Bitter-sweet ending to a reigning state champ, jubilation for a former finalist

We knew that Liberty Hill and Cuero wouldn’t be to the exact same state-caliber level teams they were a year ago when both teams made trips to AT&T Stadium and the state championship, Cuero of course winning the 4A DII title.

The Gobblers’ remaining playoffs hopes hinged on a miracle in addition to their own result. Not only did Cuero have to knock off Wimberley but had to hope for Llano to lose to Austin Eastside Memorial as well, that wasn't going to happen.

The Gobblers beat the 7-3 Texans, 34-28, but Llano handily dominated Eastside Memorial who had only scored six points all year. A disappointing 2019 for Cuero, but a senior night win at least closes things out with a tinge of positivity.

Liberty Hill, on the other hand, had an all-or-nothing game against fellow Slot-T team Canyon Lake ahead of it. And what are the Texas high school playoffs without the Panthers? Liberty Hill handled the Hawks, 31-7 to earn District 14-4A’s last playoff spot, setting up a bi-district game against West Columbia. The Slot-T rolls on.

R.J. Martinez’s record-breaking performance in a loss

Round Rock Westwood wasn’t in the playoff picture, but had the chance to play spoiler during Round Rock Cedar Ridge’s senior night. The Raiders needed a win to clinch a spot and keep Round Rock out.

Well, although the Warriors couldn’t pull off the upset, Round Rock should send Westwood quarterback R.J. Martinez the largest gift basket anyway for doing nearly everything he could to top Cedar Ridge.

Sit down for this stat line: Martinez threw for 606 yards on 50-of-76 passes, while also rushing for 193 yards on 12 attempts and finishing with nine total touchdowns in Westwood’s 77-69 loss. His 76 attempts broke Johnny Manziel’s single-game record (Previously 75) pass attempts and his completions tied Paul Millard’ssingle-game record (50). Cedar Ridge clinched their playoff spot so the Raiders should have no issue giving Martinez his credit for that insane performance.

Decade-long drought over for FW Diamond-Hill Jarvis

Last season, the Eagles snapped a 77-game losing streak on August 31 against Dallas Conrad, the team’s first varsity win since 2010. Fort Worth Diamond-Hill Jarvis went on to win three wins, a big step forward for head coach Oscar Castillo's program.

Friday night, the Eagles broke another dubious streak winning their first district game in 10 years, beating Fort Worth Western Hills on senior night, 23-20. Castillo’s team ends the year 4-6 and has their sights set on a ending yet another streak in 2020.

Bracket Watch
Shameless plug for ourselves here. Be sure to keep it tuned to TexasFootball.com this Sunday for every matchup and printable brackets for the bi-district round of the playoffs!

Social Media Highlights

What's a Texas high school football season without Mid-County Madness?! One of the best rivalries in the state went the way of the Indians last night.

Odessa Permian and Midland Lee set the stage
MOJO topped rival Midland Lee 42-39 to earn first place in District 2-6A and send the Rebels on an El Paso road trip for the bi-district round.