Prosper (13-1) vs. Duncanville (13-0), 4 p.m. Saturday at Dallas’ Ford Stadium: After three straight seasons of losing in the regional finals, Prosper broke through last week taking down Lewisville 24-13 to win the Region I title. QB Harrison Rosar led the Eagles offense once again throwing for 208 yards and three touchdowns, while Prosper’s defense forced three Lewisville turnovers in the win. Duncanville got a much tougher than anticipated game from Spring Westfield down in Georgetown on Saturday, but the Panthers were able to walk away with a 28-21 win as a key interception in the end zone by Ka’Davion Dotson-Walker preserved the win. RB Caden Durham had a monster game as well for the Panthers rushing for 240 yards and four touchdowns to basically carry the Duncanville offense. If there was one thing Duncanville fans have tro be concerned about it was the Panthers sloppy play as penalties haunted Duncanville all afternoon. Prosper’s lack of ability to run the football the last two weeks has to be a source of major concern, especially going against a defense that is the caliber of Duncanville. Unless Prosper can somehow find their missing running game, they’ll be hard pressed to consistently move the football against this elite Duncanville defensive unit. Stepp’s Pick: Duncanville by 13

Galena Park North Shore (14-0) vs. Austin Westlake (14-0), 3 p.m. Saturday at Houston’s Rice Stadium: Something has got to give in this massive showdown between the two teams who have traded spots at number and number two in the 6A state rankings all year. Austin Westlake comes into this one riding a 54-game winning streak and one of those wins came at the expense of Galena Park North Shore in a classic state semifinal showdown in 2020. Westlake in that win ended North Shore’s 29-game winning streak. Last week North Shore rolled past district rival Humble Atascocita 38-7 as the Mustangs were led by UTSA commit ATH David Amador who ran for a pair of touchdowns, while the Mustangs defense again dominated and even got in on the act with a Jacoby Davis interception return for a touchdown. Austin Westlake absolutely dominated San Antonio Brennan in a 47-7 win as QB Brett Skinner threw for 159 yards and two touchdowns and added a touchdown rushing to lead the Chaps offense, while the Westlake defense was stellar forcing four Brennan turnovers in the win. North Shore has gotten incredibly creative with their offensive system after losing their star signal caller to an injury earlier this year, but they are still very one dimensional and a one dimensional offense in my opinion won’t move the ball consistently against this stout Westlake defense and it’s really tough to pick against a team that has won 54 straight games. Stepp’s Pick: Austin Westlake by 3

Denton Guyer (14-0) vs. DeSoto (12-2), 2 p.m. Saturday at Frisco’s Ford Center: Two of the state’s most powerful offensive units collide on Saturday on a fast indoor track at the Ford Center, expect major fireworks in this one. Denton Guyer in a showdown of unbeaten teams got the best of Southlake Carroll on Saturday with an impressive 45-21 win. Oklahoma commit QB Jackson Arnold had a monster afternoon throwing for 303 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while adding 149 yards on the ground and four touchdowns for the Wildcats. DeSoto played their regional final on Friday night and the Eagles blasted past Killeen Harker Heights 60-24 behind RB Tre Wisner who had 186 yards of total offense and a touchdown reception and RB Deondrae “Tiger” Riden who ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns. DeSoto’s offense rolled up 601 yards on the night and scored 47 first half points in the win. Both offenses are going to get theirs, the key is which defense in critical moments can come up with a stop or a big turnover and Guyer’s defense led by Notre Dame commit DB Peyton Bowen has shown a knack for that all year long. Stepp’s Pick: Denton Guyer by 4

Katy (14-0) vs. Austin Vandegrift (13-1), 1 p.m. Saturday at San Antonio’s Alamodome: Unbeaten Katy will look to punch their ticket to AT&T Stadium this week in what should be an interesting matchup with a Vandegrift squad that’s rattled off thirteen straight wins. Last week Katy got a push from upstart Houston C.E. King, but a fourth quarter surge from the Tigers carried Katy High to a 56-34 win. RB Seth Davis, a Mississippi State commit had a monster night with 301 yards on the ground and six rushing touchdowns. Vandegrift avenged their only loss of the season last week taking down Dripping Springs 27-24 in an absolute classic showdown. Vandegrift only ran 38 plays to Dripping Springs’ 77, but the Vipers made the most of their chances as Alex Witt ran for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while QB Brayden Buchanan passed for 150 yards and a touchdown. Once concern for Vandegrift was the early turnovers and their inability consistently stop the run, which is what Katy feasts on. Katy’s been in these big moments and their experience in the big games will pay dividends at the Alamodome. Stepp’s Pick: Katy by 9

Aledo (12-2) vs. Longview (14-0), 2 p.m. Saturday at Dallas’ Kincaide Stadium: Ten time state champion Aledo has had no troubles adjusting to life in 5A-Division I as they took home the Region I title, their biggest playoff test to date is this week against the state’s number one team in Longview. Last week Aledo withstood a furious Burleson Centennial rally to take down the Spartans for the second time this year 42-21. Aledo raced out to a 21-0 lead, but they saw Centennial tie the game up at 21, before the Bearcats scored the final three touchdowns of the game to pull away. QB Hauss Hejny tossed three touchdown passes in the win, two going to freshman WR/TE Kaydon Finley in the victory. Longview got pushed for a half in a battle of unbeaten teams last week, but a big second half was the key for the Lobos in a 37-21 win over Mansfield Timberview. RB Taylor Tatum ran for 196 yards and four touchdowns and he also caught a 24-yard touchdown pass in the win. Longview’s defense has been outstanding all year, last week was the first week they’d given up more than twenty points in a game, they’ll need to not get off to a slow start this week as Aledo will feast on any mistakes the Lobos make. But in the end Taylor Tatum and Jalen Hale are true difference makers for Longview and they make plays late in the end. Stepp’s Pick: Longview by 6

College Station (12-2) vs. Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial (12-2), 5 p.m. Saturday at San Antonio’s Alamodome: After a heartbreaking state championship game loss and the departure of their head coach to Decatur, and the loss of their star running back to a season ending injury before Week 1, most didn’t have College Station winning their own district, much less playing for a return trip to Arlington. Yet here we are after the Cougars knocked off Smithson Valley in a 26-21 thriller last week. CSHS QB Arrington Maiden tossed two touchdown passes in the final two minutes of the second quarter to lead the Cougars offense, while the defense stopped Smithson Valley on seven plays from inside the ten yard line at the end of the game to preserve the win. Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial for the second time in three seasons took home the Region III title and it wasn’t easy as the Eagles won a 20-14 slugfest with PSJA North Saturday evening at Buccaneer Stadium. WR Christian Sabsook was the star of the show for Vets hauling in two touchdown passes, including a 92-yard touchdown pass from QB Elijah Durette for the Eagles and Sabsook for good measure recovered a fumble on defense as well for VMHS. Veterans Memorial will be a big underdog coming into this game, but this a gritty and tough team that isn’t flashy but finds ways to get things done, they’ll keep this one close for three quarters before College Station manages to pull away in the fourth. Stepp’s Pick: College Station by 15

Argyle (14-0) vs. South Oak Cliff (11-3), 7:30 p.m. Friday at Fort Worth’s Crowley ISD Stadium: Argyle in their first season as a Class 5A program has been nothing short of remarkable as the Eagles have rattled off fourteen straight wins and a regional title, they’ll get by far their biggest test of the season against defending state champion South Oak Cliff this week. Argyle got a strong push from a tough Abilene Wylie squad last week, but the Eagles found a way taking down the Bulldogs 35-28 behind 127 yards rushing and a touchdown from RB R.J. Bunnell and three rushing touchdowns from QB John Gailey. Argyle trailed Abilene Wylie 14-7 at the half, but the defense locked down in the second half as on Wylie’s first five drives of the second half Argyle forced four punts and recovered a fumble and that allowed AHS to score 21-straight points and seize control of the game. South Oak Cliff wore down a strong Melissa squad 30-16 in a physical contest in which down the stretch once again the Golden Bears defense imposed their will on an opponent. SOC opened the game quickly getting a safety and a quick touchdown run to take a 9-0 lead, but Melissa rallied back to take a 16-15 lead heading into the fourth quarter. SOC answered the bell in crunch time with a pair of Danny Green touchdown runs and the defense coming up with a massive fourth quarter interception to prevent Melissa from tying the game early in the fourth. With the Golden Bears offense battling some injuries Danny Green stepped up in a major way rushing for 200 yards and three total touchdowns in the win. Expect some of those bumps and bruises from SOC to heal up a bit more this week and expect another physical grind it out type of game, but the edge gores to SOC because they can match Argyle up front and they’ve got the dynamic skill talent to break big plays in key moments. Stepp’s Pick: South Oak Cliff by 9

Port Neches-Groves (12-2) vs. Liberty Hill (13-1), 7 p.m. Friday at Katy’s Legacy Stadium: First-year head coach Jeff Joseph has traditional power in the Golden Triangle Port Neches-Groves back in the state semifinals, where they’ll look to slow down Liberty Hill who was the state runner-up in 2021. Port Neches-Groves took down second ranked Fort Bend Marshall last week 29-21 as Shea Adams ran for a score and threw for another touchdown and the Indians were able to contain an explosive Marshall offense. Liberty Hill’s offense was cooking once again last week in a 63-43 win over Corpus Christi Flour Bluff as Ben Carter ripped off five rushing touchdowns to pace the Panthers while QB Reese Vickers added a career-high 244 yards and three touchdowns rushing. Despite injuries to their top two running backs, Liberty Hill still rolled up 545 yards of offense and their defense put together an outstanding second half to give LHHS the cushion. The key in this matchup is the PNG defense, Coach Joseph is a defensive minded coach and PNG has past history defending the Slot-T offense, but no one runs the Slot-T like Liberty Hill and despite the injuries it is just tough to pick against Coach Walker and the Panthers. Stepp’s Pick: Liberty Hill by 6