North Crowley (11-1) vs Coppell (10-1), 1 p.m. Saturday at Midlothian’s Midlothian ISD Stadium: Defending state champion North Crowley meets up with Coppell in the regional semifinals for the second year in a row. Unlike last year, when both teams came into this one undefeated, each team has a blemish on the resume. North Crowley went out to West Texas last week and had no troubles with Midland Legacy in a lopsided 63-17 win. The Panthers defense forced three turnovers as they raced out to a 42-3 halftime lead before resting their starters most of the second half. Sophomore WR Damarion Mays hauled in three touchdown passes from junior QB Hayes Cloutier, while RB Kiante Ingram had two touchdown runs on just seven carries. It was a total demolition from the start as has been the case when the Panthers play a team from West Texas in the playoffs the last three seasons. Coppell was also dominant in their win last week as the Cowboys rolled past Richardson 38-7. Sophomore QB Carter Zingelmann completed 15 of his 17 passes for 239 yards and three scores to lead an efficient Coppell attack. Coppell’s defense was lights out last week against the pass, but this week they’ll have to try and slow down a stout North Crowley running game. The Cowboys aren’t super explosive on offense, so they’ll need the defense to slow the Panthers down and put the offense in good position. I expect Coppell to push NCHS much like last year, but North Crowley’s a little too dynamic and they wear Coppell down in the second half. Stepp’s Pick: North Crowley by 11

Waxahachie (10-1) vs Cypress Ranch (10-2), 2 p.m. Saturday at Waco’s Waco ISD Stadium: A week ago, Waxahachie’s defense put on an absolute master class as they handcuffed one of the state’s most explosive offensive attacks in a dominant 37-20 win over North Forney. The Indians forced four turnovers and held NFHS QB Legend Bey to just 79 yards rushing. It was the second year in a row Waxahachie had befuddled the Falcons. The Indians offense wasn’t eye popping but they did enough as RB Taylen Furlough-Strange ran for 204 yards and Texas WR commit Kohen Brown hauled in a touchdown pass from TCU commit QB Jerry Meyer, III. Waxahachie’s special teams also contributed in a major way with a blocked punt return for a score. Cy Ranch moved into the third round of the playoffs this past week with a hard-fought 27-13 win over upstart Conroe Grand Oaks. The Mustangs defense was absolutely dominant, suffocating Grand Oaks after an opening drive score. RB Peyton Thomas had a touchdown run and hauled in a 27-yard touchdown pass that basically put the game away late in the third quarter. Cy Ranch’s physicality will be tested by this Waxahachie team that’s loaded with speed on both sides of the ball. I’m not sure Cy Ranch can generate consistent offense, so they’ll have to hope they can be clean on special teams, where Waxahachie has excelled much of the season. A score on defense or special teams may be the Mustangs only path to the upset. Stepp’s Pick: Waxahachie by 12

San Antonio Johnson (12-0) vs Cibolo Steele (11-1), 2 p.m. Friday at San Antonio’s Gustafson Stadium: Unbeaten San Antonio Johnson will look to stake their claim as the top team in San Antonio if they can take down perennial powerhouse Steele in an Alamo City showdown Friday afternoon. The Jaguars have won a dozen games in a row to start the year in large part due to a dynamic offense that again operated on all cylinders in a 56-37 win over Hutto last week. RB Rayshawn Hurt ran for 138 yards and four scores, while QB Elvis Estrada tossed three touchdown passes to three different receivers. Steele absolutely rolled for the second straight week, ripping past Weslaco 45-14 in the area round. Steele led 45-0 in the fourth quarter before allowing a pair of late scores with backups in the game. Oklahoma RB commit Jonathon Hatton ran for two scores, while junior QB DJ Green threw three touchdown passes, two going to fellow junior WR Jamin Harvell. Expect Steele to give Johnson a heavy dose of Hatton and see if the Jags defense can hold up. The other big edge Steele has in this one is their defensive line. If the Knights are able to do damage rushing the passer it could be a long night for Johnson. Stepp’s Pick: Cibolo Steele by 10

Katy (10-2) vs Humble Summer Creek (11-1), 2 p.m. Friday at Katy’s Legacy Stadium: After dropping their first two games of the season, Katy has righted the ship in a major way with 10 straight wins. Summer Creek, who has won Region III at the Division II level the last two years, would love nothing more than to end Katy’s streak and put into a fourth straight regional title game. Katy is fresh off what might be considered their best performance of the season as they drubbed upstart Houston Memorial, 48-7, last week at Tully Stadium. The Tigers defense absolutely dominated putting their offense in good field position time after time. Sophomore DB David Olotu-Judah notched his fifth interception of the year and since being called up from JV he’s made a huge difference in the Katy secondary. The Tigers running game and offensive line was equally lethal as Tremayne Hill ran for three scores and Tony Manuel ran for two scores to pace the Tigers attack. Speaking of lethal, Summer Creek put on a scary good offensive performance last week in a 72-35 rout of Manvel. The Bulldogs threw up 51 first half points on the strength of the connection between QB Noah Spinks and Texas Tech WR commit Benny Easter, who hooked up for five scoring tosses. Spinks finished the game with eight touchdown passes total before being pulled from the game early in the third quarter with the Bulldogs leading 58-7. Katy’s secondary will be put to the test in a major way this week as they haven’t faced an offense like this since early on. Can the Tigers ball control offense take the air out and limit Summer Creek’s touches? I think the gameplan will work and keep the game close, but Summer Creek has a ton of playoff experience and pedigree in recent years, and they’ve shown they can win these knockdown, drag out affairs in the playoffs. SCHS takes a close one. Stepp’s Pick: Humble Summer Creek by 5

Frisco Lone Star (12-0) vs West Mesquite (11-1), 2 p.m. Saturday at Frisco’s Ford Center: After going on the road to Georgetown in the area playoffs, Lone Star had a bit more luck with the coin flip this week as they’ll host West Mesquite in the regional semifinals. Lone Star after some late regular season stumbles seems to have gotten things on track after an impressive 42-21 win over Georgetown. The Rangers led 27-21 through three quarters, but they dominated in the final quarter and it was the defense that spurred things. Leading by six, the Rangers defense got a big fourth down stop and then sophomore QB Trey Wright threw a touchdown pass to Florida commit Davian Groce to extend the lead to two scores. Baylor ATH commit Karece Hoyt would put the game away with a 37-yard touchdown run. West Mesquite advanced to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2010 with a dominant 35-6 win over Midlothian, avenging their area round loss to the Panthers a year ago. The Wranglers defense put on a master class in the win picking off four passes and holding Midlothian to just 240 yards of offense and less than four yards per carry. RB Damarion Robinson ran for two scores to lead the WMHS offense, while LB Daedrion Holley’s interception return in the first quarter got things going for West and was a sign of things to come. Lone Star’s offense did turn the ball over twice last week. If they turn the ball over again this week their season will come to an end as the Wranglers are talented enough to pull the upset. I think this week Lone Star is crisper at home and QB Trey Wright and that offensive explosiveness is the difference between these two teams. Stepp’s Pick: Frisco Lone Star by 13

Smithson Valley (11-1) vs San Antonio Pieper (8-4), 1 p.m. Friday at San Antonio’s Heroes Stadium: Although it may not be the oldest rivalry in the Alamo City, it might be the best rivalry in San Antonio as Comal ISD rivals Smithson Valley and Pieper tangle with a spot in the regional final on the line. Defending state champion Smithson Valley looks primed for a repeat title run after they blew through Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial 34-0 on the strength of a dominant defensive effort. The Rangers allowed just four total first downs and just 108 yards of total offense in the win. QB Ty Knutson and WR Hunter Haug linked up for three touchdown passes as the Rangers put up 34 points in the first three quarters before rotating backup players into the game in the fourth. Pieper went on the road last week and avenged their playoff loss to Flour Bluff with a 42-35 win down in Corpus Christi. The Warriors trailed 14-0 early but a monster game from WR Cash Lancaster helped the Warriors pull away. Lancaster’s 80-yard touchdown reception on an inside pitch from QB Isaiah Gaitan put the game away with just over four minutes left. Lancaster, who has 20 touchdown catches on the season, hauled in four of Gaitan’s five touchdown passes. Pieper’s battled injuries much of the year and they aren’t a typical fourth place team going into this round. They played Smithson Valley close on the road in the regular season, and I anticipate this week’s game will be more of the same. Smithson Valley is just so sound on defense, and their special teams are among the state’s best. Those little things wind up being the difference. Stepp’s Pick: Smithson Valley by 8

South Oak Cliff (11-1) vs Terrell (12-0), 6 p.m. Friday at Forney’s Better Life Stadium: South Oak Cliff has established itself as the favorite to win the state title in 5A-Region II, but their toughest playoff test to date awaits this week as they’ll tangle with unbeaten Terrell. These two met in the first round of the playoffs a year ago with SOC posting a dominant win over Terrell. A week ago, despite a long lightning delay, the Golden Bears blasted Mount Pleasant 46-7 as the defense allowed just 93 yards of offense, holding MPHS to just five first downs on the night. SOC’s offense wore a good Mount Pleasant defense down with RB’s Levon Morton and Mikail Trotter combined for 220 yards on the ground and a pair of scores. Terrell’s Wing-T offense powered to a lopsided 41-14 win over Huntsville last week. RB Julian Ashley ran for 211 yards and two scores, while RB Roderick Hambrick tallied 98 yards and two scores to pace Terrell’s offense. The Tigers defense forced three turnovers as well as they corralled a speedy Huntsville attack. Terrell must use their ball control offense to keep their defense fresh as they are undersized against the massive SOC offensive line. If Terrell can control the tempo and maybe force a turnover or two, they’ve got a chance to pull the upset. But that’s a lot of ifs that need to go right for Terrell. Stepp’s Pick: South Oak Cliff by 23

Richmond Randle (12-0) vs Bastrop (11-1), 1 p.m. Saturday at Prairie View’s Panther Stadium: Defending state champion Richmond Randle brings its 28-game winning streak to town Saturday as the Lions tangle with Bastrop in the first high school game being played at Prairie View in several years. Randle cruised past Pflugerville Connally, 59-28, last week in a game that probably wasn’t as close as the score indicated; the Lions 59-14 early in the fourth before a running clock was implemented. QB Tyler Skrabanek threw three touchdown passes and had a touchdown on the ground, while RB Landen Williams-Callis ran for two scores in the first half. The big news out of this game was that early in the second half Williams-Callis left the game with an injury and did not return. His status for this game and the future will be worth monitoring as Randle will need Williams-Callis if they want to repeat. Most of the headlines surrounding Bastrop’s offense this year have centered around QB Weston Neilsen and the Bears passing game, but in last week’s 69-42 win over Waco University it was RB Gary Jefferson, Jr. who stole the show rushing for 384 yards and seven touchdowns leading the Bears to the high scoring win. The big key in this game (aside from the health status of Williams-Callis) will be can the Bears offensive line hold up against a very fast and very physical Randle defensive front? If Bastrop can do that, this could be a real interesting game. But if the Lions defense - led by TCU commit LB Noriel Dominguez - is allowed to tee off, it’ll be a long afternoon. Stepp’s Pick: Richmond Randle by 15

Brenham (11-1) vs Iowa Colony (11-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday at Katy’s Legacy Stadium: Brenham has been a tough team to figure out this season. The Cubs have had some real puzzling performances, (close wins over Killeen and Killeen Ellison, along with a lopsided loss to Waco University) and then the Cubs put together maybe their best performance of the year last week in a 27-24 win over red hot Liberty Hill. The Cubs defense against the run was sensational and WR Cartelle Brown had a big night with 116 receiving yards and two scores. QB Xyran Upshaw ran for 76 yards and threw for 187 yards to pace the Cubs. Iowa Colony blasted Pflugerville, 49-7, last week as the Pioneers led 42-7 at the half and put things on cruise control. WR Jayden Warren, a Houston commit, had a monster day as he returned a punt for a score, a kickoff for a score and he added a 95-yard touchdown catch just for fun. QB Carson White tossed a pair of touchdown passes and added a touchdown run and the ICHS defense had maybe their best effort of the season in controlling an explosive Pflugerville offense. Brenham’s defense will need another monster effort this week as controlling Iowa Colony is a difficult task. The other concern if you are a Brenham fan is the Cubs did not take care of the football last week and if they want to pull the upset that can’t happen. Stepp’s Pick: Iowa Colony by 17

Quick Picks

Odessa Permian (11-1) vs Allen (12-0), 6 p.m. Friday at Abilene’s Shotwell Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Allen by 26

Duncanville (9-1) vs Klein Collins (11-1), 4 p.m. Saturday at Hutto’s Memorial Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Duncanville by 15

Cypress Falls (9-3) vs Galena Park North Shore (10-2), 2 p.m. Friday at Houston’s TDECU Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Galena Park North Shore by 17

Houston Strake Jesuit (10-2) vs Dickinson (12-0), 7 p.m. Friday at La Porte’s Bulldog Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Dickinson by 16

Trophy Club Nelson (10-2) vs Denton Guyer (10-2), 7 p.m. Friday at Justin’s Northwest ISD Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Denton Guyer by 13

DeSoto (9-3) vs The Woodlands College Park (11-1), 3 p.m. Friday at Cedar Park’s Gupton Stadium Stepp’s Pick: DeSoto by 6

Forney (10-2) vs Willis (10-2), 7 p.m. Saturday at Frisco’s Ford Center Stepp’s Pick: Forney by 11

Katy Jordan (9-3) vs Sheldon King (10-2), 2 p.m. Friday at Katy’s Rhodes Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Sheldon King by 18

Dripping Springs (11-1) vs Medina Valley (10-2), 2 p.m. Friday at San Antonio’s Farris Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Dripping Springs by 24

Austin Vandegrift (10-2) vs San Marcos (8-4), 7:30 p.m. Friday at San Antonio’s Alamodome Stepp’s Pick: Austin Vandegrift by 13

Richland (9-3) vs Denton Ryan (11-1), 6 p.m. Friday at Coppell’s Cowboy Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Denton Ryan by 21

Aledo (12-0) vs Fort Worth Arlington Heights (11-1), 1 p.m. Friday at Fort Worth’s Crowley ISD Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Aledo by 27

Highland Park (11-1) vs Frisco Wakeland (11-1), 7 p.m. Friday at Frisco’s Ford Center Stepp’s Pick: Highland Park by 15

Port Arthur Memorial (12-0) vs College Station (8-4), 7 p.m. Friday at Spring’s Planet Ford Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Port Arthur Memorial by 12

Pflugerville Weiss (10-2) vs Barbers Hill (9-3), 5 p.m. Saturday at Spring’s Planet Ford Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Pflugerville Weiss by 6

Boerne Champion (9-3) vs New Braunfels (10-2), 7 p.m. Friday at San Antonio’s Alamo Stadium Stepp’s Pick: New Braunfels by 5

Melissa (9-2) vs Anna (10-2), 3 p.m. Friday at Allen’s Eagle Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Melissa by 6

Prosper Walnut Grove (12-0) vs Argyle (11-1), 2 p.m. Friday at Arlington’s Choctaw Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Argyle by 8

Midlothian Heritage (9-3) vs Port Neches-Groves (12-0), 4 p.m. Friday at Shenandoah’s Woodforest Bank Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Port Neches-Groves by 7

Boerne (11-1) vs Gregory-Portland (11-1), 1 p.m. Friday at San Antonio’s Comalander Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Boerne by 2

Victoria West (10-2) vs Alamo Heights (11-1), 1 p.m. Friday at Bastrop’s Memorial Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Alamo Heights by 7

Playoff Record: 54-10

Playoff Win %: 84.4%

Season Record: 192-72

Season Win %: 72.7%