Second-round headliners include Brandeis vs. Clemens in Alamodome and Carroll vs. DeSoto at AT&T Stadium.
Video: National Top 10 Games of the Week
Katy vs. Cy-Fair (Cypress) among the nation's top games.When undefeated powerhouse
programs collide in the playoffs, it generally doesn't happen in the
second round. That, however, is the situation for No. 2 Katy (Texas) and No. 11
Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas) when two district championship teams with 11-0 records
meet in a Class 6A Division I Region III area-round playoff set for 7
p.m. Friday at Tully Stadium in Houston.
Casual spectators love
it. Fans of the losing side will likely point to bracket fairness when
many other second-round games involve teams with lesser records. Aside
from perfect records, Katy and Cy-Fair are similar in playing style,
leaning heavily on running the ball and playing smothering defense.
Katy
is an eight-time state champion, the most recent in 2015. Cy-Fair has a
few holdovers from the 2017 team that captured the school's first
football state title. One of those is running back L.J. Johnson who has
rushed for 1,834 yards and 36 touchdowns.
Cy-Fair's defense
has five shutouts and allowed only a field goal in two other games. No
opponent has scored more than 20 points on the Bobcats.
Katy's
defense likewise owns five shutouts. The feature back in Katy's
offensive attack is Ronald Hoff with 1,169 yards and 13 touchdowns. Hoff
was injured in the early moments of Katy's 35-28 bi-district victory
over Ridge Point (Missouri City) last week and was ably replaced by
Jalen Davis.
Passing yards between Katy's Bronson McClelland
and Cy-Fair's Carter Cravens are almost equal, but McClelland with 16
touchdown passes has seven more than Cravens. The teams last met in the
area round of the 2010 playoffs won by Katy 55-20.
Here are previews of five other top Texas playoff games this week. (MaxPreps Texas Top 25 ranking included):
Guyer dual-threat quarterback Eli Stowers.
File photo by Michael Horbovetz
No. 19 Clemens (Schertz) vs No. 22 Brandeis (San Antonio)
Friday, 7:30 p.m., Alamodome, San Antonio
Top players
Clemens: QB Max Didomenico (5-11, 195), LB Derrick Lewis (6-1, 215), RB A'mari Williams (5-7, 170), WR Andrew Edwards (5-11, 180), LB Jackson D Macias (6-0, 200).
Brandeis: QB Jordan Battles (6-0, 170), TE Kris Bowen (6-4, 230), DB Frank Wilson IV (5-10, 180), OL Shaquan Flagg (6-3, 260), WR Joshua Suarez (6-0, 160).
In this Class 6A Division II Region IV contest, Clemens (10-1) has already had a banner year with District 26-6A wins
over both Judson (Converse) and Steele (Cibolo). Both teams rely heavily
on the running and passing of junior quarterbacks. For Clemens, it's Didomenico with 31 combined touchdowns. He has thrown for 1,189
yards and rushed for 1,125. Battles is the guy that makes
Brandeis (11-0) go with 1,438 rushing yards, 896 in the air and a
combined 33 touchdowns. In 2015, Clemens defeated Brandeis in the
playoffs, 35-31.
No. 21 Fort Bend Marshall (Missouri City) vs A&M Consolidated (College Station)
Friday, 7 p.m., Pridgeon Stadium, Houston
Top players
FB Marshall: QB Malik Hornsby (6-3, 180), WR Devon Achane (5-9, 170), LB Norman Baker (5-11, 180), DT Tristin Drones-Mouton (6-1, 251), OT Larry Moore (6-6, 265).
A&M Consolidated: WR Devin Price (6-3, 175), CB/WR Nate Floyd (6-1, 170), WR/RB Brian Darby (6-0, 185), LB Makel Williams (6-0, 180), WR Valen Jones (6-0, 175).
In this Class 5A Division II Region III game, Marshall
has quite the 1-2 offensive punch with the passing of Hornsby
(1,344 yards, 22 touchdowns) and the rushing of Achane (1,259
yards, 21 touchdowns). A&M Consolidated boasts two elite receivers
in Darby (Oklahoma pledge) and Price (Texas A&M). The
Tigers have scored over 40 points nine times and will likely need to
again in order to get the first series win in three meetings.
No. 23 Dickinson vs No. 25 Atascocita (Humble)
Saturday, 2 p.m., NRG Stadium, Houston
Top players
Dickinson: QB Mike Welch (6-0, 186), DB DJ Warnell (6-3, 190), WR Darryl Harris (6-4, 190), DL Victor Idusuyi Jr. (6-3, 290), DL/TE Canon Boone (6-4, 230).
Atascocita: DE Asyrus Simon (6-5, 240), OL Will Jones (6-3, 280), WR Dylan Robinson (6-3, 192), QB Brice Matthews (5-11, 167), DB Devyn Brooks (6-2, 196).
In Class 6A Division I Region III play, both teams
lost to state top five teams in Week 2, Dickinson to Allen and
Atascocita to Katy. Since, both have done nothing but win. Dickinson had
the tougher bi-district chore, squeezing past Pearland 28-23 while
Atascocita was thumping Deer Park, 69-29. Atascocita quarterback Matthews has thrown for 32 touchdowns and run for seven. Robinson
is a reliable receiver with 42 catches for 760 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The defense of Dickinson has intercepted 19 passes, six by Deonza Yoakum
and five by Savien Arnett. The Gators offense is built around
quarterback Welch with 14 passing touchdowns and 18 more on the
ground.
No. 5 Carroll (Southlake) vs DeSoto
Friday, 4:30 p.m., AT&T Stadium, Arlington
Top players
Carroll: QB Quinn Ewers (6-3, 190), RB Jack Abram (5-10, 185), WR John Manero (6-1, 180), WR Wills Meyer (6-2, 190), LB Graham Faloona (6-3, 190).
In this Class 6A Division I Region I game, sophomore Ewers is the latest in a long
line of successful Carroll quarterbacks with 2,885 passing yards for 33
touchdowns. His favorite target is senior Meyer with 67
catches for 867 yards and 13 touchdowns. Carroll (11-0) is coming off an
84-point outburst in the bi-district round. DeSoto (9-2) suffered a
pair of one-point District 7-6A losses down the stretch, but is
explosive again on offense. Junior quarterback Collier has 2,522
passing yards and 32 touchdowns. Arnold, a 6-4 senior, leads
receivers with 50 catches for 845 yards and 14 touchdowns. Jyison Brown
is the leading Eagles ball carrier with 964 yards. The series is tied
2-2 with Carroll winning last year, 41-20.
No. 9 Guyer (Denton) vs. Cedar Hill
Saturday, noon, AT&T Stadium
Top playersGuyer: QB Eli Stowers (6-4, 200), RB/SS Kaedric Cobbs (5-10, 213), WR/CB Seth Meador (5-11, 175), LB/RB Johnathan Jones (5-9, 182), DL/OL Dotun Olanipekun (5-10, 250).
Cedar Hill: QB Kaidon Salter (6-1, 180), RB Corie Allen (5-11, 185), FS Dedryc Hutchins (5-10, 180), WR Quin Bright (5-9, 170) and OL Courtland Ford (6-6, 305).
In a Class 6A Division II Region I game, these
teams met in the second week of the season with Guyer (10-1) holding on
40-36. Guyer quarterback Stowers, a Texas A&M pledge, has
thrown for 2,262 yards and 26 touchdowns. Against Cedar Hill, he threw
for a season-high 302 yards. On the ground, the Wildcats have Cobbs with 1,816 yards and 32 touchdowns. Cedar Hill (9-2) has won nine
straight since opening losses to Allen and Guyer. Salter has
thrown for 2,291 yards and 25 touchdowns. His favorite target is Texas
Tech commit Bright with 937 receiving yards and 10 scores. On the
ground, Allen has 831 yards and nine touchdowns. Cedar Hill leads
the series, 6-2.
