Round 2 is upon us. The picks this week see a few too many Eagles, but some good matchups nonetheless. A few road winners in Round 1 sets up quite a few district rematches for the Regionals. Always expect those rematches to tighten considerably from the 1st meeting, so it should be a fun week to see how the tables have turned (or not) from just a few weeks ago. We have just 12 games left in TAPPS 11-man after this week so enjoy the ride. The weather looks a little chilly, but dry. Good luck and safe travels this week.
This Week: (Season: 67-25)
Division III Regional Round
Dallas Christian vs. Bullard Brook Hill @ Royse City -- The Chargers won a playoff game for the 13th consecutive season with the win over Colleyville Covenant last week. The Guard return to the Regional round for the first time since 2019. That year they dominated Frisco Legacy in an away game in Round 1. This year it was a through destruction of Fort Worth Lake Country. Tough to be the Eagles at home against Brook Hill. They've actually won two road playoff games since they last one a home playoff game. These two will rematch an October 21st meeting at DC. The Guard struck first that night, but saw things get away in the 2nd half. Chargers won 62-14. That's actually been a bit of a theme for the Guard, as a one-point game with Grapevine Faith ballooned to 40 once it was over. Lake Country scored a couple of TDs late. They squandered a lead to Tyler Grace as well. However, all those teams are at home this week. 2nd time around Brook Hill will be in this one, but figuring out how to get through 4 quarters will be the test for the 6-5 Guard. Starts have been a little sluggish in several games for the Chargers, and proved too much to overcome against FWC. If DC doesn't get the offense going, say they're kept to around 30 points, Brook Hill could get hot and win. They are good enough to do it. The Chargers though are favored and rightfully so at 10-1. No easy outs in November though. Chargers win 35-21.
Lubbock Trinity Christian vs. Arlington Grace Prep @ Sweetwater -- The battle of Lions descends on the Mustang Bowl. Trinity established itself the likely contender in District 1 early on, playing a difficult non-district and going 3-2 with just a 10 point loss to Division II contender Argyle Liberty. The district slate saw 3 shutouts, including a 49-0 thrashing of the district runner-up. At 9-2, the first ever 10-win season available for TCS this week. The Grace Prep Lions were very competitive in an October 21st visit to Lubbock, falling just 42-33. Argyle Liberty was the only other team to reach 20 against Lubbock Trinity this season. The 6-5 season saw good and bad for Grace Prep. Some narrow victories over teams you'd expect to dominate. Some wins over favored squads from bigger divisions. A terrible 2nd half at home against Lake Country to force them on the road in Round 1. Then, they beat an 8-1 Covenant team on the road to reach round 2. GPA is the team of mystery in the Division III bracket. They aren't favored but it wouldn't be shocking to see them make a run. Trinity has been better all year and should be again. TCS wins by a similar margin as last time, 38-30.
San Antonio Holy Cross vs. League City Bay Area Christian @ Weimar -- The Knights return to the playoff scene after a 1st round bye. An 8-1 season is the most wins for Holy Cross since 2017, when the Knights were at the end of a run where they were the 2nd best team the South half of Division II. They would beat everyone, except Regents. Now in Division III its been a slow climb, but they are undefeated against in-state opponents. The Knights always feature a strong defense, and this year is no exception with just 83 points allowed in the 8 wins. A 28-0 win over Geneva secured the district crown and a 1st round Bye for the Knights. The Broncos season is almost as impressive at 9-2. Bay Area allowed just 110 points in 10 games this season against teams other than Cypress Christian. The opening loss to Pantego seems a distant memory after dispatching Schertz John Paul in Round 1. The Broncos offense will have a big task with the Holy Cross defense, but the defense should keep this one tight. Seems like the Knights will be too much at the end of a close one. Holy Cross wins 21-15.
Boerne Geneva vs. Houston Cypress Christian @ Hallettsville -- The Eagles had an ugly 2-4 start before finding their stride in October. Since the calendar flipped, Geneva has allowed only 62 points across five games going 4-1 in that stretch. Both teams feature six-win records this season so it been up and down on both sides. The Warriors also started 2-4, though the two wins were 40+ point margins over teams still in the Division IV playoffs. The district slate saw three dominant wins for Cypress by a combined 153-21 score. Cypress is the defending state champion in Division III and might have its eyes on a clash of champions with DC in the title game. That 2021 squad won 12 games and showed it defensive might all year, including just 28 points allowed in 4 playoff wins. The more up and down 2022 squad may have found that form, but it will be a couple of difficult tests to get back to the title game. The performance against Division III and IV competition this year give the Warriors the edge, but the Eagles won't be pushed out easily. Cypress wins 27-18.
Additional Games
Argyle Liberty Christian vs. Fort Worth All Saints @ Birdville -- The Warriors put themselves at the top of the list in Division II with by bringing Prestonwood to a complete halt in a Week 1 win. After that, they dropped a three point decision at ESD and since then have won nine in-a-row. Since Fort Worth Christian posted 34 in the district opener, Liberty has allowed just 26 points across four games. This included good district teams like Midland Christian and this All Saints squad. After posting 10 wins for the first time since 2009, the Warriors are a likely favorite in Division II. The Saints played some good games and some bad games through a 5-5 season so far. Just a three point loss to Prestonwood and a two point loss to Midland Christian puts the Saints closer to a 7-3 season. However, just a three point win over TCA leaves some questions. The Week 10 meeting between these two was a 31-0 shutout for the Warriors and mixing the Liberty defense against a unsettled offense for the Saints to a tough order to overturn. The District 1 invitational that has set up in Division II means we'll see three district rematches, and unless the Warriors defense falls off form I think it will be more of the same that we saw in the regular season. The Warriors allowed just 10 points per game outside of the 34 FWC scored, so that's all I see the Saints getting. Liberty Christian wins 26-10.
Midland Christian vs. Fort Worth Christian @ Brownwood -- The Cardinals took a curious path to a 7-3 and the Regional round. At 3-0, we just chalked it up to relatively weak opposition. At 4-0, it was a nice road win over Faith but maybe not really indicative of greater success. At 5-0, the Cardinals had just dominated the usually strong DC defense and were firmly into the top tier of contenders. Then in a home game, Liberty posted 44 points and largely scooted away from FWC. Maybe it was just that they were playing the top team though. But another 40+ points allowed in Midland meant the Cardinals would have to go on the road in Round 1. Further a 3 point loss to All Saints meant a 4th place finish. Three district losses with 130 points allowed moved the Cardinals down the list in Division II. Finding a way to get stops is what the Cardinals must figure out. The Mustangs had an opposite season. Just a 1-3 start that included an incredible number of road miles didn't leave much expectation for district play. The district wins came though, starting with a two point victory over All Saints. The home game against these Cardinals wound up 41-22. They've allowed just 15 total points the last two weeks. The Cardinals will have a difficult time getting to 30 points against the Mustangs with only Regents and UIL power Texarkana Pleasant Grove accomplishing that out of 10 MCS contests this season. If the Cardinals defense rises up like it did in the 2nd half at Dunne last week they can turn the tables. Just not a prediction I can make though. Mustangs win 30-20.
Austin Regents vs. Sugar Land Fort Bend Christian @ La Grange -- The Knights made five consecutive Division II title games before being eliminated in the Regional round last year. Regents last lost two games in one season in 2015. The only regular season loss culminated in a state championship at the end of the year in 2020. At 11-0 already in 2022, that streak will continue. The Knights have allowed just 94 points in 11 games this season, with four shutouts. The Eagles offense has a difficult task ahead. Fort Bend broke the Second Baptist streak of district titles last season, but was knocked out in a semifinal rematch. Second Baptist eliminated Regents before the Eagles saw them. Regents thumped the Eagles in their only meeting all-time in 2019, 45-14. A difficult non-district has FBCA at just 7-4 this season, but we certainly aren't going to ding them too badly for a loss to UIL power Cibolo Steele, on the road at Dallas Christian, or to SPC finalist St. John's. When the district slate came around, an opening loss to Second Baptist was taken out on the rest of the district. In the final 4 district games, the Eagles allowed just 7 points. They've not allowed a single point since October 21, 3 consecutive shutouts. So expect a defensive struggle. Having laid that out, this will probably be a bonkers shootout that wears out the scoreboard. Regents looks to be the better squad, but Fort Bend hasn't been a easy task for any team. I think the defenses rule the day, but the favored Knights survive. Regents wins 16-14.
Hallettsville Sacred Heart vs. Bryan Brazos Christian @ Elgin -- A Division IV entrant gets some attention with what should be a close game. The Indians have scored a bunch of points in 2022, averaging over 33 points per game. They've also allowed almost 25 points per game, and that's how you get to a 6-5 record. The Eagles (another one?) are a similar 5-5, but have done it with a little more defense. Brazos Christian has also performed well against some top teams thus far. The one-point loss to Northland stands out as a quality loss. The win over Rosehill points to a potential for playoff success as well. Sacred Heart lost to the same Rosehill squad to open the season. While the win-loss was different, those games were similar tight low scoring outings. So, these two teams seem really similar. Both couldn't score against Bay Area Christian. Both played close low scoring games with Central Texas Christian. So I'll lean toward the best unit on paper, and that appears to be the Indians offense. Sacred Heart will have to get by this one and Lubbock Christian to try and get a rematch with rival Shiner St. Paul. Indians win 40-28.
Quick Hits: (Season: 89-33)
Division I
Dallas Parish Episcopal over Dallas Bishop Lynch
Houston St. Thomas over Addison Trinity Christian
Plano Prestonwood Christian over Houston St. Pius X
San Antonio Antonian over Fort Worth Nolan
Houston Second Baptist over The Woodlands Christian
Division IV
Lubbock Christian School over Temple Central Texas Christian School
Shiner St. Paul over Tomball Rosehill Christian
Muenster Sacred Heart over Houston Northland Christian
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