Talking All American Bowl

Good interview on Channel 8 High School Game Time in Dallas discussing the All American Bowl and featuring top rated defensive lineman JaMarkus McFarland from Lufkin and legendary Sugar Land running back Ken Hall.
Video

Inside the Red River Recruiting Rivalry

I guess the high school football in New York is so bad that they have resorted to covering Texas. But in all seriousness, this is a very good article about the recruitment of one of the top rated defensive players in Texas; Lufkin's JaMarkus McFarland.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone and may God bless you and your family.

The "House that Landry Built" wins battle of extinct stadiums

The Dallas Morning News has recently run various articles touting the great high school football games at Texas Stadium over the years, and the Houston Chronicle jumped on board with their greatest games ever at the Astrodome.

If this were a boxing match, Texas Stadium would win by a knockout. The Stadium has hosted the two highest attended high school games in history, while also hosting the You Tube classic John Tyler vs. Plano East game in 1994.

The Astrodome was also a great venue over the years, with the top game probably being the Houston Madison, who featured Vince Young at QB, vs. Galena Park Northshore game in 2001. An epic game that Madison won 61-58.

The curtain comes down on high school football at Texas Stadium tonight following the Celina vs. Carthage game, but the memories will endure forever.

Not so fast my friend

Most Class 3A football fans expected Liberty Hill to extend the state's longest winning streak (38) against Celina, but the Bobcats won in convincing style (40-12), thus extending the life of high school football at Texas Stadium for one more game as Celina and Carthage will meet for the state championship at 8pm Friday night.

In class 5A, the championship games scheduled for next Saturday may be played in conditions that were never considered when the games were scheduled as the roof at Reliant Stadium is still in disrepair due to Hurricane Ike and the long range forecast calls for a 40% chance of rain in the Houston area.

History in the making

The Longview vs. Denton Guyer game at Texas Stadium tonight will probably be a history maker. Since no games are likely to be played there next week, it will go down in history as the last high school football game to be played at the "House Tom Landry Built".

The weather for the Muleshoe vs. Kirbyville Class 2A Division I Championship game to be played at 6pm in Grand Prairie looks like it may favor Kirbyville. The Mules like to take to the air behind quarterback Wes Wood, who is 267-of-414 passing for 4,316 yards this season, while Kirbyville utilizes a ground oriented attack.

The weather in the area call for south winds, 20-30 miles an hour with gusts up to 40 mph.

Can we get some NCAA execs to Texas?

Is it possible we could get some of those NCAA powers that be to Texas to show them how a playoff system works?

In the words of us Texans; "The BCS ain't cuttin it". How did the Florida Gators end up # 2 in the country, playing for a national championship?

Let's look at the facts: Going in order of the final BCS rankings,
# 1 OU, # 2 Florida and # 3 Texas all had one loss.

OU lost 45-35 to Texas at a neutral site, with their best win being a blow out victory at home over Texas Teach (65-21). Florida lost at home, 31-30 to 4 loss Ole Miss, with their best win in the SEC Championship over Alabama, a team who had played no body all year, and who struggled to beat 6-6 Kentucky (17-14) and 4 loss LSU (27-21). Texas' only loss was on the road against Texas Tech, 39-33 on a last second TD pass.

Florida lost at home against a team with 4 losses who ended up ranked # 25 in the BCS, Texas lost on the road to the # 7 team in the BCS, and in a game played in what would be considered the best of all possible senarios, a neutral site, OU lost to Texas in Dallas.

Florida lost at home, Texas lost away and OU lost at a neutral site. Even Bevo can figure this one out, and he just lays around chewing his cuud all day.

In addition, can someone tell me why Florida and Alabama are ranked ahead of Texas Tech? The Red Raiders only loss was to the # 1 team in the nation and they have victories over the # 3, # 13 and # 21 teams in the BCS.

The NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB all have playoff systems. March Madness is a beautiful thing, as is the Road to Omaha for college baseball. If college football can't figure it out, send them to Reliant Stadium in Houston later this month to see how a real champion is crowned.

Was Waco Midway Robbed?

Interesting take from the two local newspapers on last nights' Longview/Waco Midway game. The Lobos disdained the extra point kick after they scored in overtime and instead elected to go for the two-point conversion. Lobo quarterback Aaron Johnson ran a quarterback draw and stretched over (or did he?) the goal line to secure the victory.

The Waco Tribune centered today's story of the game around the fact that Midway got "robbed", while any mention of controversy was glazed over by the Longview News-Journal.

Photo courtesy of Waco Tribune.

Lobos pull out OT win

Hewitt Midway scored first in overtime, then Longview returned the favor. Lobo coach John King may have sensed the Longview defense was tiring and could not stop Midway RB John Hubert, who had a huge night, so the Lobos went for two and converted to nip Midway in overtime 43-42.

Last game of the night is a good one

Longview and Hewitt Midway are topping off a great Saturday of High School football by going into overtime at Texas Stadium tied at 35-35 after Midway tied the score with seven seconds remaining. Midway RB John Hubert has 42 carries for 253 yards and 3 TDs.

Prosper wins in double overtime

Prosper decided enough was enough in the second overtime of their game against Abilene Wylie. Instead of kicking the extra point the Eagles went for the two-point conversion and scored to win a nail biter over the Bulldogs, 39-38.

Prosper now plays the winner of Waco La Vega and Cuero for the 3A Division I State Championship next week.

Prosper/Wylie going to OT

Prosper kicked a 36 yard field goal on the last play of regulation to tie the score at 24. Prosper and Abilene Wylie are now going to overtime.

Allen ends Trojans 27 game win streak

Allen was never seriously challenged as they ended Euless Trinity's 27 game win streak, 34-21. They now move on to play RR Stony Point in the 5A Division I State Semifinals.

#1 Trojans down 24-7 at halftime

So far, Allen has bounced back from an earlier loss to Class 5A # 1 Euless Trinity in a big way, leading 24-7 at halftime.

In other games, Muleshoe is leading Pilot Point at halftime, 14-10 in Class 2A, while Class 4A Denton Guyer rallied from 21 points down to upset previously undefeated Wolfforth Frenship, 37-35, and Cayuga knocked off unbeaten Maud in Class 1A by a 27-18 final.

Everman rallies to defeat Stephenville

After falling behind early in the 4th quarter, Everman rallied to victory over Stephenville, 27-24. The Bulldogs move on to play Sulphur Springs next week.

Katy Tigers are rolling

The Katy Tigers shut out La Porte 42-0 to continue their post season roll. Despite three regular season losses, the Tigers have had no problems in the playoffs as they have outscored the opposition 173-24.

They move on to play Smithson Valley, a 19-14 winner over San Antonio Reagan in the 5A Division II State Semifinals at 2 pm next Saturday at Rice Stadium.

Stephenville bent on revenge

Everman blasted Stephenville 56-3 earlier in the season and it appears the Yellow Jackets have come out stinging mad in this game. They are leading Everman 24-21 with just over nine minutes left in the game.

Go to our broadcast links page to catch the ending of this one.

Focus on Big "D"

Once again Big "D" (OK we know it's actually Irving) hosts a trio of great high school football games today.

Should be a good one tonight at Texas Stadium at 8pm in a Class 4A Division I Region II final between Longview and Hewitt Midway. If the Lobos can control Midway RB John Hubert, who Longview coach John King calls "The best running back we've seen since Cedric Benson (in 2000).", then the Lobos chances for victory increase. Of course that's easier said than done as Hubert has run for 2,558 yards and 37 TDs on the season.

Longview has not lost to a Class 4A team all season, with their losses coming 21-7 to class 5A Allen, who faces Euless Trinity today, and on a forfeit to Evangel Christian for using an inelgible player.

Prior to that game, Euless Trinity and Allen meet at 4pm in a rematch of a game won earlier this year by the Trojans, 24-14. Allen is once again expected to be without starting QB Matt Brown, who is still recovering from a shoulder injury suffered two games ago.

Cedar Hill (12-1), whose only loss was to Euless Trinity (37-14), survived the first round of the playoffs with a 52-49 three overtime victory against underdog Plano West. They play the Wylie Pirates (11-2), who look to be playing their best football of the season after victories over Lewisville Hebron (31-28) and Arlington Bowie (43-20). These two teams go at it beginning at noon.

Copperas Cove dominates

Copperas Cove dominated Klein Oak tonight 45-7. Cove took advantage of eight
turnovers to win in convincing fashion.

Defense takes a break

Kirbyville is leading Altair Rice 49-28 in a Class 2A battle of undefeated teams in Humble at the start of the 4th quarter as the cold weather apparently has left both defenses' frozen.

Lobos win battle of former 5A teams

Took in the Longview/Dallas Carter game today in Corsicana. Longview drove down and scored on their first possession, then recoved the ensuing kickoff and scored again which is exactly what they needed against a ground control team like Carter. The game was fairly even from that point on.

Longview now plays Hewitt Midway. Should be a good one.

Longview vs. Dallas Carter Slideshow.

Frenship hangs on to beat Denton Ryan

Despite 478 yards and 5 TDs from Denton Ryan QB Scotty Young, Wolfforth Frenship hangs on to beat the Raiders 38-35. The Tigers will meet the winner of Abilene Cooper and Denton Guyer.

Kirbyville edges Arp

In a battle of unbeatens, Kirbyville beat Arp 28-26 on a late TD run and moves on to face the winner of Altair Rice and George West.

Bridgeport, FB Hightower stay undefeated

Class 3A Bridgeport comes back to win 31-28 in overtime and Class 5A Fort Bend Hightower nips Katy Cinco Ranch 24-21 as both stay undefeated.

Bridgeport ties it up with 21 seconds remaining

Undefeated Brideport (11-0) has trailed Monahans (10-2) the entire game, being down as much as 28-7 at one point, but they came back to tie it up on a TD pass with 21 seconds remaining. This Class 3A Division II game is now headed to overtime.

Great 2A matchup living up to the hype

This one is living up to the hype ....... Kirbyville is leading Arp 22-20 after three quarters in a Class 2A State Quarterfinal game being played in Lufkin. Go to our Broadcast Links page to listen to what should be an exciting finish.

Allen taking charge

Odessa Permian used a couple of long runs by RB Sherard Ray which set up a TD to close the gap on Allen to 21-10, but the Eagles answered immediately with a long kickoff return and a 40 yard TD pass to go up 28-10 with 5:12 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Waco Midway holds off Highland Park

Despite a game comeback attempt in the second half by Highland Park, Waco Midway held on to win 41-36 behind 282 yards on 35 carries from workhorse RB John Hubert.

The Panthers will play the winner of the Longview-Dallas Carter game to be played in Corsicana at 2 p.m. tomorrow. The game will be played next Saturday night at Texas Stadium at a time to be determined.

Newton wins a wild one

Newton edged Franklin in a wild one, 35-21. The game took three overtimes to decide after Newton missed a 29 yard field goal with three seconds left to send it to extra periods. Newton returned a fumble for a TD on the last play of the third overtime after having scored first to account for the final margin of victory.

Newton will now play the winner of Daingerfield and New Waverly. If they play Daingerfield it will be in Carthage, if they play New Waverly it will be in Lufkin.

Allen leading Permian

Back up QB Tucker Carter has staked Allen to a 14-3 lead over Odessa Permian late in the first half.

Allen to face Permian without starting QB

Allen and Odessa Permian kick off in less than an hour at Texas Stadium. Word is that Allen will be without starting QB Matt Brown, who sustained a collarbone injury against Coppell last week. Back up QB Tucker Carter, who was 3 for 4 passing after stepping in for Brown last week will take over the helm.

Score Updates

Ennis scored just before halftime to make the score 10-7 in favor of Rockwall-Heath in a Division II, Region II playoff game at Texas Stadium. The Lions have fumbled four times in the first half with light rain in the Dallas area not helping matters. This game will be broadcast at 4 p.m. on channel 21 for those in the DFW viewing area.

In a 5A Division II, Region IV game at the Alamodome, Smithson Valley leads San Antonio Southwest at halftime, 20-14.

Big game in Lufkin tonight

Big Class 2A game tonight in Lufkin at 6 p.m. pits 12-0 Arp; led by RB/DB LaVocheya Cooper, who has 1,411 yards rushing and 15 TDs on offense and 72 tackles and 6 INTs on defense and 11-0 Kirbyville, who is led by Rice commit RB/DB Broderick Jackson. Kirvyville finished # 2 in the final AP Poll, while Arp was # 4. Should be a great one!

2A Division I Quarterfinals no place for wimps

The Class 2A Division I State Quarterfinals features eight teams with only four losses between them, including two matchups of undefeated teams; Altair Rice vs. George West and Arp vs. Kirbyville.

If Muleshoe, who was ranked # 3 in the final AP Poll manages to win a state title, no one could accuse them of taking the easy road. They first knocked off Bushland, who was # 9 in the final AP Poll, then beat # 12 Littlefield, who were both undefeated. They now face # 10 Clyde, who handed Cisco their only loss. Those three teams were 29-1 at season's end.

If the Mules get by Clyde, the road gets no easier as they could eventually play the winner of Kirbyville vs. Arp, the # 2 and # 4 teams in the state.

Arlington High prevails in final seconds

The Odessa Bronchos had a 17-0 lead and a 20-7 halftime lead over Arlington High, but the Colts used two 80 yard drives and a TD pass with 28 seconds remaining to go up 28-27 over Odessa High.

The Bronchos managed to work the ball down the field after the ensuing kickoff to set up a 33 yard field goal try, but missed it, setting off a celebration by the Colts. Arlington's reward? A matchup with the Euless Trinity Trojans next week.

Trojans win another classic

Euless Trinity wins another classic over Plano as quarterback Denarius McGhee hit WR Tyree Tucker on a 26 yard TD pass with 15 seconds left to seal it for the Trojans, 42-35.

Trinity takes the lead

Euless Trinity takes the lead over Plano with a 36 yard touchdown pass. The Trojans lead 35-28 with just over seven minutes remaining.

Cy Ridge QB comes up big

After rushing for 201 yards and three touchdowns in an opening round playoff win against Round Rock, Cy Ridge QB Russell Shepard one-upped himself with over 300 yards rushing and five touchdowns as the Rams win 42-32 over Lufkin. Cy Ridge moves on to play Copperas Cove next week.

Offense rules at Texas Stadium

Plenty of offense at Texas Stadium as Euless Trinity has taken a 28-21 halftime lead against Plano.

Cy Ridge QB Russell Shepard has 4 touchdowns on the ground against Lufkin, including runs of 68, 48 and 32 yards and the Rams have a 36-18 lead going into the 4th quarter.

In another halftime score, John Tyler and Lake Highlands are tied 14-14.

Plano bounces back

Plano answers the Trojan's kickoff return with a quick drive to make it 21-14 at the end of one quarter. Trinity driving once again.

Trinity extends lead on KO return

Euless Trinity's Bobby Brown returned a kickoff 90 yards to extend the Trojans lead to 21-7 late in the first quarter.

3A #1 Liberty Hill rolls

Class 3A #1 Liberty Hill upended Vernon 31-7 and now moves on to play Sweetwater.

Cy Ridge super QB closes 2nd Q with long TD run

Cy Ridge quarterback Russell Shepard went 68 yards for his second TD of the game and the Rams coverted the two-point conversion to make it 18-15 in Lufkin's favor at halftime.

Lufkin uses trickery against Cy Ridge

Lufkin just used a throwback to WR Smiley, who then threw to Tra Horace for a 71 yard touchdown and a 15-7 lead over Cy Ridge midway through the 2nd quarter.

Dragons have shortest playoff run since 1996

When Southlake Carroll lost to Cedar Hill 31-18 at Texas Stadium today it marked their shortest stint in the playoffs since 1996.

Liberty Hill leading at halftime

Class 3A #1 Liberty Hill is leading Vernon 21-7 at halftime.

Wylie over Hebron in OT, ET-Plano Next

Wylie got the ball first in overtime and booted a field goal. Hebron was then stopped on downs and missed their field goal try. Final score Wylie 31-Lewisville Hebron 28.

Another big game up next at Texas Stadium as Plano tries to get revenge for last year's overtime playoff loss to Euless Trinity.

Lewisville Hebron/Wylie in OT

Lewisville Hebron and Wylie are locked up 28-28 at Texas Stadium in a classic. Going to OT ..... click here to listen.

Mansfield RB has big night

Mansfield running back Stepfan Taylor ran for 267 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-21 win over El Paso Montwood. Mansfield will play the winner of Southlake Carroll/Cedar Hill next week.

Class 4A Score Updates

A few class 4A score updates:
Cibolo Steele trying to pull off a big upset over Lake Travis. They lead 21-14 at the half. Stephenville leads WF Rider at the half, 24-6. Aledo leading Everman 7-6 at the half in a defensive struggle.

Biggest of the Big

There are big games and then there are big games. The area round of the playoffs is littered with "Clash of the Titans" matchups all over the place, but here's our list of the biggest of the big for tonight's games:
Class 5A
The Woodlands (9-1) vs. RR Stony Point (10-1)
FB Hightower (9-0) vs. Galena Park North Shore (9-0)
Class 4A
Aledo (11-0) vs. Everman (11-0)
Class 2A
Lone Oak (10-1) vs. Grandview (11-0)
Muleshoe (11-0) vs. Littlefield (11-0)
Class 1A
New Deal (11-0) vs. Iraan (11-0)

We'll be blogging and updating scores all weekend.

Lake Travis QB Continues Record Book Assault

The Lake Travis Cavaliers are owners of a 25 game winning streak and quarterback Garrett Gilbert continues his assault on the Texas High School football record books.

He needs eight pass attempts to overtake Bridgeport's Phillip Daugherty for second place in the state record book, and he needs 12 completions to pass Graham Harrell of Ennis for second place on that state record list.

He ia also in the state top five in career touchdown passes and career passing yardage.

TOUCHDOWN PASSES - CAREER
167 Graham Harrell, Ennis, 2000-03
133 G.J Kinne, Canton, Gilmer, 2003-06
122 Garrett Gilbert, Austin Lake Travis, 2005-present
116 Colt McCoy, Jim Ned, 2002-04
114 Drew Tate, Baytown Lee, 1999-02

PASSING YARDS - CAREER
12,532 Graham Harrell, Ennis, 2000-03
12,183 Drew Tate, Baytown Lee, 1999-2002
11,750 G.J. Kinne, Canton/Gilmer, 2003-06
11,022 Garrett Gilbert, Austin Lake Travis 2005-present
10,136 Phillip Daugherty, Bridgeport, 2000-02

Now that's one tough region

Talk about a tough region. In an unusual twist, Class 2A Region I featured Muleshoe, Bushland, Littlefield and Kermit; all four teams boasting 10-0 records during the regular season. In the opening round Muleshoe beat Bushland 34-20 and Littlefield edged Kermit 20-14. Now 11-0 Muleshoe and 11-0 Littlefield meet at Wolfforth Frenship Friday night in a hugh second round tilt.

Odds are the winner will then play the 10-1 Clyde Bulldogs, who handed Cisco their only defeat earlier this year. That's one tough region!

Notes on Lufkin/Klein Game

A few notes on the Lufkin/Klein game: Lufkin outgained Klein 501-395 in total yards, but Klein RB DeKota Barnes had a big game with 255 yards rushing, including a 71 yard TD. Lufkin led 16-0 at halftime before the Bearkats rallied to tie the game.

Lufkin meets Cypress Ridge next week. The Rams beat Klein 51-21 in the second week of the season, but that was when top RB Hasan Lipscomb was healthy. Lipscomb, who has over 1,000 yards on the season, only carried two times in the Rams opening 26-22 bi-district win over Round Rock.

Cy Ridge QB Russell Shepard, who is committed to LSU, will be forced to carry much of the load. Against Round Rock he responded with 201 rushing yards.

Lufkin edges Klein

Lufkin QB Jeffrey Claybon connected with WR Tra Horace on a TD pass with 8 seconds remaining and the Panthers edge the Klein Bearkats, 28-22 to move on to face Cypress Ridge, a 26-22 winner over Round Rock.

Klein dominated the second half after Lufkin controlled the first half and took advantage of three turnovers to tie it up at 22 all, before Lufkins late heroics.

Hebron Survives

Lewisville Hebron held L.D. Bell on defense with under 2 minutes to play and drove 68 yards to the game winning score with 17 seconds left to survive the first round with a 21-17 victory over the Blue Raiders.

Carroll wraps up win

Southlake Carroll proves they still own Colleyville Heritage with a 31-7 opening round playoff victory.

Carroll takes control

Southlake Carroll picks up a fumble and goes for a touchdown to go up 24-7 over Heritage with a little over eight minutes left in the 4th quarter. The Dragons traditional playoff black pants and blonde hair are working the magic.

Did we say that?

Did we say the Southlake Carroll defense is their achilles heel? The Dragons now lead Colleyville Heritage 10-0 at halftime. Surprised Heritage didn't try to run the ball more. Carroll's pass defense is the the strongest part of their defense. This is a case of the Panthers strength (passing) playing into the Dragons strength.

Heritage/Carroll Start the Day Off Early

Former district foes Colleyville Heritage (9-1) and Southlake Carroll (7-2) start off another great day of playoff football with a 10am kickoff at Texas Stadium. This has been an unusual year for the Dragons, who lost two games in district play, and it may get even stranger if they lose in the first round.

This is a difficult first round matchup for Carroll. It's no so much the loss of QB Kyle Padron that is the concern as it is a defense that has been giving up hugh chucks of yardage; and make no mistake the Panthers can rack up the yardage.
Our Pick: Colleyville Heritage 45, Southlake Carroll 35

Stunning losses by Abilene and Converse Judson last night blew our picks in those regions, as I'm sure it did for many others. The Abilene loss really shocked me, but it just goes to show anything can and will happen come playoff time.

Plano & Duncanville Start the Night Off

Plano and Duncanville start off a big night of playoff football at Texas Stadium. Listen to this game and many more on our broadcast links page.

Playoff Ramblings

The State of Texas is now ready to do something that college football cannot figure out how to do; crown state champions through an on-the-field playoff system.

Hold on to your helmets! It's time for some high school playoff football!

As opposed to recent years when Division II was loaded with powerhouse teams, Class 5A Division I is the one to watch this year, as no fewer than eight members of our final top ten reside there, and if there is one region to watch in the state, it is Region I, which includes Odessa Permian, Allen, Plano and Euless Trinity.

The Trojans handed Allen their only loss (24-14) and thrashed Permian in last year's playoffs. They will be the favorite here, but it won't be easy. Allen looks to be improved since that first meeting.

Spring Westfield (5-3) versus The Woodlands (8-1) looks like an interesting matchup in DI, while Southlake Carroll (7-2) takes on former district foe Colleyville Heritage (9-1) in a DII bout at Texas Stadium where Heritage has to be favored. Don't underestimate the tradition of Carroll however; a first round playoff loss would be a major dissapointment in Dragon Land, where anything short of a title appearance is considered less than a successful season.

Also, in DII, Pflugerville (8-2) vs. Smithson Valley (9-1) should be a good opening round tilt.

In Class 4A, the clear favorite in DI is Austin Lake Travis, while Everman is looking good in DII. We like Longview to challenge Lake Travis in DI and Everman will be hard pressed in the second round of DII against old foe Aledo, who is also 10-0.

In class 2A, you can put this in 3 inch headlines. Two teams will suffer their first loss of the season in the first round of the playoffs.

You won't see this too often, but the opening round matches four 10-0 teams; Bushland (10-0) vs. Muleshoe (10-0) and Littlefield (10-0) vs. Kermit (10-0). Someone's got to go down.

Following in Big Brothers Footsteps

When your older brother is named Tommy Dorman and he is one of the top ranked quarterbacks in the state, sets passing records at his school and inks a scholarship with Texas A&M, you would think those are some pretty big shoes to fill, but Birdville's Josh Dorman may fill those shoes and then some.

In Friday night's game against Fort Worth Brewer the junior quarterback threw for 540 yards and four touchdowns, which moved him into 7th place on the all-time single game passing list.

He has now thrown for more than 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns on the season and will likely eclipse all of his older brothers' records for the Hawks, who meet undefeated Aledo next week for the district 6-4A title.

Texas High School Football Single Games Passing Records
595-Alvarao Garcia, Laredo United vs. San Antonio Reagan, 2006
590-Kirk Saul, Turkey Valley vs. Chillicothe, 1986
588-Dwain Frazier, Houston Elmore vs. Aldine Carver, 1968
573-Graham Harrell, Ennis vs. Waxahachie, 2003
557-Ty Detmer, SA Southwest vs. Pleasanton, 1986
557-Jerry Lopez, Laredo Alexander vs. CC Ray, 2007
540-Josh Dorman, Birdville vs. Fort Worth Brewer, 2008
535-Kellen Haynes, Crosby vs. Houston Davis, 2003

Big Game in the Hill Country

If you're around the hill country area tomorrow night and need a great high school football game to attend, you might cosider checking out undefeated Steele, who is 7-0 (that's in Cibolo, NOT Schertz) and 6-1 Kerrville Tivy.

The Cibolo Steele Knights are our #8 ranked class 4A team and the Antlers check in at #10. Should be a great one in the San Antonio area.

Official makes tackle

I saw this on Saturday in the LSU vs. South Carolina game, but looking at it again it seems even more blatant than I first thought. This official must have flashed back to his playing days.

Hays coach notches 300th victory

Buda Hayes Consolidated coach Bob Shelton, who has 45 years of experience under his belt, became only the 7th coach in the history of Texas high school football to win 300 games after the Rebels edged Lockhart, 21-20.

The all-time record is 407 wins by G.A. Moore, who coached at Celina and Pilot Point among other schools.

Class 5A Undefeated Teams

There are 19 remaining undefeated teams in class 5A by our calculations. Most of them make up the top ten in various polls and some have played such a weak schedule that it casts doubt on the teams' real strength.

Let's talk about three undefeated teams that are largely unranked and under the radar, but could be the real banana puddin' (that means pretty good).

The Garland Owls are 7-0 and in any other year they would be given their due, but they are coming off a 3-7 year and their best wins are against Lake Highlands and Duncanville; above average teams, but not great. On the positive side, they played Abilene Cooper and beat them (28-14) by a larger margin than top ten team Abilene (beat Cooper 20-13). Don't get me started on comparitive scores, but never the less, there is some value in them.
Analysis: The Owls are for real.

The Klein Oak Panthers lost a game to Hurricane IKE, but they are undefeated at 4-0. It's a little alarming that the Panthers gave up 435 yards of offense to 1-4 Tomball last week, but they did win the game 56-29. Also, they handed Klein Forest their only defeat and they did it in convincing style (34-6). Analysis: The Panthers can beat any team in the state on any given night.

Richland is riding the momentum of having won the State 7on7 Championship this past summer and they have not had a start like this since 1967 (they were 6-0-1 in 96'). It's somewhat challenging to get a fix on the Rebels since their opponents are a combined 13-25. We'll know if Richland is for real when they travel to Abilene on Halloween night.
Analysis: The jury is still out. I wouldn't jump on the bandwagon yet.

Undefeated Class 5A Teams
Abilene
Beaumont West Brook
Carrollton Creekview
Copperas Cove
CC Carroll
Deer Park
Dickinson
Euless Trinity
Fort Bend Hightower
Garland
Houston Lamar
Klein Oak
Los Fresnos
Odessa Permian
Pearland
Plano
Richland
San Antonio Clark
The Woodlands

Longhorns hold up the Texas end

Texas knocks off #1 Oklahoma 45-35. Who do you think should be #1 now? Another big game tonight between Oklahoma State and Missouri features two recent Texas high school football rivals in former Southlake Carroll QB Chase Daniel and ex Lufkin wideout Dez Bryant.

Photo: Rodolfo Gonzalez
AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Hats off to the Mustangs

Trivia Question: What team was the last to defeat Galena Park North Shore during the regular season? Think about it before seeing answer below.

The Galena Park North Shore Mustangs had not played a football game in almost a month due to Hurricane IKE and their assault on Southlake Carroll's state record 72 game regular season win streak was put on hold. Ironically the Mustangs were scheduled to play Carroll last week, but North Shore was still recovering from the effects of IKE.

In their place, came the Lufkin Panthers, a proud program with great tradition, who had not lost a home game since 2002.

Lufkin jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but the Mustangs used an opportune defense that created six turnovers and scored three times on fumble recoveries.

Despite an obvious battle with conditioning, North Shore reached deep late in the game after Lufkin had rallied to tie the game at 21 all. Lufkin's defense had held the Mustangs offense to only 135 yards before they mounted an 85 yard drive and scored on a 26 yard pass with 26 seconds remaining.

The Mustangs snapped Lufkin's 27 game home winning streak and sent them to their third consecutive loss for the first time since 1996. Some may say that North Shore faces a perenially weak regular season schedule, but on this night they earned number 73. Hats off to the Mustangs!

Trivia Question Answer: In 2000, North Shore lost to the Drew Tate led Baytown Lee Ganders, 34-31 in the season's last regular season game.

This weeks television schedule

Games for Thursday, October 2nd:
Sharpstown and Houston Westbury will be shown locally in Houston on channel 55 at 7 pm. In the Dallas area, Stephenville and Mansfield Timberview play at 7 pm on channel 21, while Euless Trinity and Keller Fossil Ridge will be featured across the state on FoxSW at 7 pm. For internet broadcasts go to our broadcast links page.

Week Four Notes

We commented two weeks ago on the fact that district 5-5A looked like a cakewalk for the # 1 ranked Euless Trinity Trojans. Now we're back pedaling faster than a defensive back covering a fly pattern. The Trojans were tested by the Keller Indians Friday night before emerging with a 17-10 victory and should receive another test in two weeks when they face the undefeated Colleyville Heritage Panthers.

Speaking of Trinity; what do they have in common with Katy Cinco Ranch? Think about it before finding the answer below.

A few interesting Class 5A matchups this week: The up and coming and undefeated Wylie Pirates take on class 5A # 2 Plano in a district 8-5A tilt and Galena Park North Shore travels to Lufkin as the two teams collide for the first time in the history of the two programs. North Shore is still looking to break Southlake Carroll's 72 game regular season win streak, while Lufkin sports a 27 game home win streak. GPNS and Lufkin were not originally scheduled, but both teams lost games due to Hurricane Ike and both had openings this week. Same situation with Katy Cinco Ranch and Southlake Carroll. Cinco Ranch travels to Southlake this week for an interesting matchup of unbeaten teams.

By the way, Plano's win this week came at the expense of the Plano East Panthers, who remain winless. East has had some good programs over recent years, but this has been a tough year as evidenced by their 0-5 record and the fact that they have been outscored 244-52 by their opponents.

In Class 4A, the Longview Lobos made a mockery of what most thought would be a close contest with a 41-7 stampede over Texarkana High. The Lobos tough schedule should prepare them for the playoffs and they now take on undefeated, state ranked Sulphur Springs in a game that will go a long way in determining the district 13-4A champion.

Strange week in Class 3A in that Celina moved up in our rankings and Giddings stayed in our top ten despite losses. However both losses were to pretty good 4A teams (Whitehouse and Elgin) and both games were extremely competitive.

In Class 2A, the Rosebud-Lott Cougars are trying to regain the form that made them state champions as recently as 2002. After going 2-8 in 2007, the Cougars are off to a 5-0 start.

In Class 1A, there'll be no major shake up in the polls as all members of the top ten won, with the closest game being Bremond's 31-30 nail biting win over Chilton.

Answer to question: Trinity and Cinco Ranch are both undefeated and they have handed all their opponents their only loss.

Banana Chases Gorilla

FLOWER MOUND, Texas -- Two high school students are facing charges after they ran across the football field during a game Friday night at Flower Mound High School.

The two were dressed in costumes -- one was a banana and the other a gorilla. If YouTube is any indication, it's a common prank at schools and colleges and the video often ends up on the Internet.

In this case, the kids in the costumes ended up in jail. Sean Kight, 18, and Curtis Patton, 17, both Flower Mound High School students, are charged with trespassing on school grounds, a misdemeanor.
Source Fox-Dallas

UT-Ark bump Carroll-Northshore from TV

FSN Southwest's press release:

GALENA PARK NORTH SHORE-SOUTHLAKE CARROLL

TELECAST CANCELLED DUE TO PROGRAM CONFLICTS

FSN Southwest announced today that it has cancelled next week's Dodge High School Football Game of the Week regional telecast featuring Galena Park North Shore and Southlake Carroll due to program conflicts related to Hurricane Ike.

FSN Southwest had planned to show the Galena Park North Shore-Southlake Carroll game scheduled on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 6:00 PM CT and move its Big 12 Conference football game that day from 6:00 PM CT to 2:30 PM CT. However, ABC this week utilized its exclusive 2:30 PM CT Big 12 telecast window on Sept. 27 for the re-scheduled Arkansas-Texas game postponed by Hurricane Ike preventing FSN Southwest from following through with its plans. FSN Southwest will show TCU-Oklahoma at 6:00 PM CT. Southlake Carroll officials could not move the high school game from 6:00 PM CT to 2:30 PM CT, which would have allowed it to be televised on FSN Southwest.

"We're disappointed that we have to cancel such an attractive matchup featuring two of the strongest high school teams not only in Texas but nationwide," said FSN Southwest Senior Vice President/General Manager Jon Heidtke. "Circumstances beyond our control forced this unfortunate decision."

FSN Southwest will look to replace the game with another matchup later in the season.

Big games on tap

Most games in SE Texas have been cancelled, but there are still several big games on tap tonight, especially in class 5A, where #1 Euless Trinity and #4 Allen meet in Allen (shown on tape delay tonight on channel 21 in DFW area).

Other intriguing match ups include Lufkin/Longview, Plano/Temple and Abilene Cooper versus undefeated Garland.

In class 3A, Liberty Hill faces Brownwood and Waco La Vega takes on Abilene Wylie, while Crane and Muleshoe should be a good one in class 2A.

Schedule changes coming fast

All games in SE Texas are cancelled tonight. Houston ISD, Katy ISD and Cy-Fair ISD have cancelled all games tonight.

Schedule Changes and Cancellations

The approach of Hurricane Ike is playing havoc with this weekend's schedules. Listed below are links to changes and cancellations in various areas of the state.
Beaumont Area
Houston Area
Corpus Christi Area
Austin Area
San Antonio Area
Brownsville Area
Bryan-College Station Area
Waco Area

UIL Allows Exemptions for Hurricane Ike

AUSTIN, TX
The following is a statement issued by the UIL regarding the procedures for UIL activities affected by Hurricane Ike:

With the approach of Hurricane Ike, the University Interscholastic League has received many inquiries regarding schedules for UIL activities, specifically volleyball and football.

Volleyball
For schools in areas impacted by evacuation relating to Hurricane Ike, the UIL and the Texas Education Agency will allow an exception to the school week limit in volleyball for varsity district matches only. As such, varsity district matches may be played as an exception to the school week limit this week, prior to cancellation, rather than after.

This means schools that play volleyball matches Tuesday (today), will be allowed an exception to play a varsity district volleyball match Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

This exception does not apply to any non-district matches, or to any sub-varsity or junior high matches.

If there is no school on Friday, any matches would be allowed on Thursday after school and no exception would be needed.

Football
For varsity football games impacted by evacuation resulting from Hurricane Ike, UIL will offer an exception to the five-day rule between games for varsity games only.

For a varsity football game impacted by evacuation in relation to Hurricane Ike, the varsity game could be played with as little as four days between contests, rather than five.

This exception does not apply to any sub-varsity or junior high games.

It is expected that exceptions to both the school week limitation and the calendar week limitation will be extended after the hurricane has passed.
The extent of those exceptions will be determined and communicated once the impact of the storm is assessed.

Txprepsfootball.com week one class 5A poll released

With no class 5A Saturday games that would affect our top ten, we are going ahead and releasing our week one poll. The big mover and shaker this week is The Woodlands, who moves into the top ten at # 9 after a resounding 47-0 defeat of Katy.

Class 1A top ten schools meet out west

Should be a good one out in West Texas today at 2 pm as Stratford takes on Sundown in a class 1A battle of top teams. If you want to listen, here's the link. Our advice; get there early as their server only holds a limited number of listeners.

Tragedy Postpones Cooper-Snyder Game

The Lubbock Cooper-Snyder game scheduled for tonight has been rescheduled for October 3rd. Please pray for the Vines family.

Colleyville Heritage Knocks off Clovis East 41-26

Steven Hill completed 36 of 47 passes for 422 yards and four touchdowns, leading four second-half scoring drives to lift Colleyville Heritage to a 41-26 victory against Clovis (Calif.) East at Texas Stadium.

Trinity Victory Increases Texas vs. USA Lead

With Euless Trinity's 28-12 victory over John Curtis (La.) today, the State of Texas now owns a 4-2 advantage over out-of-state opponents in 2008. Here are this weekend's results, pending the Colleyville Heritage vs. Clovis East (Ca.) game tonight:

Arlington Bowie 48, Trotwood Madison (Ohio) 0
Justin Northwest 13, Pittsburgh Woodland Hills (Pennsylvania) 12
Cedar Hill 38, Cincinnati La Salle 14
Euless Trinity 28, John Curtis (La.) 12
Buford (Georgia) 42, Mansfield Timberview 21
Union Sutter (California) 38, Ferris 9

Hurricane Forces Mandeville to Withdraw from Herbstreit

Mandeville (La.) has withdrawn from its scheduled game Monday in the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series because of travel concerns created by Hurricane Gustav.

Klein Oak, which was scheduled to play Mandeville at 2:30 p.m., is left without a game.

"It's not the end of the world," Klein Oak coach David Smith said. "We've been working toward this since February. When you know you're going to play in the Dallas Cowboys' backyard, there's motivation there. There are some kids that haven't been there. It's huge disappointment but a huge learning tool too."

Bruce Bundy, principal of the New Orleans suburban school, said he was worried some of his players' families would have to evacuate their homes.

Monday's other two games at Texas Stadium are unaffected. Euless Trinity meets River Ridge (La.) John Curtis at 11 a.m., and Colleyville Heritage meets Clovis (Calif.)East at 6 p.m.

Klein Oak's open date is in Week 3 (Sept. 18-20). Smith said he would be open to playing a game if he could find an opponent.

Final Event Details for the Herbstreit Classic

Below are the final event details for the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series Presented by Burger King. This release includes the finalized television schedule along with team rankings based on the ESPN Rise Fab 50 rankings.

CINCINNATI and DALLAS (August 26, 2008) – Are you ready for some football? Well, come Labor Day weekend you might not have much of a choice as 36 of the best high school football teams across the nation are set to clash in the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series Presented by BURGER KING®. Among the nationally ranked teams (according to the ESPN Rise Fab 50) participating:

#1 Trinity Euless (TX)

#4 St. Thomas Aquinas (FL)

#9 St. Xavier (OH)

#23 John Curtis Academy (LA)

#26 Prattville (AL)

#45 East St. Louis (IL)

This series will showcase 18 elite matchups during a three day period at three renowned stadiums across Ohio and Texas. The Kirk Herbstreit Challenge, which has been held in Ohio for the past three years, expanded this year to include a series of competitions in Texas and, most recently, added an additional three games on Labor Day, including a must-see matchup between #1-ranked Euless Trinity (TX) and traditional national power (#23) River Ridge John Curtis (LA).

Eleven games will take place in Ohio over two days, Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31. The teams will play at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Field at Fawcett Stadium in Canton and at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. Additionally, and in partnership with The National Football Foundation, seven games will take place at Texas Stadium in the City of Irving, Texas on Saturday, August 30 and Monday, September 1.

Chicago-based Intersport has once again partnered with Burger King Corp. and Herbstreit to stage this premiere high school series. Tickets are available now for only $14 for adults ($16 day of event) and $10 for student/youth fans ($12 day of event) for a three or four game session. Tickets can be purchased at local participating high schools, as well as online at Ticketmaster.com or Ticketweb.com.

ESPN is slated to tape and rebroadcast the premiere match up of Cincinnati Elder (OH) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) on Monday, September 1. Additionally, Versus Network will broadcast the duel between Cedar Hill (TX) vs. LaSalle Catholic (OH) live on August 30, as well as carry, on tape delay, the Justin Northwest (TX) vs. Woodland Hills (PA) and Arlington Bowie (TX) vs. Trotwood-Madison (OH) games. CBS College Sports will broadcast all games taking place in Cincinnati on August 31.

In addition, fans can log onto www.wazoosports.com to see live streaming video of all games played in Cincinnati except for St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Elder. These broadcasts will be available free of charge.

All ticket and event information can be found at www.herbstreitfootballseries.com:

What to watch for in 08'

Storylines to watch for in 2008:

Galena Park North Shore brings a 70 game regular season win streak into 2008 and will be looking to break Southlake Carroll's 72 game streak established 86-94'.
Alto seeks to continue the state's longest win streak (28 games).
Highland Park (699 wins) and Amarillo (698 wins) will attempt to become the first Texas high school teams to reach 700 wins.
Arlington Lamar coach Eddie Peach can become the sixth coach to win 300 games in a career with his first win of 08'.
Should he come anywhere close to having another season like the record-breaking year he had in 2007, Lake Travis QB Garrett Gilbert could break into the top ten of several all-time passing lists.
Madisonville RB Chris Whaley has rushed for over 2,000 yards each of the last two seasons. Another big year would catapult him into the top twenty rushers of all-time.

West Brook's Michael in Regular Season Form

Texas high school football scrimmages are winding down and the season kicks off this Thursday night.

One player who looks to be in regular season form is Beaumont West Brook's Christine Michael, who is rated the No. 1 running back in Texas according to Rivals.com. He ripped off huge chunks of yardage against what many are saying should be one of the state's best class 5A defensive lines in the Lufkin Panthers on Friday night.

Alto Player Recovers From Close Call

The class 1A Alto Yellow Jackets own the state's longest winning streak at 28 games and will enter 2008 as our #1 team, however Jacket player Kevin Blakemore came close to losing the opportunity to help Alto win another title.

5A Fans Circle Your Calendars

If you're a 5A Texas HS football fan, circle September 19th on the calendar. Check out the big games that litter the landscape that weekend.

Euless Trinity vs. Allen
Katy vs. Flower Mound Marcus
Plano vs. Temple
Aldine Eisenhower vs. Beaumont West Brook
Lufkin vs. Longview
Dallas Skyline vs. Plano East
Southlake Carroll vs. Mesquite
Abilene vs. Tyler Lee

Roadtrip Through Small Town Texas

Took a roadtrip to Brenham this weekend, where I passed class 3A Robinson, home of the Rockets (just outside of Waco), Rosebud & Lott, home of the class 2A Rosebud-Lott Cougars, class 3A Cameron, home to the Yoemen (gotta love the mascot!) and class 3A Caldwell, home of the Hornets.

What is one of the first things you see when you enter a small town in Texas? A nice welcome sign? A sign bragging about the town's industry, agriculture or area sights? Nope, it's always a sign bragging about the hometown football team; and it doesn't matter if the home team's only state championship occured in 1884 when there were only 2 high schools in the state, you can bet it will be on the sign.

I usually try to snap a few photos on these trips, and this one was no different. Still trying to figure out how the only picture I got in Brenham was of the Blue Bell truck and not of the Cubs home field. Oh well, gotta get back to my Moolenium Crunch before the 100 degree temperatures turn it to a Moolenium shake!

ESPN Releases Broadcast Schedule

High School football TV coverage continues to grow in Texas and across the nation. ESPN released its 2008 broadcast schedule today and several Texas teams are featured as part of the package again.

All-Time Team Member Heading to the Hall

Txprepsfootball.com All-Time HS DB Darrell Green is being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend. The induction of Green underscores the depth at the defensive back position in Texas over the years. Former Kansas City DB Emmitt Thomas, who attended high school in Angleton, and who drew strong consideration for our all-time team, is also being inducted to the Hall.

Txprepsfootball.com All-Time Texas HS Football Team

The Txprepsfootball.com All-Time Texas High School Football Team is dominated by the 50's-60's era, with 14 players on the team from that time period. The number of players from each decade breaks down as follows:
30's-1
40's-3
50's-8
60's-6
70's-5
80's-4
90's-2
00's-1
Total of 30 players.

Texas 7on7 State Champions add National Tourney Title

The Richland Rebels, who won the large school state 7on7 title, now have a national title to add to their collection, as they won the Adidas 7-on-7 National Championship in Atlanta, Georgia. The Rebels rebounded from a 1-3 record the first day with some stout defense in the championship round, which included a 32-0 victory over Jupiter (Fla.) Christian in the championship game.

THSCA All-Star Game

Don't forget to catch the Texas High School Coaches Association 2008 All-Star Football Game in San Antonio at 7:30 PM tonight on Fox Sports Net.
Rosters

Coaches' Convention Begins Today

One of the largest athletic specific trade shows held in the United States begins today as Texas high school football coaches go back to work. The 76th annual coaching school is being held in San Antonio and runs until Wednesday.

Let The Countdown Begin!

Congratulations to Crane and Richland on winning the 3A and Under and 5A-4A State 7on7 titles respectively. Now the countdown to the 2008 season begins in earnest, with the opening a little over a month away.

2008 Practice Schedule:
4A and 5A Schools: No Spring Training, 3A, 2A, 1A-11-man, 1A-Six-man
August 4 1st day of conditioning (No contact permitted.)
August 8 First day of contact
August 16 First scrimmage
August 21 Second scrimmage
August 26 Third scrimmage
(Schools opting for a third scrimmage shall not play on zero date)

4A and 5A Schools With Spring Training
August 11 First day of conditioning
August 15 First day of contact
August 23 First scrimmage
Exception: A school may participate in a scrimmage after six (6) days of contact practice activities if either team participating in the scrimmage participated in spring training and plays a zero (0) week game.
August 28 Second scrimmage
(Schools opting for a second scrimmage shall not play on zero date)

Kirk Herbstreit Football Series Comes to Texas Stadium

PRESS RELEASE

High School Football Powerhouses Set to Collide Labor Day Weekend in the
Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series Presented by BURGER KING®.
30 Teams…15 Games…2 Days of the Best High School Football in the Nation

CINCINNATI and DALLAS (July 1, 2008) – As the football season kicks off this fall, the eyes of high school football fans will be on Ohio and Texas. Both states will be home to the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series Presented by BURGER KING®. The states’ 30 top-tier teams will compete against each other and other national powerhouses from across the country.

The Kirk Herbstreit Challenge, which has been held in Ohio for the past three years, expanded this year to include a series of competitions in Texas. Fifteen matchups will take place during two days at three renowned stadiums across Ohio and Texas. Eight of those will be held on Saturday, August 30 in Ohio -- four at Pro Football Hall of Fame Field at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, and four at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. In partnership with The National Football Foundation, four additional games will take place at Texas Stadium in the City of Irving, Texas. On Sunday, August 31, the final three games will be played at Paul Brown Stadium.

ESPN is slated to broadcast the premiere match up of Cincinnati Elder (OH) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) on Monday, September 1. Plans to televise other marquee match ups are being finalized and will be released soon.

“We’re excited to once again showcase some of the best high school football teams in the country and give these young men the chance to play on a national stage,” said Herbstreit. “Giving these young people an opportunity to play on national television in one of the best stadiums in the country and, in some cases, fly with their teammates to Ohio and Texas is a very rewarding experience for all of the event organizers, including myself. We all believe that high school football builds great character and can teach lessons that will stay with these players the rest of their lives.”

Chicago-based Intersport has once again partnered with Burger King Corp. and Herbstreit to stage this premiere high school series. Tickets are available now for only $14 for adults ($16 day of event) and $10 for student/youth fans ($12 day of event) for a three or four game session. Tickets can be purchased at local participating high schools, as well as online at Ticketmaster.com or Ticketweb.com.

“As a lifelong Ohio football fan, I’m thrilled that Burger King Corp. will again be part of Kirk’s spotlight on high school football. The expansion into Texas positions this series as the premiere national platform for High School football and is an excellent showcase of our nation’s high school talent. I lived in Texas for several years and witnessed first hand the passion Texans have for High School football,” said Russ Klein, president, global strategy, marketing and innovation, Burger King Corp.

The schedule is as follows:

Game Times Game Date and Locations
August 30: Pro Football Hall of Fame Field, Canton, OH
11:00 a.m. EST Warren Howland (OH) vs. Klein Forest (TX)
2:00 p.m. EST Canton McKinley (OH) vs. Indianapolis Cathedral (IN)
5:00 p.m. EST Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (OH) vs. Covington Catholic (KY)
8:00 p.m. EST Massillon (OH) vs. Jordan High (UT)

August 30: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
11:00 a.m. EST Cincinnati Elder (OH) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (FL)
2:00 p.m. EST Middletown (OH) vs. Warren Central (IN)
5:00 p.m. EST Cincinnati Colerain (OH) vs. McKeesport (PA)
8:00 p.m. EST Cincinnati St. Xavier (OH) vs. Prattville (AL)

August 30: Texas Stadium, City of Irving, TX
11:00 a.m. CST Justin Northwest (TX) vs. Woodland Hills (PA)
2:00 p.m. CST Mansfield Timberview (TX) vs. Buford (GA)
5:00 p.m. CST Cedar Hill (TX) vs. LaSalle Catholic High School (OH)
8:00 p.m. CST Arlington Bowie (TX) vs. Trotwood-Madison (OH)

August 31: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
12:00 p.m. EST Cincinnati Moeller (OH) vs. Montgomery Bell (TN)
3:00 p.m. EST Huber Heights Wayne (OH) vs. East St. Louis (IL)
6:00 p.m. EST Lakota West (OH) vs. St. Rita (IL)

The UIL Announces Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup

Austin, TX – The UIL has announced its five Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup winners for the 2007-08 season. For the second straight year, a tiebreaker was needed to determine a class champion.

For the second time in two years, Conroe The Woodlands has collected the Class 5A trophy, with 84 points. Defending 5A champion Plano West was fourth, with 68, sandwiched by Southlake Carroll (80), which won back-to-back 4A Cups in 2001 and 2002, and Katy Cinco Ranch (70).

Humble Kingwood, which lost a tiebreaker to Plano West last year for the Class 5A trophy, finished sixth this year with 64 points.

Highland Park in Dallas won the Class 4A Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup for a record setting sixth consecutive year and finished with a whopping 98 points. It is the ninth Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup for Highland Park.

Friendswood finished runner-up to Highland Park, with an impressive 80 points.

With 74 points, Canyon held off Argyle for its second consecutive Class 3A Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup. Argyle, which finished with 68 points, is in its second season in Class 3A after winning the Class 2A Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup in 2006.

Salado tied Poth, with 60 points each in the race for this year’s Class 2A Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup. Salado won the tiebreaker (most state championships) to collect its first-ever trophy: Salado won a state championship in baseball last weekend in Austin, while Poth was state runner-up in both volleyball and girl’s basketball.

It’s the second straight year for Poth to finish runner-up for the Class 2A Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup. Defending champ Tatum was seventh with 46 points.

Lindsay is the Class A Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup winner for the third straight season, garnering 64 points. Seymour finished runner-up, with 59.

The five 2007-08 Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup winners will be formally recognized during award presentations at each respective high school during the 2008-09 school year.

The Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup recognizes five high schools (one in each of the five UIL classifications) based on their overall team achievement in a variety of sanctioned athletic and academic championships. All UIL member high schools in good academic and athletic eligibility standing are included for contention for the Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup.

The Texas Dodge Dealers are a proud UIL Corporate Partner as the official vehicle of the Texas high school championships. The Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup program began during the 1997-98 season.

Below are the all-time champions of the Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup:


1997-98 Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup Champions:
Conference 1A (co-champs): Karnack and Windthorst
Conference 2A: Hamilton
Conference 3A (co-champs): Aledo and Dripping Springs
Conference 4A: Dallas Highland Park
Conference 5A: San Antonio Churchill

1998-99 Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup Champions:
Conference 1A: Windthorst
Conference 2A: Holliday
Conference 3A: Sweeny
Conference 4A: Dallas Highland Park
Conference 5A: Humble Kingwood

1999-2000 Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup Champions:
Conference 1A: Karnack
Conference 2A: Holliday
Conference 3A: Wimberley
Conference 4A: Dallas Highland Park
Conference 5A: San Antonio Churchill

2000-01 Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup Champions:
Conference 1A: Shiner
Conference 2A: Celina
Conference 3A: Abilene Wylie
Conference 4A: Southlake Carroll
Conference 5A: Humble Kingwood

2001-02 Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup Champions:
Conference 1A: Shiner
Conference 2A: Holliday
Conference 3A: Atlanta
Conference 4A: Southlake Carroll
Conference 5A: Austin Westlake

2002-03 Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup Champions:
Conference 1A: Windthorst
Conference 2A: Weimar
Conference 3A: Canyon
Conference 4A: Dallas Highland Park
Conference 5A: Humble Kingwood

2003-04 Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup Champions:
Conference 1A: Windthorst
Conference 2A: Holliday
Conference 3A: Canyon
Conference 4A: Dallas Highland Park
Conference 5A: Humble Kingwood

2004-05 Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup Champions:
Conference 1A: Windthorst
Conference 2A: Holliday
Conference 3A: Canyon
Conference 4A: Dallas Highland Park
Conference 5A: Humble Kingwood

2005-06 Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup Champions:
Conference 1A: Lindsay
Conference 2A: Argyle
Conference 3A: Abilene Wylie
Conference 4A: Dallas Highland Park
Conference 5A: Conroe The Woodlands

2006-07 Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup Champions:
Conference 1A: Lindsay
Conference 2A: Tatum
Conference 3A: Canyon
Conference 4A: Dallas Highland Park
Conference 5A: (co-champs): Plano West and Humble Kingwood

2007-08 Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup Champions:
Conference 1A: Lindsay
Conference 2A: (co-champs) Salado and Poth
Conference 3A: Canyon
Conference 4A: Dallas Highland Park
Conference 5A: Conroe The Woodlands

Lean Year in NFL Draft for Texas HS Football

This may be one of the leanest 1st rounds ever for Texas high school football in this year's NFL draft.

When you think high school football, the states of Texas, California, Florida and Ohio are usually at the forefront. This year however, Texas and Ohio faired poorly, with the Lone Star state having only one selection, Richardson Berkner CB Aquib Talib (pictured right), who played at an out-of-state college (Kansas) no less, while the Buckeye state was completely shut out in the first round.

Florida and California had the most high school players from their respective states selected in the first round with seven each, followed by Virginia (3) and Michigan (2). Texas suffered the indignation of tying with the high school football juggernaut states of Massachusetts, Delaware and Indiana, who also had one player each selected from their states.

Top Rated QB Makes Decision

Quarterback Terrelle Pryor, the nation's No. 1 high school football player, has committed to Ohio State where he'll most likely back up current all-conference Buckeye QB Todd Boeckman, at least in the near future.

News Conference Video

UIL Realignment is Finalized

Realignment is now final as the UIL granted four out of eight appeals Thursday.

UIL District Assignment Appeals Committee Meeting Results

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUSTIN, TX - Four out of eight appeals regarding reclassification and realignment were granted Thursday by the District Assignment Appeals Committee of the UIL. The committee composed of UIL Legislative Council members heard three appeals regarding district assignments, and five appeals dealing with conference assignments.

The committee granted appeals made by Dripping Springs High School, Hereford High School and San Marcos High School School to move into their requested districts in all activities except football. Dripping Springs will move from District 25-4A into 26-4A, Hereford will move from District 4-4A to 3-4A and San Marcos moves from District 27-4A to 17-4A.

Houston Stratford High School also had their appeal granted by the committee. Stratford will move from District 23-4A to 18-5A for all activities. They join Alief Elsik, Alief Hastings, Alief Taylor, Houston Memorial, Houston Northbrook, Houston Spring Woods and Houston Strake Jesuit in their new district.

The Assignment Appeals Committee voted to deny appeals from the following:
· Laredo Johnson
· Laredo Cigarroa
· Laredo Nixon
· San Antonio Highlands

Longhorns Out of the Gate Early

Much can change between now and signing day 2009, but if the Texas Longhorns continue to pile up the oral commitments, they may be staring at another national title to match the one from two seasons ago.

5-star quarterback Garrett Gilbert of Lake Travis was the first to commit, and was soon followed by three 4-star recruits; OL Thomas Ashcraft (6-5, 280) of Cedar Hill who is ranked No. 59 on Rivals.com's Rivals 100 national list, Madisonville running back Chris Whaley, No. 65 on the list, and Aldine Eisenhower wide receiver Greg Timmons, who is No. 69 on the list.

There are 13 Texans on the Rivals Top 100 national list and Texas now has oral commitments from four of them, while almost all the rest have the Horns on their radar.

Mark Brown was recently spotted in Lufkin, hot on the trail of Jamarkus McFarland, who is the #2 national recruit in the 2009 class according to Rivals.com, and if he could land the stellar defensive lineman along with South Oak Cliff strong safety Kevin Brent (5-11, 205), who is ranked No. 58 nationally by Rivals.com and scheduled to attend Texas' Junior Day on February 23rd, the Horns signing class would take another leap forward.

UT misses out on RB, McGuffie delays signing

The Texas Longhorns had hopes of landing top RB Darrell Scott of St. Bonaventure, California, but Scott just announced he is heading to Colorado.

Also, according to Rivals.com, Cy-Fair RB Sam McGuffie is delaying his signing with Michigan, and now could be considering the University of California.

UIL Realignment Overview

Here's a brief synopsis of the 2008 realignment. Although I haven't had time to pour over the changes, a few moves jumped out immediately:

Southlake Carroll and Euless Trinity move to new districts
Longview, Abilene Cooper and Dallas Carter drop to 4A
Copperas Cove is back in 5A
The Little Southwest Conference is no more as Abilene moves east
Farmersville and Tatum, who met in 2A title game, move to 3A
2A champ Canadian drops to 1A

CLASS 5A
Numbers: 2,085 and above, 245 schools
New Schools: La Joya Palmview, SA Brandeis, SA Johnson
Up from 4A: Cedar Park Vista Ridge, Copperas Cove, Dickinson, Katy Seven Lakes, Keller Fossil Ridge, League City Clear Springs, McKinney Boyd, New Braunfels, New Caney, Pflugerville Connally, SA South San
Moved up by request: Dallas Molina, Eagle Pass, Eagle Pass Winn, Fort Bend Marshall, Fort Bend Willowridge, Laredo Martin

CLASS 4A
Numbers: 980 to 2,084, 243 schools
New Schools: Baytown Goose Creek Memorial, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln
Down from 5A: Abilene Cooper, Carrollton Smith, Carrollton Turner, CC Ray, Dallas Adams, Dallas Carter, Granbury, Houston Lee, Houston Stratford, Houston Westbury, Laredo Cigarroa, Laredo Johnson, Laredo Nixon, Longview, Magnolia, Mansfield Legacy, Mansfield Timberview, Rockwall, San Marcos, Seguin
Up from 3A: Canyon, Castroville Medina Valley, Frisco Liberty, Frisco Wakeland, Humble Kingwood Park, Hutto, Mabank, Pearland Dawson, Pleasanton, Royse City
Moved up by request: Austin Johnston, Austin Reagan, Houston Forest Brook, Houston Furr, Houston Jones, Houston Kashmere, Houston Scarborough, Houston Washington, Houston Worthing

CLASS 3A
Numbers: 430 to 979, 180 schools
New School: Bryan Rudder
Down from 4A: Alvarado, Brownwood, Burnet, FW Carter-Riverside, Fredericksburg, Huffman Hargrave, Lubbock Estacado, Paris, Paris North Lamar, Robstown, SA Houston
Up from 2A: Anna, Edna, Farmersville, New Boston, SA Hawkins, Tatum
Moved up by request: Anthony, Tornillo

CLASS 2A
Numbers: 200 to 429, 225 schools
New Schools: Houston Yes Prep-North Central, Sunnyvale
Down from 3A: Bowie, Clyde, Comanche, Gladewater Sabine, Kirbyville, Pilot Point, Presidio, San Diego, White Oak
Up from 1A: Anderson-Shiro, Donna Idea, Groveton, Harper, Johnson City Johnson, SA Brooks, Santa Maria, Valley View

CLASS 1A
Numbers: 199 and below, 380 basketball schools, 163 11-man football schools, 129 six-man football schools
New Schools: Houston Yes Prep-FW, Red Oak Life, Rowlett Advantage
Down from 2A: Big Sandy, Blue Ridge, Canadian, Dallas Faith Family, Ganado, Grand Prairie Advantage, Haskell, Hawkins, Italy, Itasca, Junction, Lockney, Mart, Mason, North Houston HS for Business, Riesel, SA Gervin, Somerville, Stamford, Stanton, Stinnett West Texas, Stratford, Tahoka, Timpson, Van Horn, Waskom, Yorktown

Realignment Cause for Tivo Time

Should work or school prevent you from viewing tomorrow's Fox SW special on the 2008 realignment, be sure to set your DVR for the 9 AM broadcast covering the bi-annual event.

2007 Season Review Released

We have released our 2007 Season Review and you'll notice under notable records for 2007 that Lake Travis wide receiver Jason Bird established not only a new state record, but a national record for receptions in a single season with 153. The old record belonged to Chris Martin of Nitro, W.V. with 132 in 1998. It's rare to break a national record, but to better one by such a large margin is even more rare.

Compiling state and national records can be sketchy at times. If anyone notices an inaccuracy or an accomplishment that was left off, please contact us and we will makes changes where warranted.

Rivas gives verbal pledge to Texas State

Txprepsfootball.com All Texas Team offensive POY, running back Mishak Rivas of Weslaco High School gave his oral commitment to Texas State. Another 4-5 inches in height and Rivas probably would have been one of the most sought after running backs in the country.

New Duncanville coach receives increase

New Duncanville coach Jeff Dicus will make $104,000 annually next season which represents about a $11,000 increase over the $92,767.20 he made in leading Lake Travis to a state title last year.

That salary will make Dicus one of the state's better paid head coaches, especially considering he does not have to assume athletic director duties as well.

News and Notes

Lake Travis coach Jeff Dicus will be taking over the reins of the Duncanville Panthers next year. Duncanville found success in the mid nineties, making the playoffs nine consecutive years from 1996-2004, including a state championship in 1998, but fell on hard times recently, missing the playoffs the past three seasons and posting a 3-7 record in 2007. Dicus was also the head coach for three seasons at Boerne and two at Mission and led each to the playoffs, before leading the Cavaliers to a state championship.

In another coaching move, Plano East offensive coordinator Gerald Perry has been selected as the head coach of Bastrop.

Speaking of moving, SI.com is reporting that former Texarkana High QB Ryan Mallett has enrolled at the University of Arkansas, after leaving Michigan.

Under Armour HS All-America Bowl Saturday 1/5/08

The Under Armour High School All-America Bowl will be played this Saturday in Florida at 2pm and telvised on ABC. Here's a link for all the information and a video of Van running back Jermie Calhoun.