Two More Makes Four

We might as well add two more running backs to the list of players that will likely end their high school careers in the all-time top twenty rushers.

San Antonio Reagan running back Marcus Wright, who has a career total of 6,677 yards, is only 112 yards from breaking into the top twenty (about one quarter's worth of rushing yardage for him), while Weslaco running back Mishak Rivas is 190 yards from cracking the top twenty with 6,599 for his career.

Both of these outstanding backs have made two hundred plus rushing games common place this season and each should be expected to end their careers among the state's elite ball carriers. Depending on how long each team remains in the playoffs, both players could potentially reach the top fifteen or higher.

RB Rodgers Moves up on Rushing List

We mentioned in an earlier post that Giddings quarterback Brock Fitzhenry has moved into 13th place on the Texas high school all-time rushing list. After last week, Rosenberg Lamar Consolidated running back Jacquizz Rodgers has now surpassed Shaud Williams of Andrews to move into 9th place on the all-time list with just over 7,700 yards according to the Houston Chronicle.

Next week he should pass the legendary Billy Sims of Hooks and Bradley Stephens of McAllen Memorial to move into 7th place. Should Rodgers, who is verbally committed to Oregon State, and his Mustang teammates continue to advance in the playoffs, there is a good chance the diminutive running back could wind up in 5th place on the list behind Cuero's Robert Strait.

For those not familiar with Rodgers, check out this video from the Mustang's earlier playoff victory against Dickinson.

Fitzhenry Finishes in Top Twenty

Before the start of the season we noted that class 3A Gidding's quarterback Brock Fitzhenry had a good shot to move into the top five of the Texas high school football all-time rushing list with a little luck and barring injury.

Although events conspired against him, he did move into the top twenty. Fitzhenry sat out last night's 28-19 loss to West Orange-Stark with an ankle injry and ended the season with 1,793 yards, about 1,000 short of last years' total.

That was good enough to move him into thirteenth on the all-time list with 7,271 career rushing yards, just behind Jacoby Jones of Bangs.

Classes 5A, 4A, Left Defenseless

When Southlake Carroll went DII this year, it assured there would be a new class 5A DI champion. After last night's action it is assured there will be new champions crowned in both divisions of classes 4 and 5A.

Carroll took care of defending 5A DII champion Cedar Hill, 38-17, while defending 4A champions Alamo Heights and La Marque went down to New Braunfels (35-3) and Lumberton (24-21) respectively.

Wichita Falls Rider Does it Again

Just like they did last year, Wichita Falls Rider lost to Stephenville during the regular season, then knocked them out of the playoffs. This time they won a wild one at Justin Northwest High School Friday night.

Rider led 16-0 at halftime, holding Stephenville to 95 yards of total offense, but the Yellow Jackets turned the tables in the second half, piling up 340 yards of total offense and having a chance to pull out the victory late in the game before Rider came through with three consecutive sacks to end Stephenville's last drive.

Weather Could Play a Role This Weekend

A strong cold front swept through the state just in time for this weekend's football, and it could play a role in many of the high school football playoff games this weekend. Snow fell in the Panhandle and much of West Texas on Thursday and is continuing to fall on Friday, and while the weather looks OK in other parts of the state (other than the cold temperatures) on Friday, Saturday looks to be another weather mess, as rain will return. There's an 80% chance fo rain in the Houston area Saturday, while the DFW metroplex is also expecting an 80% chance of cold rain.

This could tilt the scales to the teams who tend to rely more on the ground game, while hampering those that run the "en vogue" spread offense.

Wherever you are, bring plenty of warm weather gear and a few extra blankets. We'll be on hand for Wichita Falls Rider vs. Stephenville at Justin NW High School tonight and Lewisville Hebron vs. DeSoto at Birdville High School tomorrow. Stay warm!

Can the Class 5A Division II Champs Repeat?

The class 5A Division I defending champions will not repeat; by default. Southlake Carroll is back in DII after moving up to DI last year and won't be defending their DI title. Cedar Hill on the other hand, is back to defend their DII title, but will have to go through the Dragons to do it.

This situation is identical to last year when both of the previous year's 5A defending champions met in the second round (Carroll and Euless Trinity). If the Carroll/Cedar Hill contest is anywhere near as good as that game, it will be worth the wait.

The Dragons looked sluggish in an opening round 35-24 win over Flower Mound, but I wouldn't read too much into it. Carroll was missing two big cogs in their offense, WR Blake Cantu (held out as a precaution with a shoulder injury), who will be back against Cedar Hill, and RB Tre' Newton, who has a "60-40" chance of playing this week according to head coach Hal Wasson. The Dragons have traveled this road for five consecutive seasons and know what it takes to bring home a title.

Big Upsets
The first week of the playoffs saw 5A Allen, 4A Waco, and 2A teams Mart and Teague lose in upsets, but just as big to me was 3A Crocketts' 24-19 win over Madisonville. The Mustangs had handed Crockett an earlier 30-17 loss during the regular season and appeared primed for a long playoff run behing Jr. running back Chris Whaley. The Bulldogs held Whaley in check however, as he "only" had 174 yards on 37 carries, but never found the endzone.

The 6-foot-3, 223-pound Whaley, who will be one of the top recruits from the 2009 class, is open to any and all suitors at this point, but he continues to list Texas as the early frontrunner.

Carroll-Cedar Hill Kickoff at 6 PM

We had the The Southlake Carroll-Cedar Hill game listed at 6 p.m. Friday originally, then changed it when the AP listed it at 7 p.m. We should have left it alone; kickoff is at 6 p.m. according to the Dallas Norning News. Article

A 5A Breakfast Meeting Shocker

Saturday morning breakfast games apparently agree with the Rowlett Eagles. In a 10 a.m. game at Texas Stadium, Rowlett shocked AP #3 Allen, 37-32. Biggest 5A upset so far, and ranks along side #1 Mart and #9 Teague losing in class 2A, and 4A #3 Waco losing in four overtimes to Ennis last night as the biggest upsets to date.

New High School Sports Website Launch

Penny Entertainment has launched a new high school sports site which will be streaming some playoff games. Check it out to see if your high school is included.
pennyentertainment.com

The Run of Directional Champions

Heard a story on the radio this morning about college teams that have a directional name in their title. The point of the talk being that they were usually teams that were not NCAA powerhouses, i.e, South Florida, Central Michigan, etc.

I began to wonder if that rule applied to Texas High School football, and the answer is yes and no. It took 57 years for the first "directional" team to win a state championship (East Bernard, 27-10 over Seagraves in class 1A in 1977).

From 1977 to 2001 there were eight more titles won by directional teams, but none from 1996-2001. Since 2002 however, at least one directional team has won a title each year. Of course a team named Southlake Carroll has skewed that the number quite a bit.

In addition, there has only been one state championship that involved two directional teams; Eastland vs. East Bernard in 1982, while there have only been three seasons in which two directional teams won titles in the same year; 1982, 2003 and 2006.

As a side note, a team with a double-directional name, of which there are only a handful, has never won a state title.

Directional State Champions
1982
5A - Beaumont West Brook 21, Hurst Bell 10
2A - Eastland 28, East Bernard 6
1986
4A - West Orange-Stark 21, McKinney 9
1987
4A - West Orange-Stark 17, Rockwall 7
1988
3A - Southlake Carroll 42, Navasota 8
1992
3A - Southlake Carroll 48, Coldspring 0
1993
3A - Southlake Carroll 14, Cuero 6
1996
5A Division II - Westlake (Austin) 55, Abilene Cooper 15
2002
5A Division II - Southlake Carroll 45, Smithson Valley 14
2003
5A Division I - Galena Pk North Shore 23, Conroe The Woodlands 7
4A Division I - North Crowley 20, Bay City 6
2004
5A Division II - Southlake Carroll 27, Smithson Valley 24
2005
5A Division II - Southlake Carroll 34, Katy 20
2006
5A Division I - Southlake Carroll 43, Austin Westlake 29
6-Man Div. II - Vernon Northside 60, Jayton 41

Double-Directional Teams
Fort Worth Southwest
Justin Northwest
San Antonio East Central
San Antonio Southwest
South San Antonio West Campus (may close after this year)

What a Night in Class 2A

The opening night in the opening round of the playoffs in class 2A and two of the state's top ten teams are gone. Hamilton knocked off #1 Mart 43-21, and McGregor took down #9 Teague 49-35, whose only loss was to Mart. If this is any indication of things to come, it will be a wild playoff hunt in class 2A.

Playoffs Berths Still on the Line

Playoff berths are still on the line this weekend. Here are some links from various publications across the state on playoff scenarios.
Playoff Scenarios: Houston Chronicle
Seats still available on playoff bus: Waco Tribune
Football Playoff Scenarios: Dallas Morning News
Piecing together the playoff puzzle: San Antonio Express-News
Txprepsfootball.com Class 5A Playoff Scenarios
Reminder: Plano East and Allen play at 7:30 p.m. tonight on Fox Sports Southwest, while Euless Trinity and LD Bell will be shown locally in the DFW area tonight at 7 p.m.

UIL Rules in Favor of Dickinson

Dickinson continues their pursuit of their first playoff berth since 2002 tonight against state ranked La Marque, but the Gators, who are 7-1 on the season have already won one battle before they step on the field.

The UIL, in a unanimous decision (7-0), ruled that the infractions were not severe enough to warrant the forfeiture of Dickinson's seven wins. Article

Kansas HS Team Scores 72 in First Quarter

Smith Center, Kansas reeled off 72 points in the first quarter against Plainville in their class 2-1A playoff opener Tuesday night. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, the 72 first-quarter points is a national high school record, breaking the mark of 66 set by Prescott (Ariz.) High School in 1925. The Redmen are currently on a 50-game winning streak, and this year they've outscored their nine opponents by an average margin of 71-0 and a total score of 640-0. They have yet to punt.
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