Just one week to go before we crown our champions and we have a fun batch of semifinals ahead. A few too many Eagles still in the playoffs at this point of the season. Including at least one in every division, but we'll make do. Good luck and safe travels on the road to State!
This Week: (Season: 69-23)
Lubbock Christian vs. Dallas Christian @ Clyde -- The Chargers and Eagles have felt like a certain collision since the bracket was released in September. DC opened the season with a poor start by the standards of a 3-time defending champion at just 2-2. Losses to San Antonio Cornerstone and Prestonwood are certainly not bad losses though. Then district play started and the Chargers dominated. They opened their title defense with a 55-0 win over Pantego. The Eagles are 10-1 on the season having very impressive wins over top UIL squads from Wink and Wellington. Wink notably has not lost since. The Eagles offense is averaging 44 points per game and the DC defense has struggled when faced with a top offense this year. I really think whoever gets the lead early wins this one. Not sure either team is equipped to produce the defensive stops need for a comeback. Looking at common opponents, both teams rolled up 56 points on Tyler All Saints. The Chargers shutout Pantego last week 55-0 while the Eagles shut them out 40-0. So not much to go on, but in this space we know how the picks go. Chargers keep the 4-peat alive by winning a shootout. DC to the State Final, 46-42.
Colleyville Covenant Christian vs. San Antonio Holy Cross @ Jarrell -- The "big 3" of Division III have all reached the semis. The Knights have dominated all comers this year in route to 12-0, outscoring the opposition by an average of 48-8. The playoffs have seen 63-6 and 56-14 drubbings of T.K. Gorman and Lake Country respectively. After losing the State Final last season, Holy Cross has been an unstoppable train in 2024. The Cougars started a pretty dismal 1-3, but righted the ship with close defensive wins over Dallas Covenant and FW Southwest Christian. They lost a surprising shootout to Lubbock Christian 52-45, but that positioned them as the best contender to knock off the "big 3" of Lubbock Christian, Dallas Christian, and Holy Cross. The Knights defense appears to be the best in Division III and scoring just 28 and 13 in two wins over Dallas Covenant does not bode well for the Cougars offense. I do think the Cougars won't get run over like their district mates did last week, but the Knight train won't stop here. Holy Cross creates a State Final rematch, 36-12.
Houston St. Thomas @ Argyle Liberty Christian -- The Warriors have dominated the world since 2022, losing just 3 games out of 37. This includes last year's 14-0 State Championship and a 10-1 mark this year. UIL power Texas High was able to roll off 52 points against Liberty, accounting for over 1/4 of the Warrior's points allowed for the season. The Warriors have appeared title bound all season, particularly after beating Parish and Prestonwood to claim the district title. The Eagles are a bit of a surprise semifinalist after finishing the regular season at 5-5. They were routed by Antonian in the regular season but managed to avoid them in the playoffs. St. Thomas was just ok through much of the season and a 31-19 playoff opening win over TCA didn't inspire visions of a title upset. However, reversing the score on St. Michael's made them the only District 2 team in the Division I semis. This is just too much to ask for the Eagles offense to keep up with the Warriors. Liberty reaches back-to-back title games. Warriors win, 42-21.
Frisco Legacy Christian
@ Dallas Parish Episcopal -- The Panthers have won the last 5 Division I titles, last dropping a playoff game in 2018. The progression has seen the Division catching up to them. Losing just 1 game in each of the first 3 title seasons, but then 3 last year and they've already lost 4 this season. It was a challenging schedule though and they already avenged one of the losses with a playoff road win over Prestonwood last week. Parish has scored all of the points this year averaging over 52 points per game. They needed every one of them to get past Prestonwood and keep the search for 6 alive. The Eagles have taken the road less traveled to the semis following a 5th place finish in the district campaign. They are also 8-4 on the season and won their own road playoff game last week as they run rampant over District 2 Champion Antonian, 62.27. Legacy has been improving as the season has gone on. After scoring just 14 in a home win over Brook Hill they later played Prestonwood to a 7 point game before their offense exploded in 2 road wins in the playoffs. Turning around a 56-27 margin from the first meeting is a big ask, particularly with a trip to the blue field. The Panthers offense is just too much for the Eagles to overcome. Parish and Liberty rematch for the crown. Panthers win, 50-28.
Fort Worth All Saints vs. Austin Regents @ McGregor -- The Saints have been unstoppable thus far in 2024 with a 12-0 mark. Their noble crusade began with upset wins over the Division I contenders in Parish and Prestonwood and then in 7 games against Division II opponents they've been held under 40 points just once and won every game by at least 21 points. The Knights had a string of 5 straight Division II championship games that ended with their title in 2020. They've been in the mix since but just got back to the Final last season, losing 52-10 to Argyle Liberty. This year has been different though with a district in the Northern half of the state. They're on a 10 game win streak after taking their lone loss to Kinkaid. They will likely need all of the 44 points per game they've been scoring given the Saints average is basically the same but with a more difficult schedule. They're scores are basically the same against common opponents. This should be a really good game. I have to lean Saints because they've been better on the season so far, but it'll be close. All Saints gets their shot at the first TAPPS title. Saints win, 35-33.
Houston Second Baptist vs. Sugar Land Fort Bend Christian @ Sheldon ISD -- The classic District 4 Eagles matchup will decide the other spot in the title game. The Fort Bend Christian Eagles finally broke through for the South in 2022 claiming the Division II title over All Saints. That season they had seemingly built to a big season over a couple of seasons and it was a culmination of multiple seasons of success. This year things seemed to pretty ho-him with a 0-3 start that became 1-4. The loss to Tomball Concordia without scoring a point had expectations pretty low. Then district play hit and 7 wins later they won the district and face a team they beat for a spot in the title game. The Second Baptist Eagles have undergone the opposite season to Fort Bend. SBS is 10-2 but seemed to be playing their best early and little more suspect as the season went on. Particularly a season opening 48-16 obliteration of Fort Worth Christian had them appearing a possible favorite to win the "South" of Division II. I hate to say they sputtered down the stretch when they only lost a single game, but the scores just didn't pop the same. Just a 6 point win in the first meeting should make this a close one. I don't see what has changed since November 1 to alter the result, and Fort Bend won that one at Second Baptist. Fort Bend Christian wins to set up a redux of the 2022 title game with All Saints, 28-26.
Dallas First Baptist vs. Temple Central Texas Christian @ Mexia -- The Saints won the Division IV title going away in 2023 and only Division III semifinalist Holy Cross toppled FBA this year en route to a 10-1 record. Seven of their last eight wins, sandwiched around the Holy Cross loss, had a running clock margin. A Live Oak rematch might be interesting and Brazos Christian is undefeated, but the defending champs are clearly the favorites at this point. The Lions are a more surprising 10-1 and have a 10 win season for the first time since 2004. Only undefeated Brazos Christian has bested CTCS this year. The Lions turned a 6 point OT win over Hallettsville Sacred Heart into a 52-6 playoff blowout. They'll not be an easy out for the Saints, but FBA just looks to be too much. Saints get a chance a repeat. FBA wins, 35-28.
Waco Live Oak Classical vs. Bryan Brazos Christian @ Riesel -- Division IV semis are both blockbusters. The Falcons are in their first year of 11-man football and so hit this space for the first time. The one team to keep it under a 40 point margin against FBA was Live Oak. The Falcons just haven't scored enough in the big games, dropping a 20-12 decision to Central Texas Christian and scoring just 21 against FBA. Their other loss was to Magnolia Legacy and they managed just 14 that night. The Eagles are averaging just under 40 points per game so finding the endzone will be very needed for Live Oak. That is a stiff ask against Brazos who allows just 9 points per game. They've allowed double digits just 4 times in 11 games. The Eagles defense should win the day, but no easy task for Brazos Christian to reach the title game. I think they just get over the hump and earn the chance at the undefeated season. Eagles win, 35-21.
Quick Hits finishes the season at 108-22. (A new record for most wins by Quick Hits)
