Week 6/10 Picks 2020

We cycle around to another week. November is near. In the past that might have been the month with title games, this year we will press almost the whole way to Christmas. Its great to have games every week and we'll see what the wheel of uncertainty might bring us this week. Maybe something unprecedented or unparalleled? 2 state final rematches make for some interesting headlines for starters. Good luck on the road to state this week. 

This Week: (Season: 27-10)

Tyler Grace Community @ Dallas Christian -- The Chargers have been incredibly dominant on the season, posting margins of victory of 42, 36, 73, and 76. The DC defense has allowed just 26 points and none since October 2nd. The Cougars figured to be the strongest opposition in District 2 for DC with TCCH's departure and have largely delivered on that expectation coming with a 4-0 record to match the Chargers start to the season. Its been a less dominant though for the Cougars. The season opening win over Frisco Legacy looks better each week as Legacy continues to post wins in District 1. Only besting Cypress Christian in OT is a bit concerning. Both teams last opponent was McKinney Christian and both scored 70+ against the Mustangs. In contrast though, Grace saw the Mustangs post 54 in response. I wouldn't say it was close to the end as the Cougars had a 20+ point lead for much of the contest, but the contrast in defensive strength makes for a difficult outlook if you're the Cougars. The Chargers totals are probably a little inflated given the opposition they've faced, but I just don't see Grace being able to slow down DC enough to keep pace. The shutout streak should end, but with the game in Mesquite I can't pick the Cougars here. Let's be honest though, we kinda knew where this pick was headed. Chargers win 42-20.

McKinney Christian @ Bullard Brook Hill -- The Guard were off to a really nice looking 3-0 start including wins over Fort Worth Christian and UIL Anahuac, then they took a stern beating in Addison last week. TCA shutout the Guard, 42-0. There is a bit of a trap set here for Brook Hill with Tyler Grace and Dallas Christian the remaining teams on the schedule after this. The Mustangs are 2-3 on the season, but enter on two ugly defensive outings. 149 points in 2 weeks is a lot. The Mustangs have been a strong offensive team in the past, even in the struggles since moving to Division II. In 5 wins last season they scored 40+ in 4 of them. They have 59 in a win this year and 54 in 2 losses. Going 1-2 in games where you score 50 is quite a feet. A week ago, I would have picked Brook Hill to win by 20 or more. After the shutout last week I have a little bit of pause. I think the Guard are better, but the Mustangs should be in the game with their offense. I think something similar to the Grace game is possible, but its hard to predict 120 combined points, so not quite that many. Guard win 42-35.

Frisco Legacy Christian @ Grapevine Faith Christian -- At the start of the season this would have been a no doubt pick for Faith. The game probably wouldn't have made the top section of this column and would have been relegated to Quick Hits. Now, the Eagles are at 2-0 in district play and could potentially clinch the top spot in District 1 with the right set of results this week. The Lions figured to be a high finisher in District 1 but have struggled out of the gates at just 2-2. The Lions loss to Southwest Christian was the first upsetting of the expected order this season. The Eagles then followed that by beating the same Southwest squad with a dominant 2nd half. The success of Southwest running the ball against Faith has to be encouraging for Legacy given the similar offensive ideas. Given the game is in Grapevine, I like Faith to be better than they were against Southwest since that was a road game. Eagles look to be in the better position here and should get to 3-0 in district play to my eyes. Legacy wins 30-20.

Dallas Parish Episcopal @ Plano John Paul II -- A rematch of last year's title game definitely has to make the list this week. The Panthers are 5-0 and its hard to imagine anyone else as the top choice in Division I right now. Parish enters this week at 5-0 and having held the All Saints offense to just 7 points last week. It hasn't been all sunshine for the Parish as they allowed 24 points to Liberty who is 0-5 right now though controlled the game throughout and then pulled one from the fire in Midland. MCS really should have been Parish on October 9th, but that's a credit to how good the Panthers are. The same MCS squad though went to Plano last week and took a 24-13 loss to the Cardinals. John Paul has a long history of pretty ugly football, but Coach Teague has found plenty of good play in the last two seasons. I wasn't really expecting the Cardinals to match last season's playoff success, but limiting MCS to just 13 perks up a little hope for JP2. The Panthers though are too much again. Even in the strange pandemic season the 89-21 combined margin of last year's 2 meetings is too tall a mountain to climb. Panthers win 42-14.

Fort Worth All Saints @ Midland Christian -- The Saints scored a season opening win over Azle by the firecracker score of 70-50. After 2 cancellations All Saints dropped its first two district games, but they were against the expected top 2 of Parish and Nolan. The Mustangs had the odds on favorites, Parish Episcopal, on the ropes and didn't cash in. MCS followed that up with an offensive struggle against John Paul falling on the road, 24-13. Both teams are in desperate need of a victory. The Mustangs at least have a district win on the board, but both teams have to be feeling like they should be in the mix for the top of the district and the losses keep piling up. The Mustangs offensive performance against JP2 last week will not lead to a win here. The Saints offensive performance against Parish last week will not lead to a win here. Certainly the home game plays into MCS favor this week. The Mustangs are not usually the bunch to put two clunkers in a row and I think find their way back to a win. I think both teams get their offenses going again though. Midland Christian wins 40-35.

Corpus Christi John Paul II @ Austin Regents -- The Knights continue to dominate District 3 in the regular season. A 5-0 start has included scoring 42+ in all 5 games and just 1 opponent has reached double digits. They seem primed for another run to the title game. A possible double bye in the last of the regular season into the playoffs might be the only obstacle I see in their way. The Centurions (because District 3 has all the good mascots) had just 2 winning seasons in the decade before last year. Last year's 8-2 team lost its pair of games by just 29 points combined. An 0-2 start this year has been followed with three straight district wins. As St. Michael's continues to pile up wins, a 3-1 district record looks quite good. The offensive numbers show just 25 points per game for the Centurions. With a 200 mile trip to the Travis County forest ahead, I can't see them having enough to overpower the Knights. Regents offense is too much, winning 42-14.

Houston Lutheran South @ Sugar Land Fort Bend Christian -- I don't like to promote yet another Eagles into the column, but the 4-1 start from Fort Bend Christian with 3 district wins merits their inclusion. While they have not seen the expected top teams in Lutheran South and Second Baptist yet, the Eagles offensive explosion makes the author think this could be interesting. Outputs of 55, 56, and 49 in three weeks makes this a tough ask for Lutheran South. The Pioneers are coming off a humbling 49-0 defeat against Second Baptist. Both teams dominated Victoria St. Joseph similarly with 49 points on the scoreboard. Home teams are a favorite of the author, but its hard to pick Eagles over Pioneers and Lutheran South has won 5 of the last 6 meetings by at least 35 points. I think this is the turnaround though for Fort Bend and the offense is too much for LSA. Throw in the fact they're coached by a Dallas Christian alum and we've got a pick. Eagles win 37-23.

Shiner St. Paul @ Hallettsville Sacred Heart -- The smallest 11-man programs may not get the attention often, but these two always play the big games. Separated by just 14 miles, they've played 19 times since 2005 including at least 2 state title games. The two time defending champion Cardinals enter at 3-1 having put up 49 points in 2 of their last 3. Both teams lost close games to San Antonio Holy Cross and despite being 2 days short of November when this is played its still early in this season. The Indians have struggled a little, but did score a win last week. They will need to score more than their season high of 19 to win this one though. The Cardinals look to be the favorite here, but these two seemingly always play close games. Two meetings last year were won by St. Paul by just 11 points combined. Cardinals make it 4 in a row over the Indians. St. Paul wins 30-20. 

Quick Hits: (Season: 35-14)

Plano Prestonwood Christian over Dallas Bishop Lynch
Fort Worth Nolan over Argyle Liberty Christian
Fort Worth Christian over Flower Mound Coram Deo
Fort Worth Southwest Christian over Cedar Hill Newman International
Brownsville St. Joseph over Austin Hyde Park
Austin Brentwood Christian over Boerne Geneva
Dallas Covenant over Dallas Shelton
Arlington Grace Prep over Dallas First Baptist
The Woodlands Christian over Victoria St. Joseph
Houston Cypress Christian over Houston Northland Christian
Houston St. Thomas over Houston St. Pius X

Week 5/9 Picks 2020

The roller coaster goes on as we spin the wheel to see who plays who this week. Division I District 1 is particularly fluid from week to week, but it looks like everyone is in action this week. The Division II wheel is more form a competition standpoint. Seems like anyone could win those games each week. With everyone in the playoffs it promises to be a wild November and December. Good luck and safe travels for another week. 

This Week: (Season: 21-9)

Dallas Christian @ McKinney Christian -- The Chargers play their 1st road game of the season on October 23rd. I feel comfortable guaranteeing that is the latest 1st road trip in school history. DC pummeled Bishop Dunne last week, 73-0, and have scored at least 48 points in all three outings this season. Further, the Chargers have allowed less than 9 points per game to this point as well. The Mustangs dropped their district opener last week in a trip to Tyler, falling to Grace Community 73-54. Visions of an offensive past for Tyler Grace set up for a potentially interesting game with DC next week. However, this one comes first. The Mustangs are off to a 2-2 start and have scored 54 or more points in 3 of those 4 games. Somehow they've lost 2 of those three games. Given the success of the DC offense so far this year it appears to set up for plenty of points for the Chargers. I think the Mustangs will score a bit here and if they can keep away from the early deficit they should be more competitive than last year's 42-0 shutout loss. That said, this looks to be a game where the Chargers are the clear favorite. Mustangs score their first points in three meetings with DC, but fall. Chargers win 43-14.

Bullard Brook Hill @ Addison Trinity Christian -- The Trojans scored an upset win over FWC last week, 42-38. FWC was coming off two cancelled games and having lost to this Brook Hill squad to open the season. TCA trailed by 10 with just 6 minutes to play before securing the victory. The Guard are having one of their best seasons in Division II and with the chaotic results in District 1 so far appear to be an interesting candidate for a deep run. The Brook Hill 3-0 start hasn't really been paced by the offense or defense. They scored 34 and 37 in two wins but allowed 27 and 34. When the offense managed just 21, they held the opposition to 9. The Trojans are coming off a horrific losing streak, but have 2 wins already this season. This should be a competitive game. I think Brook Hill is the better team and TCA can't find two comebacks in two weeks. Guard win 35-28.

Fort Worth Christian @ Fort Worth Southwest Christian -- Its been a rocky start for the Cardinals with a 3 point loss to Brook Hill to open the season followed by 2 cancelled games. Then they went ahead 38-28 with just 6 minutes to play last week in Addison before TCA scored 2 late TDs. The Cardinals also have yet to play a home game and actually will not host a varsity contest in North Richland Hills until November. In contrast the Eagles were off to a great start with big wins over Prince of Peace, Bishop Dunne, and then sound defeat of Grapevine Faith to let everyone know they'd be in the mix. At 3-0, I picked them to beat Frisco Legacy last week and after a very competitive first half that included a Southwest lead and a 19-19 tie they failed to notch a point in the 2nd half. Already at 1-1 this presents a chance for the Eagles to get to 1st or 2nd in the district. FWC still has all 4 district games to play and would be unable to pass Southwest in the standings with a loss here without a 3-way tie. The Cardinals offense has scored 34 and 38 in the 2 games so far, but they've faltered defensively. The Eagles allowed just 14 through 3 games before Legacy posted 46. If there are a bunch of points scored in this one I think Southwest is in trouble, but if they can limit the FWC like they did Faith they may win by a more than a handful. Eagles win at home 30-14.

Flower Mound Coram Deo @ Frisco Legacy Christian -- The Eagles appeared to be their usual middle rung team in District 1. They were beaten handily by Tyler Grace and blown out by San Antonio Cornerstone. A 3-point win over TCA just doesn't move the needle much given TCA's last two seasons. However, TCA's win over FWC and Legacy's 2nd half beatdown of Southwest puts the Eagles right back near the top of the heap. Much like Brook Hill in District 2 they appear to be a good candidate for a upset run like Plano John Paul II had last year. The Lions struggles in Division II have continued this year, but the gap appears to be narrowing. Consecutive losses to Brook Hill and Faith sting, but were by just 12 and 14 respectively. That was a 37 point improvement on last year's Brook Hill game and 14 points closer than the previous best against Faith. The Lion defense will have to be what keeps them in the game. The Lions could never get a 2nd half stop to put them in position for a go-ahead score and trailed the entire 2nd half. With Legacy's running attack getting the lead early would be huge for Coram Deo. Given the 2nd half gashing of Southwest, I just can't expect Legacy to slow down against the Lions. Eagles win 44-25.

Fort Worth All Saints @ Dallas Parish Episcopal -- The wheel of Division I District 1 match-ups lands on the revenge game for the Panthers. The Saints handed Parish their only loss of the 2019 championship campaign. The Panthers have run off 14 wins in a row since that game. The road trip to Midland Christian should have broken the streak, but Parish made the big plays at the big moments. Since then they consolidated that win by blowing out Prestonwood, scoring 55 in the process. The Saints opened with a dizzying 70-50 win over Azle before 2 cancellations. Last they suffered a 41-27 defeat to Nolan, never recovering from a 21-0 1st quarter. 91 points in 2 games is not really the defense you'd like to see to play the defending champions. The Saints will be a tough out for the Panthers, but I can't see them stopping the Parish attack enough. However, they are the last team to do so. The Saints keep it close, but I think the march to a repeat continues for Parish. Panthers win 42-28.

Austin Regents @ Brownsville St. Joseph -- The Knights get back into the upper section with an early start in the far southern reaches of Texas. Regular season records can always feel a bit hollow, but Regents has lost just twice in the main portion since 2016. A span of over 40 games. With TCCH out of the organization, the title has to be the main target for the Knights. This will be the first matchup with the Bloodhounds in the schools' histories. With just a 1-2 start to the season its not a promising campaign for the Hounds. However, they soundly beat a Geneva squad that doesn't figure to be a push over. Last week's domination by St. Michael's is not encouraging though since Regents beat them by 34. While its not going to be a laugher, I don't see how St. Joseph comes anywhere close to scoring enough. Knights win 42-14.

Houston Lutheran South @ Houston Second Baptist -- Our last contest ventures to Houston where the Pioneers have never quite matched the success of the 2014 team that lost a Monday playoff game to DC. They've not gone back to cellar, but also haven't found those big wins to get them to the top of the district standings. The Eagles are the longtime heavyweights in the Houston area Division II district having lost just 3 district games since the start of 2013. Though all 3 losses were to the Pioneers. However, those are the only 3 wins for Lutheran South in their last 13 meetings. A loss to Port Lavaca Calhoun can be forgiven, though 63 points is a lot to give up. After dominating The Woodlands Christian last week this should be a tougher challenge. The question for me is, how good is the Lutheran South defense? 12 points against Victoria St. Joseph - great! 56 points against John Cooper - problem! With the game at Second Baptist, I don't think the Pioneers have enough. Eagles win 42-28. 

Quick Hits: (Season: 27-12)

Fort Worth Nolan over Bishop Lynch
Midland Christian over Plano John Paul II
Plano Prestonwood Christian over Argyle Liberty Christian
Arlington Grace Prep over Waco Reicher
Austin Brentwood Christian over Corpus Christi John Paul II
Houston Village School over Beaumont Kelly
Sugar Land Fort Bend Christian over Victoria St. Joseph
Dallas Covenant over Tyler T.K. Gorman
Lubbock Christian over Lubbock Trinity Christian
Dallas First Baptist over Dallas Shelton
Hallettsville Sacred Heart over Schertz John Paul II

Week 4/8 Picks 2020

Another week of chaos awaits us on the road to state. District play is underway for basically everybody, but the nature of the 2020 season makes that line not as clear as most years. Let me know if you see a game not happening, we'll get through this together. We're very DFW focused this week, but that's because there's plenty of good matchups in the northern half this week. Good luck and safe travels! 

This Week: (Season: 15-7)

Bishop Dunne @ Dallas Christian -- In the two most recent meetings the Falcons demolished the Chargers in route to a state title in 2014 and a state runner-up finish in 2015, winning by a combined score of 96-17. A brief power outage was all that slowed Dunne in those two meetings.This year though the teams are headed in different directions. The Chargers have run all over two opponents, netting wins by a combined score of 104-26. The Falcons have yet to score to land at a somewhat surprising 0-3, and trailing 170-0 on the season. Going into the season (way back before the world turned upside down) I would have had this as a possible district title game. Tyler Grace figured to be in the mix, but with TCCH departure from TAPPS and Dunne's move down from Division I these seemed to be the contenders in District 2. Rather its the 12OT loss to John Paul that was near the beginning of the current 8 game losing streak, or the pandemic, or transfers, or something else entirely, things have taken an ugly turn for the Falcons. DC took a bye last week to set the stage for the 4 district games, and I'm not sure you can take much from a win over North Dallas. Scoring 56 against Liberty seems to bode well for the Chargers, and I think they'll carry that form into the this one. Falcons will get on the board though I think. Chargers win 35-6.

McKinney Christian @ Tyler Grace Community -- The district opener out east comes for these two schools. The Cougars have to be looking at the early struggles of Bishop Dunne as a major opprutunity to reach a home playoff position. Based on the last alignment, everyone will be looking at McKinney Christian as a must win game to finish high in the standings. That is not to say the Mustangs will be a pushover for anyone, but losing all 9 district games the last two years makes you the underdog for sure. The Mustang offense has been unable to produce against Division II opponents, managing just 12 points in 4 district game last season. The Cougars offense has taken a step back the last couple of seasons, but appeared to be in excellent shape through 2 weeks in 2020. Then, it took OT to reach 13 against Cypress Christian last week. If Tyler Grace produces a strong offensive game here they win handily. The Mustangs might have something, but with COVID and just 3 games in its really a mystery. If they hold Grace to 20, McKinney Christian wins. I think the Grace has too much at home though. Cougars win 33-20.

Flower Mound Coram Deo @ Grapevine Faith Christian -- Well not every same mascot pairing can be the Eagles. The Lions from Grapevine were the clear favorite to start this weird year in District 1. It took just 1 district game among the group of 5 to change that completely. Faith was dominated at Southwest Christian, falling 33-7. This puts the Lions at just 1-2 so far after reaching the semifinals last year. The Lions from the North side of Lake Grapevine, are a bit like McKinney Christian. Their time in Division has generally been unkind. In 2014 and 2015 in Division II they went just 3-7 and lost all 12 district games. The three seasons that followed in Division III had win totals of 8, 8, and 11. This season Coram Deo is 1-1 with a shutout of Grace Prep (who shut out Bishop Dunne) and a relatively close loss to Brook Hill. In the preseason, I would have picked Faith by 30+. Now, it seems this is a bit closer. I do not think this is the the night for a big Division II win for Coram Deo, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it this season. Faith wins at home, 35-21.

Frisco Legacy Christian @ Fort Worth Southwest Christian -- Here we find our familiar Eagles on Eagles match. Since a road playoff win at DC in 2006, Southwest has posted just 2 winning seasons. Both finishing at 6-5 marks. Starting the year with a blowout of Prince of Peace pointed to a better team on Lake Benbrook but isn't really a head turning result. Blowing out Bishop Dunne will wake a few people up, but then seeing Dunne's struggles this year knocks it down a bit. Then, we see the win over Faith. Not just by a point, but a convincing domination at 33-7. Both teams completed only 2 passes each. The difference Faith threw 21 while Southwest threw just 5 and the Eagles out gained them by over 250 yards. Legacy has been the snake bit team in Division II, unable to close out the big wins when they had leads. That changed last year, securing 2nd place over FWC with a late season win. This year, a season opening loss to Tyler Grace looked a reversion to old form. They did secure a comeback win over TCA, but were dominated by San Antonio Cornerstone in a hastily scheduled game last week. Expect very few passes in this one, even with a 7:30 start there's a good chance this finishes before 10. Legacy has to think this is their opening with Faith falling last week and a wide open district schedule ahead. Its a tricky one, but I think the Southwest result last week is impressive enough and their at home. Southwest wins 30-20, and gets to 2-0 and a commanding lead in District 1.

Fort Worth Christian @ Addison Trinity Christian -- When last we saw the Cardinals, it was September and they were losing by 3 to Brook Hill. After two cancellations, FWC still will have the entire district schedule to play in the final 4 weeks after a non-district clash here. The Trojans broke their 21 game losing streak with an opening win over Pittsburg, but surrendered a 2nd half lead at the Star to Frisco Legacy. They even had a deflected lineman touchdown catch and couldn't close the deal. There are a number of ways this one could go. How sharp will the Cardinals be after sitting out two weeks? How much improvement has TCA made, given Pittsburg is 0-5? If FWC proves to be a top flight team in District 1, what does the loss to Brook Hill mean for the playoffs? I just do not know. I think the Cardinals offense should push them past TCA here. The Trojans have scored 38 points in 2 games while FWC scored 34 in their lone game so far. This weird season certainly pushes for home teams, but the Cardinals get back to it. FWC wins 35-19.

Midland Christian @ Argyle Liberty Christian -- The old rivalry is back for another year. The brief separation in Divisions deprived us of the opprutunity to mention "The Game of Inches" or "Showergate" from the past. In many ways now, that is the distant past. In the present, the Mustangs controlled the game with Parish most of the way last week. They came up just 4 seconds short in the end, falling 34-32. In 6 halves of football this season the Mustangs have played well in 5 of them. Only the 2nd half at Nolan left much to be desired. A rematch with Parish might be in the cards for MCS and could turn out differently, or they woke up Parish with a game effort and they'll go on to stomp the division. The Warriors have been much less impressive through 3 weeks. A 2nd half that really got out of hand at DC followed by being largely dominated by Parish and Frisco Reedy. The defense simply has to be better for Liberty. Allowing 56, 50, and 42, through 2 weeks does not bode well for the rest of district play. The Warriors will need a real turnaround to get in the district win column. If the game was at the former Dwight Gailey Stadium, now the home of UNT soccer, it might turn the odds. Mustangs win 42-18.

Plano Prestonwood Christian @ Dallas Parish Episcopal -- At risk of jinxing things, Prestonwood is finally on track to play its scheduled opponent for first time since Week 1/5. The Lions dropped a 10 point decision at Prosper to open the season before dominating Fort Worth Southwest (public school version) in a game that was scheduled just 6 hours before it was played. Last week's district opener saw a 14 point 4th quarter lead go away quickly ending in a 14 point defeat against Nolan. The Panthers made the long trip to Midland and for large stretches of the game were the 2nd best team on the field. Ultimately they were able to make a few big plays late in the game and win, but they looked beatable for most of the game. Last year they were pretty much dominant all year except for the All Saints loss and the TCCH OT win. The Panthers should be the better team here, but I haven't found the surprise of the week yet so I want to go with Prestonwood. I just can't quite do it though. Parish wins 40-30.

Fort Worth All Saints @ Fort Worth Nolan -- For the 2nd straight week, Nolan's district opponent is unavailable but there is another team in the district without an opponent so they'll pull forward a district game. The Vikings ran off 4 straight 4th quarter touchdowns to turn a 14 point deficit into a 14 point victory against Prestonwood. Combined with a scoreboard dominant 2nd half against Midland Christian and Nolan appears to be the closers of District 1. The Vikings have won 11 district games in row, but haven't been great in the playoffs lately. The Saints come in to this one as a mystery. Last season they beat the eventual champion Parish Episcopal and then tailed off badly. Injuries played a role for sure, but it was still a stunning fall. A 70-50 win over Azle to open the season was followed by 2 cancelled weeks. A big district battle of undefeated squads is normal for October 16, but to only have 3 wins between them is quite a turn. I think Vikings are up for the task and with game at Nolan and All Saints off for two weeks, they just squeak by. Vikings win 35-30.  

Quick Hits: (Season: 19-9)

Anahuac over Bullard Brook Hill
Austin Regents over Boerne Geneva
Corpus Christi John Paul II over Austin Hyde Park
Austin Brentwood Christian over San Antonio St. Anthony's
Sugar Land Fort Bend Christian over Spring Frassati Catholic
Houston Second Baptist over The Woodlands Christian
Houston St. Pius X over San Antonio Antonian
San Antonio Central Catholic over Tomball Concordia Lutheran
Fort Worth Lake Country over Weatherford Christian
Tyler T.K. Gorman over Dallas First Baptist
Shiner St. Paul over Bryan Brazos Christian
Desoto over Cedar Hill Trinity Christian

Week 3/7 Picks 2020

I'm not sure how this season ends. A very normal statement in Week 3, but means very different things in 2020. The district standings in many districts will be complicated. The results will be confusing. I'm glad we're playing and we'll make make the best of it in this space, but it was quite a challenge to find enough games. Schedules and picks subject to change. 

This Week: (Season: 10-4)

Fort Worth Southwest Christian @ Grapevine Faith Christian -- The top spot has to go somewhere with DC taking the week off. The Lions have been one of the many programs that feel like TCCH kept state titles out of their grasp, but there can only be one winner each year. Faith posted an impressive opening win over Bishop Dunne, 56-0. Then they were unable to consolidate that win falling to UIL program Nevada Community 23-17 last week. In the pre-season, I would have had a pretty strong feeling this is a Faith blowout. However, the Eagles also played Bishop Dunne this season and beat them 66-0. So I guess on common opponent we have a pretty even matchup. A season ago the Lions won a road game over the Eagles 42-14. It seems Southwest is a bit better than previous seasons and should compete for a spot in the playoffs, especially since 4 of 5 make the playoffs in District 1. Being the only game in District 1 this week means the winner goes to 1st place. However, I can't get past preseason expectations for this pick. Lions wins 35-20.

Flower Mound Coram Deo @ Bullard Brook Hill -- The Guard scored a mild upset over Fort Worth Christian in their opener and then both teams were off the next week. FWC is still not back in action due to the virus, while the Guard will look to score another victory over District 1. After 8 wins a season ago, Brook Hill will be looking to compete for one of the home playoff spots in District 2 and Bishop Dunne's early season struggles have to be encouraging for the Guard. The Lions were a Division III playoff team last season, but only managed 5 wins for the season. Brook Hill bested Coram Deo last season 49-0. The Lions did open the season with a Lion shutout over Grace Prep, but I'm not sure where they find enough offense in this one although they seemed to awaken after being shut out by Brook Hill last season. Guard win 40-13.

McKinney Christian vs. Lubbock Trinity Christian @ Vernon -- The Mustangs will travel west to take on a relative newcomer to the football landscape. Its just the 7th season of football on the Caprock for the Lions (lot of Lions this week). After an ugly start last year the Lions rolled off 4 in a row to get a chance at the district title against the more notable football power of Lubbock Christian. Trinity lost that one by just 5, but then fell at home in round 1 to Colleyville Covenant. The Lions lost by a single point to that same Covenant squad last week with a tricky Saturday morning road game. The Mustangs have struggled in Division II, but performed well against Division III opponents in a 4-0 start. The Mustangs have split their opening pair, scoring 54 in their opener but still losing by 24 to Eastland and then blowing out Prince of Peace. This is the 2nd neutral site game with a western team this season for McKinney Christian, a product of these strange times. The Mustangs offense proves to be too much after posting 113 points in 2 weeks. McKinney Christian wins 48-38.

Fort Worth Nolan @ Plano Prestonwood Christian -- Excellent decision in District 1 to go ahead and have these two play since both opponents cancelled. Better to get a game out of the way and fill in the pieces later. The Vikings drew a tough card in this pandemic season having to open the season with a district game against Midland Christian. They answered the bell though with a 38-21 win where they held the MCS offense to very little in the 2nd half. The game also featured a thrilling start with a kickoff return making it 7-7 less than 1 minute into the game. Nolan figures to be a prime contender in Division I as they look for revenge on a 2nd round playoff loss after the started 11-0. Going to be hard to win 11 this year, given...all of this. The Lions (another one!) scheduled Fort Worth Southwest at the last possible moment last week after All Saints cancelled due to the virus. Prestonwood dominated the Raiders 45-7 to even their record at 1-1. The Lions always pose a strong offense, but have been much stronger defensively in recent years. This would seem to be a close game to the end. In the split alignment of last season, these two did not meet and haven't played since 2017. The Lions have won the last 4 meetings. With the game at Prestonwood, I lean that way but I think this is the best game in TAPPS this week. Lions win 30-25.

Parish Episcopal @ Midland Christian -- The Mustangs dominated a Wall team that I picked to beat them, and played Nolan tough a week ago. The Panthers have dominated two district opponents but in only 1 game that counted as a district game. Neither Lynch nor Liberty was close to toppling the champs. Only All Saints bested Parish a year ago before injuries took down the Saints. The Parish Episcopal offense scored 40 in all but 2 games last season and has continued that this year with outings of 43 and 50. Traveling to the Permian Basin certainly maximizes the Mustangs chances this week, but I think MCS will need an offensive outing that they can't produce to win this one. Hard to see the Mustangs getting blown out at home, but equally hard to see them getting over the hump here (but if anyone can its them). Panthers win 44-30.

Austin Regents @ Austin Hyde Park -- The Knights continue to be featured in this space since they've made 4 straight title games. Seemingly half of other games being cancelled doesn't hurt either. Regents continues to dominate District 3, posting 34 points or more in their last 9 district wins. The Knights last lost a district game in 2015, falling 25-24 to...Hyde Park. Just for fun, that game was on October 9th that year. A trip to the Quarries is never easy. The Panthers posted a good season in 2017, before taking two pretty tough years in '18 and '19. It has not been a good start with losses to Holy Cross and Geneva to open this season. Hyde Park is up against it here, but it is a season for strange things. Regents wins 40-10.

San Antonio Central Catholic @ Houston St. Thomas -- The notable Catholic schools in the big cities match in an early district showdown. The Eagles have controlled this pairing winning each of the meetings in the last 4 years. A couple of the meetings have been tight to the end with St. Thomas winning by just 2 a year ago. The Buttons enter on the much better start after posting wins over Geneva and San Antonio Christian. Its been an 0-2 beginning for the Eagles. I don't know that these two will compete for the top spot, but St. Thomas was in the semifinal a year ago. This should be an interesting finish as I doubt the Buttons will push around Eagles, but I think Central has the better team this year. Buttons win 30-27.

Corpus Christ John Paul II @ San Antonio St. Anthony -- We're going to get some interesting teams in these picks this year and a great team name increases your chances. The Centurions will travel north to take on St. Anthony. The Yellowjackets dropped their opener to Regents last week, 44-6. The Centurions have started 0-2 losing to Ingleside and Austin St. Michaels. Even in a district where 5 of 8 make the playoffs it may be hard to get either of these teams to the playoffs. St. Anthony has finally been squeezed out of hosting games at Lang Field with buildings popping up around the campus as they will host this one at the University of Incarnate Word. Returning to TAPPS makes St. Anthony a difficult team to place. John Paul is coming off one of their best seasons in school history, posting 8 wins. Based on last year I'll take John Paul, but these two look to be pretty even. Centurions win 27-20.

Quick Hits: (Season: 12-7)

San Antonio Cornerstone over Frisco Legacy Christian
Sugar Land Fort Bend Christian over The Woodlands Christian
Dallas Shelton over Tyler T.K. Gorman
Shiner St. Paul over San Antonio Holy Cross
Houston Northland Christian over Beaumont Legacy Prep
Arlington Pantego Christian over Dallas First Baptist
Colleyville Covenant Christian over Weatherford Christian
Bryan Brazos Christian over Temple Central Texas Christian
Fort Worth Lake Country Christian over Fort Worth Temple Christian
Beaumont Kelly over Trinity Christian - Addison
Houston The Village School over Carrollton Prince of Peace