We are back for another season. I'd love to say another normal season, but that isn't where we are quite yet. However, things look a little brighter and in 15 weeks we should be back to crowning champions. Last season saw early favorites do quite well. Parish Episcopal, Austin Regents, Colleyville Covenant, and Shiner St. Paul were in the preseason top 2 or 3 and in a season of twists and turns found there way to the top. Who will surprise us this year? Who will disappoint? We will find out together.
Many of you are familiar with how these picks work. I promise I don't hate your school, but I do have my biases. The author graduated from Dallas Christian so that is one bias. There are far too many teams with Eagles as their mascot so that is another. We try to have a little fun and get a few guesses right but we will have our swings and misses. I try to include some small schools but also I know the most in Division II and the Dallas area so there is definitely a bias toward picking those games. Good luck to everyone following their 0-0 undefeated starts and hope to see everyone in safely down the road somewhere.
This Week:
Bishop Lynch @ Dallas Christian -- The Chargers lost in the state final a year ago on a final play interception return for a touchdown. Removing Trinity Christian - Cedar Hill from Division II made DC and Regents the favorites to start 2020 and they delivered by dominating the opposition in route to the title game. The Chargers won every game by at least 28 points until the championship game defeat. A new season will mean new challenges, new players, and new contenders. Its hard not to start from last year's finish though. The Friars played just six times a season ago and went 0-6. It was an ugly start that saw Bishop Lynch score just 7 points through 4 games, and in last year's chaotic schedule that mean they scored just once before November. However, the Friars finished much better scoring 21 against Liberty and then 21 in a playoff defeat to eventual champion Parish Episcopal. The challenge for the Friars will be the DC defense that has not allowed more than 14 points in 5 straight season openers. I think the Friars will be better than a year ago, but it will not be enough this week. Chargers win 38-12.
Tyler Grace Community @ Austin Regents -- The Knights open their championship defense against Tyler Grace. Regents was an early co-favorite in 2020 and then the title game delivered. Despite not scoring in the 2nd half to that point the Knights took the Division II title with a walk off interception return touchdown on the final play of the game. This broke a string of 4 straight title game losses for Regents. The Cougars have never played the Knights and it will certainly be an opener that tells us a lot about the coming season in Division II. The Cougars lost to only DC in the regular season in route to a bye and hosting a 2nd round playoff game, but fell to Fort Worth Christian. The Cougars scored plenty of points all season but struggled defensively in some of the big games. Regents scored 42 or more in every game except the semifinal and final last year. This should not be an easy one for the Knights, but ultimately they have to be the favorites especially among the trees in Travis County. Knights win 44-27.
Dallas Parish Episcopal @ Bellaire Episcopal -- The TAPPS Division I champion from a year ago travels south for an interesting opener. The Panthers were big favorites going into 2020, but then had a bit of a rocky road. Nolan topped them in the regular season and they seemed to be a bit leaky in the regular season defensively. Ultimately top-notch quarterback play put them back on top. Replacing the QB position is the big factor for this season. Always easy to start from the previous champion when looking ahead to the new season. The Knights are always a contender in the SPC though finished just 2-4 in last year's modified campaign. In 2019 they were the champions after beating Kinkaid in the title game. The offense never showed in last year's COVID season, but are a perennial strong unit. The Panthers recent success makes them a favorite here, but this gives us an early look at how the contenders will match up in both TAPPS and SPC. Panthers win 48-28.
Midland Christian @ El Paso Americas -- The Mustangs travel to the far reaches of the state to take on Americas for the 7th time in the last 8 seasons. Nothing quite like starting football season with a 4:00 game in August. The Trailblazers have won two of previous six meetings and generally play a close game with the Mustangs. Americas finished 2-3 last year but played until December, quite the 2020 combination. MCS has set the bar high for the 2021 campaign with many returning seniors and having reached the semifinals a year ago. Non-MCS teams might be worried about the road trip to the Mountain Time Zone, but the Mustangs are always up for a road trip and should be ready for this one. With the early start and the Trailblazers defense I think this one is a bit lower scoring. Mustangs win 27-8.
Fort Worth Christian @ Houston Cypress Christian -- The Cardinals reached the quarterfinals in last years expanded playoffs having one of the stranger 4-5 seasons you can imagine. FWC had a difficult matching its best offensive games with its best defensive games. Losing one game 14-8 but another 37-34. The Cardinals were in that next tier of teams last year behind Regents and DC. These early games should tell us who can look to jump up and grab a spot in the top tier. The Warriors fell 40-30 in last year's Division III title game to Colleyville Covenant. Cypress showed the ability to do a little bit of everything in their 6-3 season last year. Winning 14-0 in the semifinals, 13-10 OT loss, but also multiple blowout wins. I've probably set myself up for a loss here given the unknowns, but I think this is one of the more interesting games this week. Should FWC be in the contenders list in Division II? Should Cypress stay in the contenders in Division III? We'll find out on the field. Warriors win at home, 30-28.
Grapevine Faith Christian vs. Colleyville Covenant Christian @ Globe Life Park -- The opening week always gives some interesting games at neutral venues. Another Division II vs. III matchup has the same questions as the last one. Should the Lions be considered for the Division II top spot? Are the Cougars still the top of Division III? The Cougars played as many playoff games as regular season games last year on their way to the Division III crown. There were a few close games along the way and this should be a good one to start things off. Surprising to me that these two haven't played at some point with just 9 miles between the two campuses. If the Lions offense can regain the form from state championships past or even the semifinalists in 2019 then they will be a contender, but we didn't see it last year. I favor the Cougars in a close one. Covenant wins 33-28.
Argyle vs. Fort Worth Nolan @ Allen -- The Vikings have a tall task to start their climb back to the title game. A season ago Nolan lost the rematch to Parish Episcopal to finish as the Division I runner-up. A huge test awaits with the Eagles who ran to 16-0 last season and their own state title. The Vikings shouldn't get pushed around too badly as they have plenty of talent to fight back a bit. However, this seems like too big of an ask on the opening weekend. Eagles win 40-20.
Boerne Geneva @ San Antonio Holy Cross -- Sneaking in my last spot here with the first ever night game on campus at Holy Cross. Returning varsity football games to campus is always a big thing for schools. The Knights have been a strong program with a dominant defense that has not been able to get over the humps of Regents or Cypress Christian. Holy Cross has lost multiple playoff games in the last 5 years despite holding opponents under 20 points. The Eagles are another Division III contender, and usually in the 2nd year of an alignment we have the previous season's game to look back at. This year though we do not for most non-district games. Last season the Eagles won just once before Halloween but did score a playoff victory, 50-49 over The Woodlands Christian. Geneva will probably regain form at some point, but I think this is too difficult of an opener for the Eagles. Knights win the return to campus, 32-19.
Historical Results:
2015: 94-16
2016: 79-25
2017: 78-32
2018: 88-22
2019: 89-21
2020: 64-23
Quick Hits:
Historical Results:
2015: 60-15
2016: 103-26
2017: 101-29
2018: 102-28
2019: 103-27
2020: 77-23
