Petrolia Cancels Season
On Wednesday night, DCTF learned that Class 2A Division II Petrolia would be forfeiting its final two games of the year due to injuries and already low numbers in the program. Head coach Jesse House stated his squad was down to just 13 healthy players and many of them are freshman who would be forced to play out of position.

"The major problem is when you play young kids out of position, you up the risk of them getting hurt," House said via text.

"It's a hard decision, but as a football family, we had to make the best decision for our athletes,” Coach House told the Wichita Falls Times-Record News.

That cancellation left Santo without a game this week. Windthorst who was set to play Petrolia in Week 11 will now play Muenster who only had nine games scheduled in Week 11. It’ll be the first meeting of the two programs since 2011.

Waco Midway Knocks Off Temple
As much as we’ve dismissed Waco Midway as being way down in 2018, the Panthers proved they are still a formidable opponent and will be a tough out come playoff time as they went into Wildcat Stadium and knocked off previously unbeaten Temple 31-28. The Panthers who their 33rd straight game in district play and embraced the role of underdog going toe-to-toe with an always physical Temple squad, getting a big game from running back James Fulbright who ran for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Midway’s defense came up big in key moments and held one of the state’s most explosive offensive attacks in check most of the night. Temple is now put in the odd situation of improving its possible playoff seeding with a loss next week at Copperas Cove. If Temple beats Copperas Cove, the Wildcats face the very tall task of a bi-district playoff game at Longview who will likely be 10-0 going into that matchup. If Temple loses to Copperas Cove, the Wildcats will actually end up hosting a playoff game as that would send Midway into the Division I bracket. An odd twist to the split division setup in Class 6A.

Tyler John Tyler Hail Mary Thrawts Mesquite Poteet Rally
In maybe the game of the night, Tyler John Tyler needed a 49-yard touchdown pass from Devlen Woods to Ke’Andre Street on the final play of the game to lift the Lions to a 48-44 win over Mesquite Poteet. John Tyler jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and appeared to be well on its way to a win and the district title. Mesquite Poteet rallied back and several times cut the lead to a single score but each time the Lions had an answer, until late in the game. Trailing 41-29, the Pirates scored twice in three and a half minutes to take their first lead of the game at 44-41 with 15 seconds left, setting the stage for the John Tyler miracle finish.

Justin Northwest Earns First District Title in 56 Years
The last time the Justin Northwest Texans won a district title, John F. Kennedy was the president of the United States and we had just sent men into the space for the first time. Bill Poe’s squad ended that drought in emphatic fashion on Thursday night at Northwest ISD Stadium rolling past Fort Worth Carter-Riverside 71-0 to improve to 7-2 on the season. It was domination from the start as Northwest outgained Carter-Riverside 569 yards to just 16. Northwest can earn the outright district title next week with a win over Fort Worth North Side.

Santa Fe’s Inspiring Story
Six months ago, the community of Santa Fe was struck by tragedy as eight students and two teachers were gunned down at Santa Fe High School. Although high school football in the grand scheme of things isn’t that important, the Santa Fe High football team is definitely giving the folks down there a reason to smile as Santa Fe with its 43-40 win over Dayton. The Indians clinched their first trip to the playoffs since 2009. Santa Fe, who is 5-4 and 4-2 in District 12-5A Division II, closes out the regular season next week at home against Barbers Hill.

Leander Glenn First-Year and First Playoff Appearance
While most of the talk surrounding first year programs and major success has centered around Alvin Shadow Creek, Leander Glenn in the Austin-area is making some moves of their own. The Grizzlies improved to 6-3 on the year and 5-1 in District 13-5A Division II with an impressive defensive effort taking down Brenham, 21-7. Glenn can clinch the outright district title next week with a road win at Bastrop and in a wide-open Class 5A Division II Region IV bracket, Leander Glenn could be a team to watch come playoff time.

Boerne Rallies to Knock off Unbeaten LaVernia
In a wild fourth quarter that featured 43 total points, it was the Boerne Greyhounds who had the last laugh as Cole Boyd’s four-yard touchdown run and subsequent two-point conversion run lifted Boerne to a 46-45 win over previously undefeated LaVernia. Boerne, who trailed 45-31 late in the fourth quarter, scored back to back touchdown to get the win in a fantastic back and forth affair. Boyd finished the night with 360 yards of total offense and five touchdowns to lead Boerne who improved to 8-1 on the year and 3-0 in district play.

Huntington’s First Ever Playoff Appearance
Despite losing on Friday night to Center 42-24 to fall to 3-6 and 1-2 in district play, the 2018 season has already been a resounding success for second-year head coach Jim Kerbow and his Red Devils. That’s because Huntington is headed to the Texas high school football playoffs for the first time in school history. Huntington didn’t start playing football until 1982 and there hasn’t been any kind of on-field success to speak of. In fact, there’s actually been talk of shuttering the program all together as HHS has never won more than three games in a single season. However, there’s definite excitement in the air as Huntington preps for its regular season finale against Shepherd and then for a bi-district playoff game in Week 12.

Cushing Headed to the Playoffs
Congrats are in order for first-year head coach Josh Moore and the Cushing Bearkats who have quietly been one of the state’s best turnaround stories. With Friday night’s 35-26 win over Union Grove, Cushing improved to 6-2 on the season and officially locked up its first trip to the playoffs since 1997. CHS hadn’t won more than six games in a single season since 2013 and can secure its most wins since that 1997 campaign with a win next week on the road at Big Sandy.

Austin Eastside Memorial Gets On the Board
There are no aspirations of winning a state championship at Eastside Memorial High School in Austin. In fact most of its victories are measured by simply showing up and playing the game they love despite some of the longest of long odds. Head coach Luis Becerra’s team hasn’t won a game this year and until last night hadn’t scored a point all. The Panthers rarely show up to a game with more than 25 players on the roster and at times have less than 20 player suited out. The things most of high school football players take for granted are precious to these student athletes, yet week in and week out they show up, play hard and according to every coach we’ve talked to that’s played against them, comported themselves with a measure of class that would make even the toughest disciplinarian head coach proud. Friday night, Eastside Memorial didn’t win its game as they fell 59-8 to Bandera, but earned another small victory and this one was earned on the field, by simply finding the end zone. The bigger victories will come, but for today, we at DCTF salute Austin Eastside Memorial for teaching us all of an important life lesson, that sometimes we can win by simply showing up and doing what we love each and every day.