Texas high school championship pick 'ems, Part 1

Now, for a second straight year, the only high school pick 'em contest that matters: Texas, where high school football is king.

This year is a little different because Class 5A has expanded to two 64-team brackets, which means both 5A finals will be next week. In addition, Class A has adopted the format of the upper classifications: a 32-team D-I and a 64-team D-II bracket, which means a split title for the first time. Also, six-man has gone to two divisions as well.

So saddle up, buckaroos, and prepare for the ride of your life:

Class 4A Division I
Copperas Cove (12-2) vs. SA Alamo Heights (13-1), 7 p.m. Saturday at Alamodome: Copperas Cove's 21-7 loss to Waco in Week 10 sparked the Bulldogs to 4 straight playoff wins, including huge ones over Texas High and Aledo. Alamo Heights has reeled off 13 straight wins after a season-opening 27-19 loss to Georgetown.

Class 3A Division I
Texarkana Liberty-Eylau (11-3) vs. Waco Robinson (12-2), 6 p.m. Saturday at SMU: Liberty-Eylau hasn't been dominant this postseason, but survived an 8-hour bus ride to Sweetwater to beat Canyon. Robinson opened the season with a 42-14 loss to Celina, which is favored to win Division II.

Class 2A Division I
Littlefield (13-1) vs. Tatum (12-2), 6 p.m. Saturday at Aledo: Tatum won state at the Class 3A level last year and dropped in classification, but stumbled early with a loss to 3A power Gilmer and then was tripped up by Troup in district play. Littlefield's only loss was to Childress, a state semifinalist a year ago.

Class A Division I
McCamey (10-4) vs. Alto (13-0), 3 p.m. Saturday at Brownwood: McCamey, which started the year 2-4, is truly located in BFE, and had to play both Midland's freshmen AND jayvee teams to have a 10-game schedule. They also started the year 2-4 before winning their district. Alto, from the Piney Woods, finished No. 2 in the state AP poll behind Windthorst, but has four legitimate D-I guys.

Six-Man Division I
Rule (12-0) vs. Richland Springs (13-0), 7 p.m. Saturday at Abilene: Rule, like many other West Texas schools, was an 11-man power for years until their enrollment could no longer support 11-man. Richland Springs won the 2004 title and has held opponents to a touchdown or fewer 8 times, which is impressive in 6-man.

Six-Man Division II
Jayton (11-3) vs. Vernon Northside (13-1), 3 p.m. Saturday at Abilene: Jayton, which won state titles back-to-back in 1984-85, lost 50-0 to Rule in non-district play. Northside, in the finals for the first time, hasn't scored less than 50 points all season; its only loss was a 102-87 shootout with Amarillo Bible in Week 5.

 

Having covered Texas HS football in three diverse locales -- Baytown (if you wanna see the sights, there's the tunnel to LaPorte), Brazosport (where the mosquito is the state bird) and Brownsville (the gateway to the Third World) -- I'll take a stab at this.

4A, Alamo Heights. (Playing in San Antonio.)

3A, Liberty-Elyau. (Always thought that was a cool name.)

2A, Littlefield. (Former 3A school. Where, incidentally, is Aledo???)

1A, Alto. (Why not. They're undefeated.)

Six-man, Division I, Richland Springs. (Playing six-man longer, more tradition.)

Six-man, Division II. Vernon-Northside. (Just 'cuz F_Bat talked about their 102-87 "shootout" with Amarillo Bible. I've read some impressive stories about six-man football over the years. Hey, Jack Pardee played six-man before he went to A&M.)

(One of the Junction Boys, if I'm not mistaken.)

 

J_M, Aledo is just west of Fort Worth.

I assume it's Vernon Northside you're picking.

 

Got it. Corrected.

(As Lester Hayes said after Super Bowl XVIII, "We do strive for accuracy." Lester said the Raidahs would beat the 'Skins 42-10. Instead, it was 38-9. Impressive.)

 

Copperas Cove
Waco Robinson
Littlefield
Alto
Richland Springs
Jayton

 

A quick aside... how exactly does six-man football work?

 

80-yard field and not as wide. Three guys on the line, one WR - maybe - a QB and a RB. You can't run the ball until it has changed hands (so, for example, the quarterback can't scramble unless he has handed it off and had it pitched back to him. Because of this, the kid with the best arm tends to be a RB). Everyone is an eligible receiver.
Also, the goal posts are wider and shorter and kicking a PAT is worth 2 points, while running or passing it in is only worth 1 point.

 

4A Division I: Copperas Cove
3A Division I: Liberty-Eylau - because Canyon was legite and they beat the Eagles.
2A Division I: Tatum
1A Division I: McCamey - got to go with the upset.
Six-man Division I: Richland Springs - in a rout
Six-man Division II: Jayton

 

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

 

Among the six divisions which are playing semifinals this week, one of the more interesting matchups is the Class 1A Division II game between Windthorst and Nazareth. Windthorst is about 40 miles south of Wichita Falls and due east of Archer City, where the movie The Last Picture Show was filmed. Nazareth is about 60 miles southwest of Amarillo.

Both are little farming towns (dairy at Windthorst, corn at Naz) originally settled by German immigrants and are heavily Catholic (which makes Windthorst's choice of Trojans as mascot seem a little odd; the Nazareth Swifts are named after the "swift" brown foxes that once populated that part of the prairie).

The Teutonic influence is heavy in both towns. Despite a combined population of less than 2,000, there's something like four liquor stores in each community.

The Windthorst roster includes names like Berend, Hoegger, Hoff, Koetter, Schreiber, Schroeder and Veitenheimer. Naz's roster boasts Birkenfeld, Gerber, Schacher and Schulte (I'm a little disappointed there aren't any Pohlmeiers or Schmuckers this year).

Naz, which is eligible for six-man with a high school enrollment of about 85, has been a basketball power for years, winning three state championships. The girls teams (Swiftettes) have won 17 state titles. Windthorst is also pretty good in girls sports, winning 11 state volleyball titles in the last 15 years.

I expect a genealogy workshop and kegger to be held in conjunction with the game.

 

I heard ESPN the Magazine is doing a story on Nazareth's basketball programs, so everyone can learn a little more about them soon.

 

gotta go with alamo heights, since they beat the crap out of my hornets -- bastards. but maybe if they win, i can say the flour bluff hustlin' hornets were the second-best team