Class 6A

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Tyler Legacy: In their first game with a new school name and new head coach Joe Willis, the Red Raiders looked every bit the part of contender in District 10-6A in a season-opening rout of Lufkin Friday night, 70-32. The offense looked to be in mid-season form and, although the defense started out slow, they locked down in the second half and put together a solid effort.

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Mansfield: The Tigers, thought to be a sleeper for the fourth and final playoff spot in the brutal District 11-6A, have a long way to go after a rough season opening effort in which they were drilled by Arlington High 37-7.

5A Division I

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Lubbock Coronado: The Mustangs opened the season with a bang on Friday blasting past 6A playoff team Wolfforth Frenship, 42-14, behind a big effort from QB Sawyer Robertson. Coronado has been overlooked a bit in District 2-5A Division I with the addition of Amarillo Tascosa, but Seth Parr’s bunch is going to be heard from without a doubt.

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Longview: The Lobos suffered their first regular season loss since 2017 in the nightcap at AT&T Stadium Friday night falling to Temple, 40-13. Longview led 13-10 at halftime, but was outscored 30-0 in the second half as turnovers and penalties derailed any hopes for Longview against an up and coming Temple squad.

5A Division II

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Abilene Wylie: The Bulldogs, in their first game of the post-Hugh Sandifer era, got off to a great start Friday night as they went to Brownwood and spoiled the Lions homecoming with a 28-7 victory at Gordon Wood Stadium. First year head coach Clay Martin’s squad, despite being in their season opener, looked very sharp early and contained a Brownwood squad that had four games of experience under their belts already.

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Kerrville Tivy: The Antlers offense was non-existent last week in a disappointing 14-0 season-opening loss to Dripping Springs. Tivy, which for years has been an offensive powerhouse in the San Antonio area, did not look sharp in the opener.

4A Division I

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Fort Worth Western Hills: The Cougars earned a big win in their 6-4A Division I zone matchup pulling off a big upset of River Oaks Castleberry, 35-34. The Cougars are now 2-0 in the West Zone and have a showdown with rival Benbrook looming next week to decide bragging rights in the zone.

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Dumas: The Demons saw their 21-game regular season winning streak end at the hands of 1-3 Stephenville in a surprising 46-33 loss Thursday night in a neutral site matchup at Lubbock Cooper. Dumas’ defense struggled all night to contain the big play offense of Stephenville and the loss knocks the Demons from their top five perch in the 4A-Division I state rankings.

4A Division II

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Carthage: It’s hard to have your stock any higher than Carthage, but considering the Bulldogs had not played a game in nearly a month and they were on the road against state ranked Gilmer, a sloppy performance would be expected. Instead, Carthage came out and from the jump dismantled a really good Gilmer team in a convincing 42-14 win.

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Giddings: The Buffaloes had a chance to really make a statement as a contender in 4A-Division II Region IV, but they fell to a struggling Geronimo Navarro squad, 21-17. Giddings is still an outside contender in the region, but the loss casts a bit more doubt as they fall to 3-2.

3A Division I

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Buna: The Cougars struggled in non-district, but Bradley Morgan’s squad woke up when it counted as they opened up district play with a 22-14 upset of previously unbeaten Woodville. The Cougars raced out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter and held off a late Woodville rally for the win. Buna’s defense was the story forcing five Woodville turnovers.

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Maypearl: Don’t be too tough on Maypearl as they were playing the two-time defending 3A-Division I state champions, but the Panthers were unable to keep their record perfect falling to 4-1 in a 56-13 loss to Grandview. No one outside of Maypearl expected the Panthers to win the game, but a more competitive game would have been a step in the right direction.

3A Division II

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Natalia: After a one-point loss to Stockdale to open district play the Mustangs had their backs against the wall against a strong George West squad, but the Mustangs rose to the challenge in a big way upsetting the Longhorns 31-28 to put themselves right back in the mix in District 15-3A Division II.

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Ballinger: The Bearcats have been living on the edge most of the year, winning close games on the strength of their defense, but the luck ran out this week as Ballinger was drilled on the road 34-0 against Llano. Ballinger’s defense is good enough to win a lot of games, but unless they can get the offense going they may struggle to earn playoff wins.

2A Division I

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Hearne: The Eagles who dealt with not one, but two games being postponed due to opponents dealing with Covid-19 protocols, haven’t let that slow them down as Ricky Sargent’s squad is off to a 3-0 start and more importantly 1-0 in district after Hearne stunned Holland 21-20 in Friday’s district opener.

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Tahoka: The Bulldogs were expected to struggle a bit moving up to Division I with a young team, but they had gotten off to a solid 3-1 start, but Friday night they stumbled as eleven-man football newcomer Ropesville shut Tahoka out 22-0 in the non-district finale for both schools.

2A Division II

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Christoval: The Cougars on the strength of their 4-1 start to the season are making their first appearance in the 2A-Division II state rankings this week after they rolled past Goldthwaite 49-19 last week. Coach Casey Otho’s squad now gets a week to rest up as they prep for district play, with the move to Region IV, don’t be surprised if this team is a real factor come playoff time.

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Junction: The Eagles were flying high on a three-game winning streak and feeling good about themselves heading into their non-district finale against winless Mason. Although they were underdogs, there was hope that JHS could hang around and maybe have a chance for an upset late, but that ended rather quickly in a 34-7 loss. This is still a good team with playoff aspirations, but the loss Friday had to be a bit humbling.