Arlington Bowie Plays Through Tragedy

No high school team should ever have to deal with the kind of tragedy the Arlington Bowie Volunteers had to play through on Friday as just one day after the tragic death of teammate Anthony Strather, the Vols had to push through and play a football game. Strather was killed Thursday near Bowie High School, reportedly while trying to break up a fight that had escalated. Strather was just 17 and played defensive end for Bowie High School. Danny DeArman’s team did play in his honor on Friday, improving to 6-1 and 4-0 in District 4-6A play with a 56-3 win over Fort Worth Trimble Tech. Our thoughts are with Anthony’s family and the entire Bowie community during this difficult time.

Fort Bend Travis Snaps Ridge Point’s 27-Game District Winning Streak

Fort Bend Ridge Point has had a strangle-hold on Fort Bend ISD the past three years as the Panthers hadn’t lost a district game since October 2015. But that streak ended Thursday night as Fort Bend Travis knocked off Ridge Point, 27-23, to improve to 7-0 on the year and 4-0 in district play. QB Eric Rodriguez tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to WR Colin Mushinski with just under seven minutes remaining that proved to be the game winning score for the Tigers as DB Mason Muchaw’s late interception sealed the win for the Tigers. The victory was all the more impressive considering THS was without Penn State commit WR Parker Washington and one of their top DB’s in Cameron Moore.

Humble Atascocita and Alvin Shadow Creek Dominate in District Showdowns

In a pair of highly anticipated Houston area district showdowns, both favorites made quite the statement with lopsided wins on Friday night. We start in 6A where Humble Atascocita improved to 6-1 on the year by trouncing previously unbeaten Pasadena Dobie, 61-6, to leave little doubt who the top team in District 22-6A is. Across town, Alvin Shadow Creek, the state’s second ranked team in 5A-Division I, took on upstart and unbeaten Friendswood fresh off an upset of Richmond Foster the week before. There’d be no such upset this week as the Sharks dominated from start to finish to seize control of the 10-5A Division I race with a convincing, 51-6, win on Friday night.

Top Ranked Frisco Lone Star Escapes

In maybe the game of the night in the state, the top ranked team in 5A-Division I Frisco Lone Star got all it wanted and then some escaping Tommy Briggs Stadium in The Colony with a thrilling, 41-38, win over previously unbeaten The Colony. The game was a back and forth affair all night as it featured nine total lead changes, with Lone Star RB Jake Bogdon’s 55-yard touchdown run with 4:22 left that proved to be the difference in an absolute classic. Lone Star improves to 7-0 on the year and will look to close the regular season out strong, while The Colony at 6-1 still has a home playoff game to fight for down the stretch.

Corpus Christi Miller Takes Hold of 15-5A Division I Race

After knocking on the door a year ago only to see a late season collapse, Justen Evans’ squad is making major waves down on the Coastal Bend as Corpus Christi Miller rallied from a 28-14 second-half deficit to knock off area power Corpus Christi Flour Bluff, 34-28, in front of a raucous crowd at Buccaneer Stadium. QB Andrew Body led the way throwing for 285 yards and a touchdown, while adding a score on the ground while RB McCulion Williams ran for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Miller, a pre-season “hipster pick” from DCTF has now established themselves as the team to beat in 15-5A Division I and a real threat down in Region IV.

Abilene Wylie Ends Nightmare Losing Streak

The long nightmare is over for Hugh Sandifer’s Abilene Wylie Bulldogs as they snapped an 18-game losing streak on the road Thursday night with a 21-14 win over Wichita Falls. Once one of the top programs in all of the state at the 4A level, Coach Sandifer’s squad has fallen on hard times the past two years since the jump to Class 5A, but Thursday night’s win did more than just break a long losing skid as it puts the Bulldogs squarely in the middle of the playoff race in 3-5A Division II at 1-1 in district play.

Tornillo’s Losing Streak Halted

Congrats go out to Cody Burris and the Tornillo Coyotes who snapped one of the state’s longest losing streaks Friday night by knocking off Fabens, 13-7. The Coyotes had lost 20-straight dating back to October 6, 2017.

Troy Takes Out Another Heavyweight in Central Texas

Most of the talk in 10-3A Division I this year has centered around Rockdale and Cameron Yoe, but it’s the Troy Trojans who are making the most waves on the field as THS secured a sweep of the two preseason favorites with their 62-44 win over Rockdale Friday night. The rushing combination of Zach Hrbacek and Sam Jones proved to be too much for a Rockdale defense that had no answers Friday night. Now Troy, who sits at 6-1 with their only loss to 4A-Division I Robinson, has its eyes set on clinching a district title and making a push towards Arlington in a deep Region III.

Cotulla Stuns Jourdanton

Very quietly the Cotulla Cowboys have put together an outstanding season as they held a 6-1 record going into their showdown with unbeaten Jourdanton, a heavy favorite in the computer projects going into this one. But David Silva’s squad was unfazed as the Cowboys used a dominating defensive effort to stun the Indians, 20-14, and improve to 7-1 on the year and 3-1 in district play.

Shiner Blasts Weimar In Matchup Of Unbeatens

The highly anticipated battle of 7-0 teams in 2A-Division I turned out to be quite the one-sided affair as No. 2 Shiner made a major statement Friday night by obliterating Weimar, 52-7. Shiner used nine different ball carries to roll up 434 yards on the ground while scoring 52 straight points after falling behind 7-0. RB Donyai Taylor led the balanced attack with 148 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries. Shiner is likely to remain at No. 2 in the state rankings in 2A-Division I and it’ll be interesting to see how its focus remains as a potential playoff showdown with longtime nemesis Refugio looms down the road.