The road ends here as the TAPPS State Championships come to Waco ISD Stadium for a 2nd year. All four of last year's champions are back looking for another title with some upset minded contenders across the way. Should be four fun games to wrap up the season.
Division III: Dallas Christian vs. Houston Cypress Christian -- The battle of champions will decide Division III in the final game of TAPPS football in 2022. The Chargers entered the season having won the Division II crown a year ago and a clear early favorite in the smaller division. Last seasons 13-1 performance where they allowed fewer than 200 points seemed a high bar to clear and they've largely met the challenge. At 12-1 this season a lone road defeat at Fort Worth Christian blemishes the campaign. Strong defense has led the way for several years in Mesquite and this squad is no different. In 6 games against Division III opponents the Chargers have allowed just 34 points total. With 162 points in 3 playoff wins the offense isn't too shabby either. The weight of expectations is hard to deal with sometimes, but just one test remains for DC. The Warriors won the Division III title in 2021 and will not be easy to knock of the perch. Cypress lost 4 out of 5 in September, seemingly heading for a mediocre season. After that its been a turnaround to remember, winning 6 in a row. In that stretch of wins they've scored 36 or more every week and 40+ in all but one game. After shutting out a good Bay Area Christian team to secure a 1st round bye, the Warriors impressively downed Geneva by 30 points. Last week's semifinal was a doozy with the Warriors scoring the final 15 points of the game to oust Holy Cross 36-32. The September data points suggest the Chargers will score quite a few on the Warriors, but November points to a more challenging slope for DC. The Chargers are are 9-9 all time in TAPPS title games. So a tie-breaker of sorts this week. The Warriors moved to 2-1 in title games with last year's win. Really none of that matter, they were different teams. Its fun to look at the past though and these two have never played against each other. The Warriors offense should keep this interesting most of the way, but I think we know how this pick leans. Chargers claim their 10th state title, 40-28.
Division I: Dallas Parish Episcopal vs. Plano Prestonwood Christian -- Speaking of favorites, the Panthers have won the last 3 titles in TAPPS Division I and nothing was expected to change this year. Parish has gone on to an 11-1 mark so far in 2022 and looked the part of a favorite. Wins over UIL powers Aledo and China Spring are most notable, but Bellaire Episcopal and Austin LBJ are quality victories too. Against Division I opponents the closest margin has been 28 points. None of those opponents scored more than 14. Holding Parish to less than 14 feels impossible with 24 being the smallest output of the season. The Panthers actually won all 3 of those lower scoring games where they were limited to just 3 touchdowns. The Lions suffered an offensive outage in the season opener against Argyle Liberty. They went on to win their next 8 before falling in the district title game to...Parish Episcopal. That game on November 4 with a 42-14 Panthers win. That is the closest any Division I opponent came to Parish at the end of a game this season. There is a certain lack of close games between these two teams. After non-district play ended its been blowout after blowout. In addition to looking for 4 consecutive title, Parish looks to continue an undefeated run in TAPPS title games. The Panthers are 5-0 entering this 6th appearance. The Lions are 5-3 all time in the finals. Somebody gets their 6th state title. It seems foolish to think the Panthers get knocked off the top step now. Parish wins its 6th state title, 42-21.
Division II: Fort Worth All Saints vs. Sugar Land Fort Bend Christian -- The first game we previewed, 21 combined title appearances. The second game, 14 combined title game appearances (and for relatively new schools in that one). This one? A combined 0 state finals appearances. So somebody wins their first TAPPS football crown. The TAPPS distinction is important as All Saints won 7 SPC titles in a period of 15 years between 2002 and 2016. The move to TAPPS has been up and down record wise but pretty successful in the playoffs for the Saints. This season marks 3 straight semifinal appearances for All Saints. This year's 7-5 season saw the Saints struggle in tight games, dropping a 2-point decision to Midland Christian and a 3-point game to Prestonwood. When the playoffs rolled around though All Saints turned it up, avenging a loss to Liberty and dominating FWC last week to reach the title game. The Eagles have also struggled a bit in close games, before finding their stride in the playoffs. A 4-point loss at DC and a 6-point loss at St. John's contributes to the somewhat average 9-4 season thus far. A loss to UIL 6A Cibolo Steele can certainly be forgiven and they avenged the Second Baptist loss last week by crushing the other Eagles 41-14. The Eagle offense must lead the way, having scored over 100 more points than All Saints this year. I think these two will score quite a bit on each other, with both offenses really finding their stride right now. Should be a good one with a late turnover probably deciding it. Eagles offense maybe a little safer so that's the way I'll go. A Dallas Christian alum leading the charge doesn't hurt either. Eagles win their 1st state title, 44-41.
Division IV: Lubbock Christian vs. Shiner St. Paul -- The past has Lubbock Christian as the team that can't win a title game, just 1-5 all time in the finals. It has St. Paul as the squad that can't lose one. The Cardinals are 10-3 all time and have won the last 4 Division IV crowns. The quest for 5 in a row isn't as interesting as the year they went 6-8 on the way to the top of the podium but its been a curious run for both squads. The Eagles from the west appeared to be on their way to the top at the onset this year. Returning several from a Division III semifinal squad in 2021, the season started with a Week 2 win over Wellington. The Skyrockets (had to work it in) are still going in the UIL playoffs. Lubbock Christian is 11-1 on the season with an odd loss to 5th place Weatherford Christian the lone blemish. The Eagles offense is the only one of the finalists to eclipse 600 points on the season and that is despite having a 1st round bye. The last time anyone scored on the Eagles was the regular season finale on November 4. A well rounded bunch traveling in from the South Plains. The Cardinals are among the smallest enrollments playing 11-man football in TAPPS, even winning a Division III title at one point when their were just 3 divisions in 11-man. They aren't the smallest, but they do a lot with not very many. This year its an 8-4 season for St. Paul so far. They avenged one of those losses in the semifinals, knocking out Muenster Sacred Heart 37-21. They were dominated by some Division III opponents in Holy Cross and Geneva. I think this is the best game of the weekend. The Eagles appear the better squad on paper, but seemingly no one beats the Cardinals in November or December. The last playoff loss for St. Paul was in 2017 when Brazos Christian upset an undefeated squad. A defensive struggle feels right for this one. I just can't go against the 5-peat, and I can't pick two different Eagles to win the crowns. Cardinals win their 11th state crown, 20-19.
Season: 78-30
Quick Hits finishes the season at 96-34