Texas high school championship pick 'ems, Part 2

Time for the big-bracket picks, y'all.

First I should note we haven't had the high school pick 'em madness of a year ago. The Texas prep tradition is one that endures.

So, without further ado.....

Class 5A Division I
Southlake Carroll (15-0) vs. Austin Westlake (14-2), 7 p.m. Saturday at Alamodome: Carroll has won 47 in a row but will lose head coach Todd Dodge to the college ranks after the game. It's not exactly the first rodeo for Westlake, home of Drew Brees, who led the Chaps to the 1996 state title.

Class 5A Division II
Cedar Hill (15-0) vs. Cypress Falls (12-3), 2 p.m. Saturday at Alamodome: Cedar Hill, which had never won a playoff game before this season, stuffed Garland 3 times from the 1-yard line as time expired to secure a state berth. Cy-Falls is a fairly new school that has reached the state quarterfinals in both 2004 and 2005.

Class 4A Division II
Waco (13-2) vs. LaMarque (14-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday at Alamodome: Waco hasn't been to the state championship game before but has missed the playoffs only 3 times since 1982. LaMarque owns 4 state titles, including 3 straight from 1995-97.

Class 3A Division II
Celina (15-0) vs. Liberty Hill (12-2), 4 p.m. Saturday at Baylor University in Waco: Celina is shooting for a state record 8th championship and could become the first Texas school to win a title the first year after winning state in a lower classification. Liberty Hill is only 2 years removed from a state semifinal appearance.

Class 2A Division II
Cisco (14-1) vs. Mart (14-1), 2 p.m. Saturday at Justin Northwest: Cisco QB Jacob West transferred there after leading Gainesville to the 3A title game in 2005. Mart is perenially strong, winning its third state title in 1999 and finishing as runner-up in 2000.

Class A Division II
Windthorst (14-0) vs. Chilton (13-1), 3 p.m. Saturday at Stephenville: Windthorst has been ranked No. 1 all year long in the state and shut out 4 opponents in a row at one point in the regular season. Chilton lost a narrow 19-13 game to Mart in the season-opener.

 

Is Dodge taking the UNT job?

 

He already took the job, Chef. It was announced on Tuesday.

Anyway - my picks:
5A I: Carroll (Riley wins one more for Daddy - and then cries because he has to go to UNT)
5A II: Cedar Hill (Will Cole, baby!)
4A II: LaMarque
3A II: Celina
2A II: Cisco (in honor of the "Thong Song")
A III: Windthorst

 

After my shitty 3-3 record in the first set, let's see if I can run the table here:
Southlake Carroll in an ass beating
Cedar Hill
Waco, especially with that mean defense
Liberty Hill, just to spite Football_Bat
Mart
Windthorst in an ass beating

 

Thanks for the scouting reports, F_Bat.

Here's my picks:

(And where is Celina?)

5A, Division I: Southlake Carroll.

(They win it for Dodge. I saw him play at Port Arthur Jeff. Damn I feel old.)

5A, Division II: Cypress Falls.

(When in doubt, go for Houston area team.)

4A, Division II: LaMarque.

(Ever seen these guys run at the state track meet? 'Nuff said.)

3A, Division II: Celina.

(And Mr. Rand McNally/Football_Bat, where the hell is Celina?)

2A, Division II: Cisco.

(In the words of War, "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine ...")

1A, Division II, Windthorst.

(Four shutouts in a row. Impressive.)

I just wanna go on record that it was better when there were five state champions, maybe six (with 5A broken up into divisions).

 

Celina is about 35 miles north of Dallas and right on the edge of the Metroplex. They will be 4A in about 8 years with their growth rate.

 

Thanks amigo.

 

First final of the weekend: La Marque 34, Waco 14.

 

Final: Liberty Hill 22, Celina 19.

Liberty Hill kicked a 31-yard FG with :06 left.

 

Southlake Carroll won the 5A Division I title beating Austin Westlake 43-29. The Dragons actually trailed 15-7 at halftime.

 

I watched part of this game on FSN tonight. SLC QB Riley Dodge, coach's son, lined up in the shotgun, threw up, threw a TD pass and then threw up again as he was coming off the field.

"He's leaving it all on the field," the astute play-by-play guy commented.

 

I wonder if something was going around because the kid that got the sack on the fourth down play with 1 minute left, promptly went to the sideline and puked his guts out too. For some reason they felt the need to keep the camera on him the entire time.