Predicting the Biggest Week 1 Games in Texas: 6A-5A

Coppell (1-0) at Waxahachie (1-0): It’s a state-ranked showdown in Ellis County as two teams with 6A-Division I state title aspirations get their first chance to prove themselves against a team in their own weight class. Coppell rolled past Hebron, 40-10, last week in a game where junior QB Carter Zingelmann threw for 297 yards and three scores. Coppell’s defense, led by Utah CB commit Jaden Bibbs, did the job as well holding the Hawks to 231 yards of offense. Waxahachie ripped past arch-rival Ennis, 72-14, in a game that was over before the first quarter wrapped, QB Jerry Meyer, III, a South Carolina commit, was flawless throwing for 313 yards and five scores. RB Taylen Strange ran for 111 yards and two scores. Sophomore WR Jashawn Crayton had 193 receiving yards and three scores, while Colorado State WR commit Kentorion King had a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown. One concern going into this game for Coppell will be the running game; the Cowboys only ran for 41 yards last week averaging 2.2 yards per carry. That will need to improve against this ferocious Waxahachie defensive line led by LB Carmelo Clawson and Kansas State DE commit Sedrick Marsh, along with Texas A&M safety commit JayQuan Snell. Look for CHS to utilize Zingelmann more in the ground game this week; his running ability hurt Waxahachie in last year’s meeting. Waxahachie’s secondary will be tested by this explosive Coppell passing gam,e which features multiple weapons on the outside. The difference in this game is Waxahachie’s pass rush. If they keep Zingelmann from breaking the pocket and getting loose, they’ll limit his effectiveness and the Indians will get a statement win at home. Stepp’s Pick: Waxahachie by 6

Odessa Permian (1-0) at Killeen Harker Heights (1-0): It’s an intriguing cross regional showdown between two teams who are looking to make the jump from being good to being great in 2026. Last week, Permian roared past Amarillo Tascoca in an easy 38-7 win. The Panthers’ defense forced three turnovers and held Tascosa to just 133 yards after allowing a 75-yard touchdown drive on the game’s opening series. Five different MOJO players found the end zone in the victory. Harker Heights needed some late magic as they rallied from a 44-31 fourth quarter deficit to pull out a heart stopping 53-50 win over Hutto. Jackson State QB commit Hudson Humble tossed five touchdown passes, three going to UTSA WR commit Ryan Taylor, who also had a rushing score for the Knights as well. Harker Heights also had a pair of backs top 100-yards on the ground in Eric Young, III and Brandon Fowlkes. WR Arshawn Spann’s touchdown reception from Humble with just 14 seconds left proved to be the game winning score for HHHS. If there was a downside it was Harker Heights’ turnovers as the Knights turned it over three times. Permian is accustomed to long road trips so that won’t be an issue, but Harker Heights’ team speed and dynamic playmaking ability will prove to be too much for the Panthers from West Texas. Stepp’s Pick: Killeen Harker Heights by 7

Cibolo Steele (1-0) at Humble Atascocita (0-1): Steele makes the long trip east on Interstate 10 where they’ll tangle with an Atascocita squad looking to make amends after a disappointing performance in Kyle Coats’ debut. Steele opened the season up in style last week as the Knights raced past San Antonio Reagan 52-21. Senior quarterback DJ Green threw for 205 yards and two scores, while adding 52 yards and a score on the ground. Junior running back Liam Jones was impressive as he had 154 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. After a slow start on defense, Ohio State safety commit  Eli Johnson and the rest of the Steele defense locked down in the second half. Atascocita’s offense was a no-show last week in their 28-17 loss to Katy. The Eagles turned the ball over four times and also had a mishandled kickoff that led to a Katy touchdown. Atascocita’s lack of a running game will be a major concern as they put too much on the shoulders of junior QB Corbin Smejkal in his first varsity start. I expect a much cleaner effort from Atascocita at home and facing a team with some heavy travel, and I think the Eagles get on track with a hard-fought Saturday night win over one of San Antonio’s top teams. Stepp’s Pick: Humble Atascocita by 3

Sheldon C.E. King (1-0) at Cy Ranch (1-0): It’s a strong Week 2 slate in the Houston area and this state-ranked showdown may be the headliner. CE King opened up the season in style last week racing past an overmatched Conroe squad 70-10. The Panthers rolled up 641 yards of offense on the night with a nearly even split between the run and pass. QB Khylan Davis in his debut for CE King threw for 272 yards and three scores and added a touchdown on the ground. Lightning-fast WR Dillon Mitchell hauled in five passes for 115 yards and a score as well. King’s defense wasn’t tested much last week, but that’ll change this week against a talented Cy Ranch offensive attack. Cy Ranch opened the season with a solid 24-7 win over Fort Bend Hightower. The Mustangs’ defense was elite last week, completely shutting down a good Hightower attack. The offense gets mixed reviews as RB Khristian White did tally two scores on the ground and Houston commit Braden Baker had a touchdown pass. But the Mustangs probably left Hall Stadium feeling like they left a bit of “meat on the bone.” They’ll need to be much more efficient this week against one of the state’s most explosive attacks in CE King. I think the matchup to watch is how CE King handles a really good front seven for Cy Ranch. Can the offensive line give Khylan Davis time to get the ball to the electric weapons on the outside? I think this will be a one score game late; CE King pops a big play that proves to be the difference. Stepp’s Pick: Sheldon CE King by 8

Lake Travis (0-0) at Pflugerville Weiss (1-0): Lake Travis will have its hands full in its season-opener with a dynamic Pflugerville Weiss squad that is looking to make a statement. Lake Travis cancelled its season opener after the tragic passing of offensive lineman Odin Hensley, so there’s no doubt the Cavs will be playing with heavy hearts. From a football standpoint, how LTHS handles the emotion of the moment will be big factor, especially considering how young Lake Travis is as a number of sophomores will see significant playing time. Weiss got pushed by Round Rock last week, but the Wolves were able to hold off Round Rock, 42-28, with a pair of fourth quarter scores. WR Jordan Anderson hauled in three touchdowns on 10 catches, while Washington WR commit Tre Moore added eight catches for 132 yards and a score. QB Jaxon Schad piloted the attack throwing for 310 yards and five scores and he added 90 yards on the ground and a score. Since this is the season opener for Lake Travis, I expect a bit of that Week 1 sloppiness, while Weiss has the big edge of getting a lot of that out of the way last week. I’ll give the lean to Weiss because of the veteran experience and the fact they already have a game under their belt. Stepp’s Pick: Pflugerville Weiss by 2

Mansfield Timberview (1-0) at Denton Ryan (1-0): Dave Campbell’s Rising Game of the Week is a DFW showdown of 5A teams who have designs on doing big things in 2026. Timberview absolutely crushed West Mesquite last week, 69-7. The Wolves winning wasn’t a surprise, but the margin was shocking considering the Wranglers were a third round playoff team a year ago. Junior QB Steven Hall was electric for THS throwing for 326 yards and six scores, with Tulsa WR commit Trysten Shaw hauling in three scores and chipping in132 yards receiving. Most encouraging for Timberview was their ability to run the football, which was a struggle for them a year ago. They’ll need that offensive balance against a stout Denton Ryan defense. Last week in Shane Tolleson’s Ryan debut as head coach, the Raiders escaped an upset bid holding off Haslet Eaton 30-27. Sophomore QB R’mani Benjamin led the Ryan offense and in his first varsity start he was efficient with 104 yards passing and two scores and he added 54 yards on the ground. Arkansas commit John Catlin, IV made his presence known on both sides of the ball, playing CB and WR, while the Raiders defensive front seven led by DE Demari Ruth and UNT LB commit Kaden Tolleson played well. Ryan typically starts out of the gates slow and breaking in a new QB with a new head coach growing pains were expected. Look for a much cleaner performance this week, but they are also facing in my view a much better opponent this week. Timberview has the firepower to knock Ryan off. This was a close game last year and I expect a close game this week. But at home, I’ll lean to Denton Ryan. Stepp’s Pick: Denton Ryan by 3

Iowa Colony (0-1) vs Manvel (1-0): For the first time ever, Alvin ISD powers Iowa Colony and Manvel will battle it out for neighborhood bragging rights down in Brazoria County. Iowa Colony, with a young team and a lot of new faces, took it on the chin last week in their season opener falling to The Woodlands College Park, 38-10. The Pioneers were unable to run the ball consistently against a stout College Park front and that didn’t help QB Gage Martinez in his first varsity start. Manvel opened up the season with an impressive defensive performance as the Mavericks pitched a 30-0 shutout in their win over Houston Lamar. Manvel’s defense forced a pair of Lamar turnovers and limited the Texans to just 52 yards on the ground in the win. WR Carter St. Junious led the Manvel offense hauling in nine passes for 140 yards and two scores. QB Brayden Tuiasosopo chipped in 99 yards on the ground and a score, and he threw for 77 yards and a touchdown. Look for Iowa Colony and their revamped offensive line to try and do more to establish a ground game this week. But based on Manvel’s defensive performance in Week 1 that may be a tall task. Manvel pulls away in the second half of this one. Stepp’s Pick: Manvel by 14

Smithson Valley (0-0) at San Antonio Sotomayor (1-0): Two-time defending state champion Smithson Valley is having to wait a week to officially get their season off the ground after Mother Nature disrupted things in the San Antonio area last week. The Rangers opener against Katy Cinco Ranch was called after just over one quarter of action, so Texas QB commit Ty Knutson and that young SVHS defense will open up officially against a tough Sotomayor running game. Sotomayor RB Xavier Victor ran for 112 yards and a score, while sophomore QB Isaiah Pena tallied over 200 yards of offense and a touchdown run to pace the Wildcats. The SHS defense was absolutely electric in the win totally dominating Clark and pitching a shutout. This young Smithson Valley defense, especially in the front seven, will be tested this week because of Sotomayor’s unique run-based offense. But the Rangers, even when young, have traditionally done a great job stopping the run. Look for that to be the key, if Smithson Valley puts Sotomayor into third-and-five or more, advantage to SVHS. Stepp’s Pick: Smithson Valley by 10

Argyle (0-1) at Terrell (1-0): Argyle heads out to the eastern fringes of the DFW area where they’ll take on Terrell in an intriguing battle of 5A powers in the area. The Eagles debuted their new stadium last week, but came up just short in a battle against California power Oak Ridge, 27-26. QB Hayes Hackney looked solid in his debut throwing for 367 yards and three scores and that was without his top weapon in Texas Tech WR commit Julian Caldwell. There were two big concerns coming out of this one for Argyle. The first is the lack of a running game; AHS only ran for 62 yards and averaged less than three yards per carry. The second is the defense let a late lead slip away so those are items to keep an eye on this week, especially as they tangle with an explosive Terrell ground game. In last week’s 49-41 win over Arlington Seguin, the Tigers rolled up 350 yards on the ground as sophomore Antwian Thomas ran for 196 yards and a score. Julian Ashley had 93 yards and a score and LeBron Tucker found the end zone twice. That’s the good news for the Tigers, whose veteran offense expects to be really strong once again. The bad news is Terrell’s young defense allowed 41 points and nearly 400 yards to Arlington Seguin. That’s got to get fixed if Terrell wants a repeat performance of last year’s 12-1 season, and that’s a big concern going into this week’s matchup. I just can’t see Argyle starting 0-2, so I look for the Eagles to get the ship righted this week after the close loss. Stepp’s Pick: Argyle by 16

Quick Picks

Spring Westfield (1-0) at Richmond Randle (1-0) Stepp’s Pick: Richmond Randle by 12

DeSoto (0-1) at Allen (1-0) Stepp’s Pick: Allen by 9

Klein Collins (1-0) at Willis (1-0) Stepp’s Pick: Willis by 4

Katy (1-0) at Dickinson (0-1) Stepp’s Pick: Katy by 3

San Antonio Johnson (0-0) at Austin Vandegrift (1-0) Stepp’s Pick: San Antonio Johnson by 3

Mission Veterans Memorial (1-0) at PSJA North (1-0) Stepp’s Pick: PSJA North by 11

Abilene (0-1) vs Abilene Cooper (0-1) Stepp’s Pick: Abilene by 9

College Station A&M Consolidated (0-1) at Huntsville (0-1) Stepp’s Pick: A&M Consolidated by 10

Colleyville Heritage (0-1) at Midlothian Heritage (0-1) Stepp’s Pick: Colleyville Heritage by 4

Liberty Hill (1-0) at San Marcos (0-1) Stepp’s Pick: San Marcos by 2

Last Week’s Results: 11-9 55.0%

Season Results: 11-9 55.0%