Week 2 Picks 2025

The committee of one had a rough start in the opening week. Just an 8-9 record between the two sections. Not totally unexpected given the new season and the relative unknown of the competition. Still a lot of twists and turns as we head toward district play and the playoffs. After 0 Eagles last week, we had to deal with 3 Eagles in Week 2. Looks like a nice week of weather for some great games. Good luck and safe travels!

This Week: (Season: 3-4)

Dallas Christian @ Fort Worth Southwest Christian -- The Chargers scored first on the long San Antonio road trip, but had few answers for the Cornerstone offense in a 43-22 loss. So back-to-back seasons begin at 0-1 for DC. Last year DC evened its record with a 42-13 win over Southwest. The long road trip to Fort Worth makes for a different challenge this year. At rush hour on a Friday, Benbrook Lake is not that much further away than San Antonio (at least that's how it feels sometimes). The Eagles opened the season with a quality win over Trinity Valley, 28-25. This reversed a 26 point loss in 2024. The Eagles finished just 4-7 last year while the Chargers were the Division III champions, but there are a bunch of changes from those teams and it seems to be a closer contest than a season ago. This seems like a defensive battle to me, but maybe that's because I feel like every DC trip over there has been. We know how this space leans with the result though. Chargers win a slugfest, 25-19.

Argyle Liberty Christian @ Texarkana Texas High -- The Warriors opened their title defense with a 31-28 loss to UIL power Anna. The TAPPS Division I slate will not be any tougher than an Anna-Texas High opening pair. In 2024, Liberty opened with a 56-0 win over Fort Bend Christian before hosting the Tigers. Texas High went undefeated before losing in round 3 of the playoffs. With the game in Argyle last year, the Tigers took a 52-35 victory back to the State Line. After putting up 57 last week the Tigers will be a tall task for the Warriors. The 52 points Texas High scored last year was the most allowed by Liberty by a full 25 points. The Warriors are really good, and an 0-2 record will not reflect that but winning this one on the road seems a bridge too far. Tigers win 49-30.

Fort Worth All Saints @ Plano Prestonwood Christian -- The Lions started 2025 with the relatively rare Week 1 bye, replacing the Week 11 bye they had in 2024. The Saints once again opened the season with a staunch Parish Episcopal match and secured a close win. Just 7 points separated All Saints from Parish over two seasons. The Saints backed up that win last year with a 4-point win over Prestonwood. That game was in Fort Worth though. The home-standing Lions will be looking to get back to the big games in November but have 10 to play before the post-season arrives. The Prestonwood offense has always been formidable and this year figures to be no different. The 1st game vs. 2nd game provides an interesting dynamic for this one. If the Lions offense gets going they win. If the Saints can keep this game under 30 like they did with Parish then another shock 2-0 start against top Division I squads will be on order. This time would be two road games. Prestonwood wins a fun one, 38-31.

Dallas Parish Episcopal @ Bellaire Episcopal -- More Episcopal schools found here as Panthers travel the long road to Houston face their SPC brethren. Its just 4 miles to Episcopal School of Dallas from Parish but its 261 miles to Houston enclave. The Panthers took a 45-21 victory in this matchup last year. After scoring just 21 points against All Saints the Parish offense will be looking to get back on track. The Knights finished 6-4 in 2024, falling in the SPC 4A title game. The Knights opened with a 51-0 win over Waltrip and appear to have an improved defense from a season ago. This should be a close one. The Panthers offense may not be quite a good and the Knights defense may be a tad better. So particularly with the long trip we favor the home team. Knights win 35-28.

Frisco Legacy Christian @ Bullard Brook Hill -- The Guard took an opening road win over Redwater 39-14. A large improvement over a 3-point home win in 2024. Week 2 of 2024 saw Brook Hill travel to Frisco and lose a defensive struggle 14-9. The Eagles took that win and parlayed into one of their best seasons, reaching the semifinals. The Eagles defense will need to be that dominant squad that held Brook Hill to a single touchdown if they are going to contest the top of Division I. A season opening 35-6 win over Cistercian may suggests they have that ability. If they can hold the Guard under 20 this is a win for the Eagles. If the Brook Hill offense can get going they could be the surprise team of Division II. I think the Eagles are better but this is not a road gimme. Legacy wins 22-10.

Arlington Grace Prep @ Colleyville Covenant Christian -- This game sneaks into the top section with these squads performance last week. The Lions took down Division I Fort Worth Nolan, 34-23. They did this on the road too. In 2024, Nolan scored 54 while last week they scored just 23. So huge improvements seem on order for Grace Prep. The Cougars started with a 40-34 win over home-school program Atlas. Last season, Covenant defeated Grace Prep 31-10. The Lions improvement seems to set them up for a road win here, but it should be a tight contest. Both teams appear to have a difficult road against the top teams in their respective districts, but a win here should point toward a playoff spot. Lions with another road win, 28-21.

Sundown @ Lubbock Christian -- The Eagles began the 2025 campaign with a 49-26 victory over Wink. The different opponents for the West Texas members of TAPPS always makes for an interesting challenge in predictions. Lubbock Christian looks to be positioned to threaten again in Division III, having lost to DC in the semifinals a year ago. The Holy Cross, Lubbock, DC trio shape up to the top of the division again. The Eagles scored over 500 points in just 12 games a season ago and 49 is a quick start to the offense again. Getting the stops against top opponents will be the challenge. The Roughnecks were just 3-8 last year, including a 47-14 loss to Lubbock Christian. However, 2025 began with a turnaround dominant win over Shamrock. After losing by 4 a season ago, Sundown won 52-6 last week. So the Roughneck squad appears to be much improved. We still lean toward home teams but this should be closer than last year's 33-point margin. Eagles win 42-28. 

Quick Hits: (Season: 5-5)

Dallas Covenant over Plano John Paul II
Tyler All Saints over Detroit
Fort Worth Lake Country Christian over Magnolia Legacy Prep
Dallas First Baptist over Tyler Grace Community
Grapevine Faith Christian over Dallas HSAA
Midland Christian over Dallas Bishop Lynch
Fort Worth Christian over Houston Second Baptist
Fort Worth Nolan over Dallas Bishop Dunne
Tomball Concordia Lutheran over The Woodlands John Cooper
Houston Lutheran South over Austin Hyde Park

Week 1 Results 2025

Ah yes, that new season smell. 

This Week:

Dallas Christian over San Antonio Cornerstone Christian (22-43) -- Wrong 
--Chargers roundly defeated on the road to open the season. Should be some better matchups ahead but work to be done on the drive for five. Warriors have an another very good squad.

Anna over Argyle Liberty Christian (31-28) -- Correct
--A very game effort by the Warriors against a top program. Liberty looks to be a top contender in Division I even with the loss.

Fort Worth All Saints over Dallas Parish Episcopal (24-21) -- Correct
--A different venue but the same result as last year. A tight result that puts the Saints right at the top of the Division II contenders. 

Dallas First Baptist over Dallas Bishop Lynch (48-62) -- Wrong
--The Friars explode offensively to end the FBA win streak. Saints will be hard to beat in Division IV, but the two-way probably caught up to them a bit this week.

San Antonio Holy Cross over San Antonio Antonian (20-27) -- Wrong
--Apaches with a quality win to start the season, turning a 30 point loss a season ago into a 7 point win. 

Brownsville St. Joseph over Raymondville (22-25) -- Wrong
--Bearkats sneak by the Bloodhounds. St. Joseph will need more offense to compete with the best of Division II. Lots of time to find that punch though.

Bullard Brook Hill over Redwater (39-14) -- Correct
--Guard with a good road win to start the season and by a 25 margin.

Week 1: 3-4

Quick Hits:  

Episcopal School of Dallas over Dallas Bishop Dunne (70-0) -- Correct
Shelton over Plano John Paul II (0-42) -- Wrong
Dallas St. Marks over Fort Worth Country Day (14-44) -- Wrong
Fort Worth Nolan over Arlington Grace Prep (23-34) -- Wrong
Midland Christian over Graham (7-17) -- Wrong
Tyler Grace Community over Queen City (35-26) -- Correct
Tyler All Saints over Saratoga West Hardin (46-12) -- Correct
Austin Regents over Lorena (55-48) -- Correct
Boerne Geneva over San Antonio Christian (28-21) -- Correct
Gunter over Houston Kinkaid (49-44) -- Correct

Week 1: 5-5

Week 1 Picks 2025

The long road of summer winds to an end as football resumes once again. The fields of Texas will be alive again on Friday (and Thursday) as a new season kicks off. It won't be quite as warm this year as the usual August openers though the further South we go, the more the heat will be a factor. The 2nd year of an alignment cycle always brings some familiarity as the reverse of last year's schedule comprises most of the games. So we'll start with the title holders in 2025 and my 11th season of making it up as I go along. Enjoy a special 7-game slate that includes 0 Eagles. Good luck on the road to State!

This Week:

Dallas Christian @ San Antonio Cornerstone Christian -- The Chargers were once again the TAPPS Division III Champions in 2024 and start the year looking for the 5-peat. For the first time since 2020, someone other than Luke Carney will start at quarterback for DC. That leaves a big hole to fill. If they had their choice a long road trip would probably not be the way you want to start off but that is the schedule ahead. The Chargers averaged 45 points per game a season ago and we'll need all of them in this road test. The Warriors came to Mesquite a season ago and took a rare road win away from Wheeler Field, 49-42. Cornerstone finished a rugged independent schedule at just 5-6 but that is no indication of their quality. The Warriors probably are the better squad on paper (though who really knows in August?) but the policy of this space is well known (at least it should be by now). The Chargers defense has a chance to return to prominence after the offense has carried the last couple of years. Chargers get a bit of revenge with a close road win, 28-26.

Argyle Liberty Christian @ Anna -- The Warriors won their 2nd title in as many seasons by winning the clash of champions of Parish Episcopal. The Division I title cemented the Liberty Christian rise after winning the Division II title in 2023. Liberty finished the season at 12-1 losing only to Texarkana Texas High, a squad that reached Round 3 of the UIL 5A playoffs. That rematch will wait for next week. This week the Warriors travel to the northern reaches of DFW and Anna. The Coyotes finished just 9-4 but to play 13 games you have to reach Round 3 of the playoffs and Anna did while scoring all of the points. The Coyotes averaged 50.9 points per game including losses where they scored 48, 62, and a playoff loss with 49 on the scoreboard. We will know very quickly if the Warriors are the favorites in Division I this week. With a win, its clearly Liberty's title to lose. With a loss, they may still be the favorites but we'll have to wait for some more data. I just don't think the Warriors offense can keep pace to get this road win. Coyotes break Liberty's 10 game win streak, 48-35.

Fort Worth All Saints @ Dallas Parish Episcopal -- The Episcopal showdown includes a defending state champion, but for the first time since 2019 that champion is not the Panthers. The Saints won the TAPPS Division II crown in 2024 for their first TAPPS football title. All Saints was the only undefeated TAPPS 11-man squad a season ago, finishing 14-0. That season opened with a 39-35 win over Parish and a win over Prestonwood followed in Week 2. From that point all signs pointed to a title for the Saints, and they delivered on those expectations. It was a clear offense or defense favoring squad last year. The Saints were just good. The Panthers 9-5 mark last season was their most losses since 2017, but still a state final appearance for blue field squad. The Saints have to travel to that blue field this year after winning in Fort Worth a season ago. This space always favors home teams, but I think the Saints are the better team (again August speculation). Saints stretch their win streak to 15 with a low scoring win, 29-14.

Dallas Bishop Lynch @ Dallas First Baptist -- The Saints secured back-to-back Division IV championships with dominant victory over Brazos Christian in the title game. FBA has lost just once in the last two seasons. They replace an out-of-state opponent from last year with a rare Division I vs. Division IV matchup. If the Saints can overcome the depth constraints of the enrollment spread then they will quickly be the favorites for a 3-peat. The Friars have had some interesting seasons, 5-loss state finals runs, surprising early exits, winless COVID seasons, just to name a few. Bishop Lynch wen 6-6 a season ago in pretty unremarkable fashion. No shocking losses, no upset wins. Just right in the middle. It seems to be a similar year in 2025. Hard to see them ousting the top of the Division in Parish, Liberty, and Prestonwood. Could the bracket work out for them to make the semis like Frisco Legacy last year? Perhaps. So I love the cross-division showdown, but I'm not sure it will tell us much about who the 2025 contenders are. These two are just 2.5 miles apart but have not played in the MaxPreps era. I really don't know how this shakes out so home team I guess. Saints win a fun one, 48-42.

San Antonio Holy Cross @ San Antonio Antonian -- The Knights carried an undefeated record into the Division III title game last season. Then, Luke Carney crushed the dream surprisingly with his defense and DC took the title 21-18. Holy Cross begins the long road back with a rivalry showdown. The LSCSN research has the series as 35-24 Holy Cross dating back to 1966. A season ago the Knights dominated 51-21. The Knights have been undone through the years by a lack of offense and they fixed that in 2024, putting up over 45 points per game. The Apaches finished 2024 at 8-3 with a 7-0 district championship campaign. So hosting a regional game against Frisco Legacy seemed to be their spot to be that semifinalist, but a 62-27 home loss was the last of their season. Its always hard to know what to expect in August, but I don't see what has changed since the Knights won by a 30 a year ago. So Holy Cross takes the opener, 42-27.

Brownsville St. Joseph @ Raymondville -- The Bloodhounds are a favorite of this space to create some "mascot variety." In recent years their play on the field has backed up their inclusion. A 10-2 season in 2024 included a dominant district championship with the closest district contest being a 30-point margin. Second Baptist ended the 'Hounds season in the regional round, 29-10. St. Joseph needs to be more consistent on offense to compete with the District 1 and 4 contenders. They start with the return of last year's game against the Bearkats. A season ago the Bloodhounds to a 34-6 home victory and Raymondville went on to miss the playoffs at 4-6. So a road test to start, but should be a good jumping off point for the Bloodhounds. St. Joseph wins 35-14.

Bullard Brook Hill @ Redwater -- The Guard travel deeper into East Texas for a rematch with the Dragons. Brook Hill found a 31-28 home win a season ago to start a 6-5 season that saw them lose to the eventual state champions in Round 1 of the playoffs. The Guard offense has just not been able to produce in the big games in recent seasons. They lost close games to Frisco Legacy and Tyler Grace scoring just 9 and 21 points. That inability to score has plagued them in the "contender" games against Dallas Christian, Regents, and the like. The Dragons finished the year at 2-7, allowing over 43 points per game. Brook Hill needs to get off to a good start or the final stages of the season will likely see their undoing again. I've been thinking the Guard would get back into contention every year since 2014 when they won at Dallas Christian. However, that was the last season the Guard lost fewer than 4 games. I think a road win kicks things off here. Brook Hill wins 35-21.

Quick Hits:  

Episcopal School of Dallas over Dallas Bishop Dunne
Shelton over Plano John Paul II
Dallas St. Marks over Fort Worth Country Day
Fort Worth Nolan over Arlington Grace Prep
Midland Christian over Graham
Tyler Grace Community over Queen City
Tyler All Saints over Saratoga West Hardin
Austin Regents over Lorena
Boerne Geneva over San Antonio Christian
Gunter over Houston Kinkaid

Previous Seasons:
2015: 94-16
2016: 79-25
2017: 78-32
2018: 88-22
2019: 89-21
2020: 64-23
2021: 85-29
2022: 81-31
2023: 87-21
2024: 79-25

Quick Hits:
2015: 60-15
2016: 103-26
2017: 101-29
2018: 102-28
2019: 103-27
2020: 77-23
2021: 105-25
2022: 96-34
2023: 100-30
2024: 108-22