Week 7/11 Picks 2020

We get another week closer to the end of the strangest regular season in TX HS Football history. The playoff picture is a bit clearer. Some districts will be decided this week. The effects of COVID and bye weeks should make for an interesting playoffs. Stay safe and good luck this week.

This Week: (Season: 34-11)

Frisco Legacy Christian @ Dallas Christian -- This will possibly be a meeting of the champions of Districts 1 and 2. That took a hit last week as Legacy fell to Grapevine Faith putting us on a 3-way tie path. The Eagles will travel to Mesquite for a football game for just the 3rd time in school history and just the 4th meeting overall between these two. In the last meeting the Chargers won a 17-3 decision in the opening round of the 2018 playoffs. That seems so long ago at this point. Its been a dominant campaign thus far for the Chargers, tallying at least 48 points in all 5 games thus far. 36 points is the closest margin in the 5-0 start. The Eagles have started 3-3 but notched a couple of notable wins along the way. A 23-20 win over TCA looks better with TCA shutting out Brook Hill a few weeks later. The 2nd half domination of Southwest Christian seemed to put them on track for a district title. Last week's slip up against Faith muddies the water a bit. Seeing DC put 63 on Tyler Grace can not be encouraging for Legacy given the 42-21 loss they took against Grace to open the season. The Eagles rushing attack will have a lot to deal with given the DC defense has allowed just 40 points on the entire season. The offensive attack for Legacy should let them hold the score a little more in check, but it seems DC has too much to offer based on the results this year. Chargers win 43-14.

Bullard Brook Hill @ Tyler Grace Community -- With Grace's defeat in Mesquite last week, this appear to be a de facto 2nd place game in District 2. The winner will almost certainly get the 2nd bye from this district. These two have contested the middle places in the district for a number of years. Last year, Grace fell to Brook Hill 33-28 to begin a 4 game slide to close the season. The Guard started a 3 game win streak with that win and would win a road playoff game in round 1 after securing the better seed. The Cougars were off to a 4-0 start and while not scoring much against Cypress Christian had been impressive offensively. How they respond to the blowout loss to DC this week will be interesting to see. Being back at home is certainly a perk for the Cougars. The Guard have their own 4-1 record to match Grace, but the blowout loss to TCA really changed the mood. Brook Hill has been less impressive offensively compared to Grace. In contrast though Brook Hill held McKinney Christian to just 8 while they scored 54 against Grace. I think this solely rests on the Guard defense against the Cougar offense. I expect Brook Hill to score around 30, does Grace match that total? Cougars win at home, 40-30.

Grapevine Faith Christian @ Fort Worth Christian -- The Cardinals have had a campaign of adversity. Starting 0-3 with 2 cancelled will certainly lessen expectations. However, they responded with a 2nd half victory over Coram Deo that was very similar to Faith's win. The Lions loss to Southwest Christian changed the outlook for District 1, but their victory over Frisco Legacy changed it back somewhat. A Faith win would set things up for a 3-way tie, but Cardinals could just as easily win their last 2 and be right in the mix for the top spot. The Cardinals have lost 2 double digit 4th quarter leads this season and just changing those results makes them 3-1 and gives us a totally different outlook. Faith won a year ago, 27-23. FWC won 2 years ago, 38-27. This should be a close game, and I think in 2020 you go with the home team. Cardinals win 21-18.

Plano John Paul II @ Fort Worth All Saints -- The Cardinals surprised me with their strong performance against Parish last week. Looks like District 1 will still come down to Nolan vs. Parish, but John Paul is a stronger contender for December than I realized. The Saints have struggled so far this year, dropping all 3 district contests so far. All Saints scored just 7 points against Parish and can't be encouraged to see 51 on the board for JP2 last week. I think COVID and the uncertainty seems to have impacted All Saints more than most, but it just doesn't seem favorable. The good news is the game is in Fort Worth. The Cardinals defense should be able to replicate much of what the other district opponents have done so far. John Paul probably doesn't produce the big 51 point total a 2nd week in a row, but I think they have enough. Cardinals win 30-20.

Midland Christian @ Plano Prestonwood Christian -- The Mustangs have been great at home this year. They've dominated state ranked Wall, outplayed Parish for most the game in a last minute defeat, and then squashed the All Saints offense last week. On the road has been different. They couldn't slow down the Nolan attack and were offensively troubled in their last trip to Plano to play JP2. They did beat Liberty handily in a trip to Argyle. The Lions have not only beaten the teams they were supposed to, they dominated them. Including last week's shutout of Bishop Lynch, Prestonwood leads 137-28 in their 3 wins. They also could not slow the Nolan offense and Parish rolled up 55 on the Lion defense. If the game were in Midland, I would have to take the Mustangs given their success and the difficulty of long road trips in 2020. Since the game is in Plano its much more interesting. The winner here has the inside path to a home game in round 1. I think this breaks low scoring, Lions win 24-21.

Sugar Land Fort Bend Christian @ Houston Second Baptist -- The Eagles descend on Texas largest city for a de facto district title game. Fort Bend Christian has already won 4 district games and racked up a ton of points in the process. They just narrowly slipped by Lutheran South last week, 38-36, to set up this title game. For as dominant as Fort Bend has been offensively, Second Baptist has been better. Notably shutting out Lutheran South 49-0. Its been a great season of resurgence for Fort Bend, but I can't see it being enough here. The Sugar Land Eagles will get the 2nd bye from District 4, but fall here. The Second Baptist Eagles win 40-20.

Colleyville Covenant @ Lubbock Christian -- The Eagles are always strong in the regular season, and 2020 is no different. Lubbock Christian enters this rescheduled meeting at 5-0. Things have been getting a little dicey in recent weeks after scoring 50+ in their opening 3 games Lubbock Trinity lowered that to 36. Last week, Willow Park Trinity allowed just 22 in a 2 point victory for the Eagles. The Panthers have had a 3-0 start but the 3 week break is probably not what they wanted in the middle. The 1 point margin for the Panthers over Lubbock Trinity does not bode well given the Eagles 30 point victory. Its an interesting matchup of undefeated squads, but I think the road trip is too much this week. Lubbock Christian wins 35-28.

Quick Hits: (Season: 45-14)

Argyle Liberty Christian over Dallas Bishop Lynch
McKinney Christian over Dallas Bishop Dunne
Fort Worth Southwest Christian over Flower Mound Coram Deo
Arlington Pantego Christian over Arlington Grace Prep
Dallas Shelton over Tyler All Saints
Austin Regents over Austin Brentwood Christian
San Antonio Holy Cross over Temple Central Texas Christian
Houston St. Pius X over San Antonio Christian
Houston Lutheran South over The Woodlands Christian
Houston Cypress Christian over Houston Northland Christian
League City Bay Area Christian over Houston Westbury Christian