The Cooldown - 5 Thoughts from Week Seven
DFW - Week Seven
Week seven has come and gone and most area teams have four district games left to decide who makes the playoffs. Last weekend’s action saw several previously undefeated teams fall as the playoff picture starts to take shape around the metroplex. Let’s recap week seven and look ahead to week eight.
- Haltom upsets Euless Trinity for the 2nd consecutive year
The Haltom Buffaloes have now defeated Trinity in back-to-back years in district play. You have to go all the way back to 1996 and 1997 to find a district opponent who was able to string together wins in consecutive seasons – that opponent? None other than their longtime rival L.D. Bell. The Blue Raiders won a 3-0 overtime thriller in 96 and then 26-7 the next season. That has added some intrigue to the district 3-6A race. Trinity lost to Haltom, Haltom lost to Weatherford, Weatherford lost to San Angelo Central, and San Angelo Central lost to Trinity. Those four teams are likely making the playoffs, leaving L.D. Bell, Richland and Abilene on the outside looking in. What order those teams will be in a few weeks from now is anybody’s guess.
Zechariah Moore and Valentino Foni each rushed for over 100 yards and three combined touchdowns on the ground. Fumbles have plagued the Trojans this year and none was more costly than Moore’s turnover just before halftime. That fumble turned into three points for Haltom and changed the entire complexion of the game. Haltom quarterback Adam Hill passed for 88 yards and rushed for 104 more, doing most of the damage for Haltom offensively. Haltom gets Abilene, L.D. Bell and Richland over the next few weeks. Expect the Buffs to build on this winning streak.
2. Bowie survives against Arlington
Much like district 3-6A, the playoff teams in district 4-6A look to be already set. Bowie, Martin, Lamar and Arlington are all 5-1 on the season. Bowie and Martin are undefeated in district play while Lamar and Arlington are both 2-1. Arlington and Bowie both still have Martin and Lamar on the schedule. Bowie can relax a bit over the next two weeks before having to face Lamar and then Martin to close the season. Arlington will be looking to bounce back this weekend against Martin before closing its season with Lamar. Of course, the end of the schedule for Lamar won’t be easy, having to face Bowie and Arlington to close out the regular season. Kris Sims threw two touchdown passes for Arlington while Marsaillus Sims rushed for 115 yards for Bowie. Arlington trailed the entire night and almost pulled off the comeback win but fell just short, losing 21-20.
3. Prosper falls to Jesuit
Jesuit started off its season 0-2. After tough losses to Arlington and DeSoto, they have now won four straight games and still have McKinney and Plano East on the schedule. That’s a fairly clear path to six wins for Jesuit. The other two games the Rangers have on the schedule are Allen and Plano the next two weeks. Prosper was undefeated until losing last weekend to Jesuit by a final of 41-14. The Eagles came out of their bye week flat and it cost them. Prosper is 5-1 and 2-1 in district and its next two games are against McKinney Boyd and Plano West. Prosper should be able to win both of those games and take a 7-1, 4-1 record into its game against Allen. Closing the season with Allen and Plano won’t be easy, but I have been saying that we would find out what this Prosper team is made of at the end of the season.
E.J. Smith and Jake Taylor were the stars for Jesuit against Prosper. Smith rushed for 93 yards and four touchdowns while Taylor rushed for 156 yards and two scores. Prosper quarterback Jackson Berry threw three interceptions. It’s hard to beat a team who runs the ball like Jesuit does and overcome three interceptions. Berry did throw two touchdown passes and passed for 150 yards in the loss.
4. Week Eight look ahead.
Here are a few games I will be keeping my eye on this weekend.
Arlington Martin @ Arlington
These two teams are fighting for playoff seeding this weekend. As I talked about above, Arlington will want to bounce back from a loss against Martin and this game will be important to both teams because of the playoff implications.
Jesuit @ Allen
Jesuit is fresh off a dominating performance against Prosper. If the Rangers can carry some of the momentum from that game into Eagle Stadium, Jesuit might have a chance to hand Allen its first home loss. I still think Allen wins this one, but Jesuit and Prosper are the last two teams on the schedule with a decent chance to beat Allen.
Northwest Eaton @ Keller Central
Eaton is coming off a disappointing 17-12 loss against Keller and is now fighting for its playoff hopes. Eaton is 2-1 in district 5-6A and will be competing with Keller and Keller Central for the final two playoff spots. Denton Guyer is also 2-1 but is a virtual lock for the playoffs along with 3-0 Southlake Carroll. Keller holds a tiebreaker over Eaton after beating the Eagles last week. A loss against Central would not only drop Eaton to 2-2 in district, but also require the Eagles to have a better district record than Keller or Central to make the playoffs. Simply put, Eaton’s season rides on the outcome of this Friday’s game with Central.
Weatherford @ Trinity
I talked about this above as well, but Trinity and Weatherford are fighting for playoff seeding in this game. Each team has a district loss. After this game, both Weatherford and Trinity should win out. Trinity finishes out its schedule with Abilene and Richland while Weatherford gets Abilene, Richland and L.D. Bell. That means the winner of this weekend’s game between Weatherford and Trinity should end up with higher playoff seeding.
Frisco Lone Star @ The Colony
This game will decide who wins the district 5-5A crown. In all honesty, Lone Star should win this game comfortably. The Rangers are ranked first in 5A and with good reason. Lone Star took down Highland Park 30-19 earlier in the year and sophomore quarterback Garret Rangel has really impressed me. Marvin Mims has been an animal on the receiving end of most of Rangel’s pass attempts. However, can the Lone Star defense slow down The Colony quarterback Mikey Harrington II? Harrington II and Rangel have thrown 22 touchdowns each and both have passed for well over 1,600 yards. There will be a lot of offense in this one.
Denison @ Frisco
The only team that stands between Frisco and a district 7-5A DII championship is Denison. Frisco is still undefeated (7-0, 5-0) and Denison is 3-1 in district play. If Denison wins out, they’ll have a win over Frisco and the tiebreaker to claim the district crown. If Denison loses, Frisco would have to lose its final two games against Frisco Memorial and Lovejoy to win the district. I expect Frisco to win this one and all but secure the district crown.