Final Results 2020

Division I State Championship: Dallas Parish Episcopal over Fort Worth Nolan (42-28) -- Correct
--I had a summary typed at 35-14, and then Nolan scored twice more in rapid succession and almost brought it all the way back. Parish was the favorite at the start of the year even if it took some twists and turns. Back to back champions. Congrats to the Panthers on their 4th state title!

Division II State Championship: Dallas Christian over Austin Regents (20-26) -- Wrong
--I said it would come down to a turnover, and there was 7 of them. One went to the endzone on the last play though. DC falls despite allowing 0 points on defense in the 2nd half. This looked to be the game of the year in Division II and it delivered. Congrats to the Knights on their 6th state title!

Division III State Championship: Colleyville Covenant Christian over Houston Cypress Christian (40-30) -- Correct
--Big offense in the 1st half that gave way to a slower 2nd half. Cougars were probably the best in Division III all year, we just only saw them 4 times in the regular season. Great season for both (and everybody) overcoming the adversity and trial of this season. Congrats to the Cougars on their 3rd state title!

Division IV State Championship: Shiner St. Paul over Waco Reicher (63-13) -- Correct
--A thorough beating to give the Cardinals the most 11-man TAPPS titles and their 7th in the last 11 seasons. This makes 3 straight for St. Paul and they continue to be the best team in small school TAPPS football, and one of the best at their school size in the state regardless of league. Congrats to the Cardinals on their 9th state title!

And with that everyone's undefeated again...

Historical Results:
2015: 94-16
2016: 79-25
2017: 78-32
2018: 88-22
2019: 89-21
2020: 64-23

Quick Hits:
2015: 60-15
2016: 103-26
2017: 101-29
2018: 102-28
2019: 103-27
2020: 77-23

State Final Playoff Picks 2020

The final week of the TAPPS season is here at last. Certainly there were doubts we'd get this far, but its a great tribute to everyone involved that we appear to have made it. Still a few hurdles to clear, but it should be an exciting conclusion in Waco this Saturday. So this will be the latest and shortest picks section that we may ever see. When its over, we'll all take a breath and try to keep it rolling to basketball. So for one more week, Good Luck and Safe Travels! 

Division II State Championship: Dallas Christian vs. Austin Regents -- The Knights return for a 5th consecutive title game after losing to Grapevine Faith in 2OT in 2016 and 3 straight losses to TCCH. With TCCH departing TAPPS, Regents figured to be a strong contender. 2020 played out exactly that way in the southern districts of Division II with the Knights winning all 9 games by at least 24 points and 6 of the 9 by at least 34 points. The Chargers are always a contender in Division II as they look for a 9th TAPPS title. The 63 points outing against Tyler Grace probably cemented the Chargers status as the favorites and ultimately have been largely unchallenged at the top. In matching Regents 9-0 mark, DC has won every game by 28 or more. The Chargers are 8-8 all time in state finals, having lost the last two appearances in 2014 and 2015. The Chargers most recent title was in 2008. The Knights are 5-6 all time in TAPPS finals with their most recent title coming in 2010. In a version of the 2020 schedule these two were going to play to start the season in August. As it happens each would have been the best opposition for the other this season, and they ultimately will be. A fitting end to the Division II season. Both teams have potent offenses and stingy defenses and there hasn't been any overlap in their opponents. This should be a great game, but I really don't know what type of game to expect. Probably a turnover to decide this one, and much more mystery in the game than in the pick if you know what I mean. Chargers win their 9th state title, 35-28. 

Division III State Championship: Colleyville Covenant Christian vs. Houston Cypress Christian -- The Cougars played just 7 games this season and will actually play as many playoff games as regular season games in 2020. Covenant has won them all though. Lake Country was one of the biggest challenges for the Covenant with the Cougars winning twice by 13 total points. The Warriors are 6-2 on the season but undefeated against Division III and IV opponents. Last week's semifinal victory over San Antonio Holy Cross came in shutout fashion, 14-0. The Warriors won their only previous appearance in the state title game, a 68-34 win over McKinney Christian in 2017. Covenant is 2-3 all time in TAPPS finals with their last win and appearance coming in 2017. They won that one 14-0 over Magnolia Legacy. Both teams have limited the opposition all season and this should be a game that looks like the two semifinals. 27 would have won either game, so expect 4 TDs to be enough. The Cougars have looked the best this season when we've seen them so with 4 games played in a row, I've got to lean that way. Cougars win their 3rd state title, 28-25.

Season: 63-22 

Quick Hits finishes the season at 77-23.

Semifinal/State Final Playoff Picks 2020

2 champions will be crowned this week and 2 more next week. I will lodge my annual complaint in this space that 2 DFW schools driving to Waco to play this game makes basically no sense. In divisions where the bracketing can set up a predetermined site, like Divisions II and III, it makes plenty of sense. Division IV isn't as crazy as last year when two schools separated by 14 miles drove 160 to play. Anyway, I complain once a year about this and that is that for another year. Should be a bunch of exciting games this week, especially the Division I title game. Lots of the "usual suspects" playing for the crown. Just 8 games left in TAPPS 11-man this season. Good luck and safe travels!

This Week: (Season: 58-21)

Dallas Christian vs. Fort Worth Southwest Christian @ Birdville -- The Chargers are the expected team this deep in the playoffs, though this will be the latest in year Dallas Christian has ever played a football game. The Eagles are the surprise in the Division II semifinals, at 8-1 they have more wins this season than any since MaxPreps started saving records in 2004. This is there 1st semifinal appearance since 1999, when they finished as state runner-up in Class 3A. The Chargers have been dominant all year with a 28 point margin over Grapevine Faith in the regional round standing as the closest game of the season. At 8-0, DC has been the favorite to reach the title game out of Districts 1 and 2 since an early blowout of Liberty and has scored 56+ in 6 of the 8 wins. Faith offered a little more resistance to the Chargers, but the DC defense held strong and has only allowed more than 14 points once all season. The Eagles bested FWC for the 2nd time this season in the regional, 35-28. Southwest had lost 11 in a row to FWC before this year. The Eagles announced their presence this season with a district opening win over Grapevine Faith 33-7. The only blemish is a bad 2nd half at Legacy that led to a 46-19 defeat. Given DC's 2 blowouts of Legacy that is not encouraging for the Eagles chances. I think Southwest has shown to be the best team offensively in District 1, and their style of offense should limit DC somewhat. I just can't see enough to reverse those Legacy scores. Chargers win 35-21.

Austin Regents vs. Houston Second Baptist @ Giddings -- The Knights and Eagles meet in the semifinal for the 3rd year in a row. Second Baptist will try their hand at Giddings this time after Brenham and Waller ended in matching 35-0 defeats in 2018 and 2019. The Eagles hope to crack the scoreboard in try #3. In 4 meetings since 2016, Second Baptist has scored just 20 total points. While they've been more competitive than most of the squads Regents has taken down on the way to 4 consecutive title games, the Eagles have struggled mightily offensively despite being known as an offensive powerhouse in the Houston area. This year they've scored 30+ in all 7 games in route to a 6-1 record. The Knights are undefeated again at 8-0, having suffered just 2 regular season losses since 2016. If you pick a Regents game at random from the last 5 seasons, you're more likely to land on a state title game than a regular season loss and you won't find any playoff defeats outside of 4 title games. That's a 58-6 record in that span. The Knights blew out St. Michael's in the opener and those Crusaders went on to beat everyone not named Second Baptist. Its felt like a march to a DC-Regents title game with Regents scoring 42 in every game this season, so I'm not going to breakup that medieval themed matchup in Waco next week. I think Second Baptist will be closer than anyone else though. We avoid an Eagles in the title game as Regents wins 42-28.

Colleyville Covenant Christian vs. Fort Worth Lake Country Christian @ Globe Life Park -- The Cougars fought COVID more than most teams to make it this far, entering the semis at just 6-0. With 27 days between games they defeated Lake Country Christian on the road 28-21 on October 30. The Eagles could be one of the only TAPPS teams to reach 10 wins this season with a revenge win this week. They avoided all cancellations and have just the Bi-district bye in the playoffs as they're only week off. Covenant accounts for the lone mark against Lake Country's 9-1 record. These two dominated the rest of district 1, outside of the Lubbock pair, where they both still scored victories. They wiped out District 2 in the playoffs. Have to think that this will be another game that looks a lot like the first meeting. I think the Eagles have the stronger offense, but admittedly we have only 6 results for the Cougars. Flip a coin really in this one. I think this is the closest of the 4 semifinals this week. Cougars win 30-29.

San Antonio Holy Cross vs. Houston Cypress Christian @ Victoria -- The Knights moved down to Division III and are happy to not see Regents in the playoffs. Holy Cross lost to Regents 8 times since 2015, including 3 times in the playoffs. The Warriors also moved down to Division III this alignment, returning back to a classification where they had been very successful, winning a state tile in 2017. They also brought in Kris Hogan from Grapevine Faith to be the new head coach after going just 2-8 last season. The COVID season has seen Cypress play just 7 times amassing a 5-2 record while going 5-0 against Division III and IV opponents. The The Warriors have struggled offensively some, managing just 10 against Tyler Grace and 21 in a win over Brazos Christian. The Knights hare 6-2 and also looked good against like sized opposition, but an ugly loss to Central Texas Christian, 40-14, isn't a good data point for Holy Cross. The Knights offense seems like the best unit here, with 162 points in 3 games since the ugly defeat. The Warriors will not be an easy out though. Knights win 35-28.

Division I State Championship: Fort Worth Nolan vs. Dallas Parish Episcopal -- Our first look at a state title game in 2020 takes us to District 1 in Division I. Always a powerhouse group when not split up like the last alignment, this year took it to another level as District 2 did not manage to win a single playoff game. The Panthers are the defending champs, having beaten surprising John Paul II 42-14 in last year's title game. The Vikings figured to be Parish's primary opposition for that title last season, but were ousted by John Paul in their first playoff game. This year's 8-0 season saw Nolan beat Parish 31-14 on November 13 to claim the district championship. It hasn't been a dominant season for Nolan, but that is probably a testament to the strength of District 1 more than anything. The Vikings will interestingly play only district opponents this season. The Panthers were expected to be the dominant team after last year's title. Beating Prestonwood by 61 points combined in 2 meetings reflects that. Surviving Midland Christian with a last second touchdown did not. Returning that matchup with a 34 point win in the semis does. If the best Parish team presents itself in Waco on Saturday night I think they are favorites. Nolan has been the more consistent squad this season, scoring 31+ in every game. This shapes up to a really good game, I think these two will light up the scoreboard in a 2nd meeting. I also believe Parish is the better team despite losing the 1st meeting. Parish has won all 3 trips to a TAPPS title game. Nolan is 7-4 in its previous title games, but this is their first since 2013. They reached 9 of 10 in a streak that ended in 2013. I'm taking the Panthers to win a 4th state title, but barely. Parish wins its 4th state title, 35-33.

Division IV State Championship: Waco Reicher vs. Shiner St. Paul -- The Cardinals are back in the state final for the 3rd year in a row as they try to three-peat as Division IV champs. This is the 12th title game for the 8-time champion Cardinals. They've taken different paths through the years, but as evidenced by winning the title after a 2-8 regular season one year, they always get better as the season goes. The Cardinals turned a season opening 4 point win over Rosehill into a 35 point win in the semis. St. Paul has won a state title 6 of the last 10 seasons, including 2 in Division III when TAPPS dropped to 3 divisions. Given a smaller enrollment than the two schools that will play for the 6-man Division I title on Friday, this space is always an admirer of the Cardinals. The Cougars are 4-0 in TAPPS title games, but are in their first since winning 3 in a row between 2007 and 2009. Reicher started just 1-4 on the season but have found their groove to win 4 in a row. Notably, a 27-22 win over Central Texas Christian in the regional round given CTC had beaten Division III semifinalist Holy Cross. The Cardinals have to be a clear favorite here, but they've not been as good defensively as some seasons. The Cougars should score some points, but I can't see it being enough. St. Paul wins its 9th state title, 44-28.

Quick Hits finishes the year at 77-23.

Regional/Semifinal Playoff Picks 2020

Week 3 of the playoffs are here. Lots of expected teams still in, and a few unexpected. The latest regional round in TAPPS history will be followed by the latest championship games in TAPPS history. We have just 18 games left in private school 11-man football this year. Enjoy the ride. Good luck and safe travels.

This Week: (Season: 52-20)

Grapevine Faith Christian School vs. Dallas Christian School @ Royse City -- The Chargers continued their domination this season with a 59-14 rout of Frisco Legacy and their 2nd win over Legacy in as many games. DC is 7-0 on the season with all wins coming by at least 36 points. The offense has struck early and often each week, including 6 first halves of 40+ points. The Lions got off to a rocky start at 1-2, including a 33-7 defeat against Southwest Christian that led to Faith finishing the district season in 2nd place. They've rebounded well though winning their last 4 to post a 5-2 mark entering the Regional round. Legacy provides the only common opponent and Faith did defeat them 49-35. The 49 is a good performance to work from if you're Faith, but allowing 35 when Legacy scored just 30 in 2 games combined against DC does not bode well. The virus cancelled the other common opponents we would have had in FWC and Brook Hill. Faith has struggled a bit offensively this year and scored just 14 in their playoff win over Brook Hill. Last season Faith won the Regional playoff game 28-17 before losing to TCCH in the semifinal. Despite not being too far apart, Faith and DC have played just 4 times in the last 20 years, all in the playoffs with the schools splitting the 4 games. The margins in those games have been 3, 29, 6 (in 2OT), and 11. DC has been better this season, but in the Regional round it should be a close game. The Chargers offense should be too much this year, and there isn't much mystery in who this space picks. DC wins 35-21.

Fort Worth Southwest Christian School vs. Fort Worth Christian School @ Fort Worth Castleberry -- The Cardinals started this season in tough shape with and 0-3 record and 2 cancellations. Then they trailed Coram Deo at the half. Since then its been 4 wins in 5 game for FWC. The only loss was to Faith in OT. The 4 wins also saw the Cardinals get the offense going, scoring 48, 49, 62, and then 30 in their road playoff win. FWC may have been unlucky as the only District 1 or 2 school to have to play in round 1, but having that extra game may have helped them keep things rolling. The Eagles defeated FWC back on October 23, 14-8. That was a home game for Southwest, and beating a team twice is difficult according to the cliche. 7-1 is one of the best marks for the Eagles since their last district title in 2004. It took them a bit to shake McKinney Christian at home, but it was a dreary day last Saturday. It will take more points than it did in October to win this one. The Eagles rushing attack needs to stay away from turnovers, and needs the lead. They got it in the regular season meeting. I feel like a reversal is the expected outcome and I think FWC is playing better right now. FWC got the 1st half lead against Grace and won despite only 3 2nd half points. I think this one is close to the end, but FWC reverse the scoreboard. Cardinals win 30-28.

Regents School of Austin vs. Sugar Land Fort Bend Christian Academy @ Sealy -- The Knights continue to dominate the southern half of the Division II playoffs, scoring a 45 point victory last week to open their postseason. Regents is 7-0 on the season winning every game by at least 28 and scoring at least 42 in every outing. They've played just once since Halloween, but that did not seem to derail them in their playoff opener. The Eagles will be the first team outside of District 3 that the Knights have seen. Its been a resurgent season for the Eagles at 7-2, their best mark since an 8-4 campaign in 2016. They absolutely crushed Corpus Christi John Paul in their playoff opener last week, 55-7. Interestingly, Regents beat them by the same score. Its probably too reliant on past history involving players that have graduated, but I have to take the Knights to continue their reign. Regents wins 42-21.

Austin St. Michael's Catholic Academy vs. Houston Second Baptist School @ Columbus -- The Eagles have the been the next team in line behind Regents for the entire 4 year run of the Knights reaching the title game. Second Baptist has not lost a district game since 2016, winning the last 5 district titles. The Crusaders enter this one at 6-1 with their most wins in a season since 2013. They dropped only the season opener at Regents. Second Baptist shutout Victoria St. Joseph in the Area round, 42-0. Of course in 2020, St. Michael's did not play St. Joseph due to the virus. So no common opponents between these two. The Eagles have to be careful looking ahead to a semifinal with Regents as the Crusaders pose plenty of a challenge. I really don't know which way to expect this one. Look for the Eagles to score as usual, but I think the Crusaders may have something to keep up. Hard to go against the favorites to set up a match of district champions. Eagles win 42-35.

Fort Worth Nolan vs. Fort Worth All Saints @ Globe Life Park -- The Division I bracket has reached the semifinals with all District 1 teams. The district champion Vikings certainly planned on getting this far, and maybe farther. The Saints actually finished as the 7th seed in district play and were just 1-3 in the regular season. They've now won 2 playoff games though the 2nd one was a meeting of surprise teams against Liberty. After beating the eventual champion Parish Episcopal last year, the Saints had high hopes. Injuries then derailed that campaign. This year a season opening win over Azle and the expectations of a healthy squad were quickly undone by COVID cancellations and then a loss to Nolan 41-27. The offense has been going lately with 91 points scored in the 2 playoff wins. The Vikings controlled the district schedule from start to finish. With just two games decided by 14 points and the other 4 wins by at least 17. After early leads led to victories against Midland and All Saints, they used big 2nd halves against Parish and in the Regional against John Paul. Nolan trailed 10-5 at the half last week, in a game where the offense was ugly. The Viking defense ultimately broke the game with 2 safeties and a fumble recovery in the end zone to produce one of the Nolan touchdowns. The Viking offense will have to be a lot better to best the Saints. They are definitely capable of better, as they produced in October. I think they are the district champs for a reason and will chalk up last week's offensive nightmare to rust after the bye week. Vikings win 35-28.

Dallas Parish Episcopal vs. Midland Christian @ Abilene Christian -- The Mustangs have been Division I's mystery. They dominated UIL power Wall in the opener, were very slow to start against Nolan on the road, outplayed Parish in a loss, and the looked terrible against John Paul on the road. They finally found that usual West Texas road footing in the playoffs. blowing out St. Pius in Houston. Last week was more of the same within a single game. The Mustangs opened a 14-0 lead in the first 5 minutes and wouldn't score again until there was less than 4 minutes to play. The defense held a potent St. Thomas team to just 7. The Panthers are the defending champions and were the clear favorites going into 2020. The loss to Nolan changed the calculus a bit, but they've looked the part in the playoffs. They controlled the 2nd half in a 44-24 win over Prestonwood last week. It was just a 2 point win for Parish back in October, and they needed a last second touchdown to get that win. This should be a close game, much closer than last season's 44-6 playoff drubbing dished out by Parish. I'm not sure its as close as October, but it should be a good contest. Parish seems to be the better team and you better beat the Mustangs before the title game, since they've never lost one of those in TAPPS. Panthers survive, 28-24.

Shiner St. Paul vs. Tomball Rosehill Christian @ Giddings -- Our Division IV brethren get talked about less than the others, but Shiner St. Paul is always the team to beat in the small schools. With a smaller enrollment that the eventual champions of two 6-man divisions they are the the 2-time defending state champions. They've taken different paths each year, in 2018 they were 2-8 in the regular season and won 4 playoff rounds and the title. In 2019, they were a more traditional champ at 10-3. Then 2020, everything is different. The Cardinals are 6-1, only losing to San Antonio Holy Cross. They opened the season with a 21-17 win over this Rosehill Christian squad. The Eagles have seen an uneven 4-4 season, but the 3 losses other than St. Paul came to teams outside the division. This shapes up as a defensive struggle, but the weather looks better for this week than last. Rosehill has a very good chance to turn the tables here, but hasn't been as consistent as St. Paul. The winner here should be favored in the title game next week. Cardinals get back to the title game, 33-20. 

Quick Hits: (Season: 72-23)

Colleyville Covenant over Arlington Grace Prep
Fort Worth Lake Country Christian over Lubbock Trinity Christian
San Antonio Holy Cross over Magnolia Legacy Prep
Houston Cypress Christian over League City Bay Area Christian
Waco Reicher over Dallas First Baptist