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.