an Eagles fumble and raced 55 yards for the score and Clifton took a 14-13 lead at halftime. Perry added another touchdown run in the second half, finishing with 191 rushing yards and the Clifton defense held Ja’Kobe Cooper and the Lexington attack to just six second-half points in the win, improving to 8-0 on the season.

San Saba’s Blistering Start
Second-year head coach Jared Fikac and the Armadillos are turning into the darlings of the state of Texas as San Saba improved to 7-0 on the year with a convincing 55-14 rout of Hico on Friday night. After going 3-7 a year ago, San Saba hit another gear in 2018 outscoring opponents 370-38; the team's closest game thus far has been a 40-6 win over Junction in Week 3. The schedule for the Armadillos gets a bit tougher down the stretch with games against Crawford and DeLeon on the horizon, but this is a team that is proving they will be right in the mix come playoff time.

Refugio Back to the Spread
Refugio has shown the ability each off-season to reinvent itself and cater its scheme to the personnel on hand. This off-season the talk around the state was the Bobcats were moving to a more option-based offense, dubbed Flexcat. This after the past few years when RHS has won and played for state titles running the spread, basing out of the I-formation and running a pro-style attack as well. The new offense seemed to sputter early in with the Bobcats suffering two blowout losses (scoring just eight points in the games) in non-district and struggling to move the ball consistently in a couple of other non-district wins. During their bye week two weeks ago, the staff reinvented once again moving back to the spread offense and at least through two weeks the reviews are positive as Refugio has scored 67 and 77 points in back-to-back games. Granted, the level of competition isn’t the same as what Refugio will see come playoff time in a brutal Region IV race in 2A Division I, but there’s some definite positive momentum after two games back in the spread offense.