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Although designated as Week 2 on the UIL football schedule, this will be the opening week for areas of Texas ravaged by Hurricane Harvey. With the hope that conditions are favorable for a return to normalcy this week, here is a look at some of the top match-ups:
North Shore (Houston) 0-0 at Manvel 0-0, 7 p.m. Thursday
North Shore, Class 6A DI state champions in 2015, returns three offensive and four defensive starters topped by speedy running back
Kerrion Hadnot. Manvel made it to the regional final in Class 5A DI last year and lost to Temple 24-23, the only blemish on a 13-1 final record. Quarterback
Kason Martin, one of 12 returning starters, threw for over 3,500 yards and 48 touchdowns in 2016.
DeSoto 1-0 at Guyer (Denton) 1-0, 7 p.m. Thursday
DeSoto began defense of its 2016 Class 6A DI state title with a hard-fought 41-36 victory over Jesuit (Dallas) as senior quarterback
Courtney Douglas threw for 245 yards and three scores in its opener. Guyer went 9-3 a year ago and opened the 2017 campaign by beating Lake Ridge (Mansfield) 37-21. Sophomore
Kaedric Cobbs led the way by rushing for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
German and Gemon Green, DeSoto
Photo by Alik McIntosh
The "Battle of Hwy. 77'' is a rivalry over a century old and this year's engagement is particularly intriguing. Both sides are coming off deep playoff runs in 2016. Yoakum, a 33-0 Week 1 winner over Hondo, reached the Class 3A DI state finals. The Bulldogs return 13 starters, including Texas A&M pledge
Jordan Moore who had 10 interceptions last year. Cuero returns 14 starters topped by
Jordan Whittington from a Class 4A DII state semifinal appearance. Whittington, a receiver, accounted for over 2,000 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2016.
George Ranch (Richmond) 0-0 at Dickinson 0-0, 7 p.m. Friday
One year removed from the Class 5A D1 state championship, George Ranch will depend on linebackers
Chester Sims and
David Fisher to lead the way to a second playoff berth since promotion to Class 6A. Dickinson, 10-2 last season, is led by versatile Texas A&M pledge
Montel Parker.
Steele (Cibolo) 1-0 at Lake Travis (Austin) 0-1, 7:30 p.m. Friday
First-year Steele head coach David Saenz began his tenure with a 36-3 victory over Madison (San Antonio).
De'Quavian Thomas rushed for 190 yards and two touchdowns on 22 totes. Senior quarterback
Matthew Baldwin threw for 435 yards and five touchdowns in Lake Travis' 65-45 opening night loss to Judson (Converse). The winning streak of the defending Class 6A DI state champion was stopped at 15 games.
Goliad 0-0 at Refugio 0-0, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Goliad returns 17 starters, including running back
Logan Bland, from a club that went 9-4 and made the Class 3A DI regional semifinals. Bland rushed for 1,803 yards and 24 touchdowns. Refugio is coming off a state championship season in Class 2A DI and returns 11 starters headed by
Jacobe Avery who rushed and passed for a combined 25 touchdowns in 2016.
Cedar Ridge (Round Rock) 1-0 at Midway (Waco) 1-0, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Simi Bakare,
Ezekiel Coss and
Deuce Vaughn all rushed for more than 100 yards in Cedar Ridge's 46-14 rout of Canyon (New Braunfels). Midway opened the season with an eye-opening 35-28 victory over Cedar Park. Junior
James Fullbright carried 24 times for 241 yards and three touchdowns.
Franklin (El Paso) 1-0 at Permian (Odessa) 1-0, 7 p.m. Friday
Junior quarterback
Chris Kelley threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in Franklin's 48-22 romp of Midland.
Steve Steen's 23-yard touchdown pass to
Justin Hammond in the fourth quarter propelled Permian to a 28-24 home-field victory over Vandegrift (Austin).
Katy 0-0 at Klein Collins (Spring) 0-0, 7 p.m. Friday
These two teams staged a memorable shootout in this game a year ago with Katy prevailing 50-49 in two overtimes. A rebuilding Katy failed to reach the state championship game for the first time in five seasons, but still reached the regional semifinal playoff round and returns dynamic running back
Deondrick Glass (1,912 yards, 30 touchdowns). Klein Collins was a state semifinalist a year ago. Heading the list of returnees is linebacker
Donavan Mutin who had over 100 tackles and 10 sacks last fall.
Marshall 0-1 at Longview 1-0, 7:30 p.m. Friday
The East Texas neighbors will renew their rivalry for the 107th time. Longview holds a 59-42 edge and five games ended in ties. Claude Mathis takes over as Marshall head coach after a successful stint at DeSoto and an assistant coaching stop at SMU. His debut in Week 1 was spoiled by Tyler Lee (Tyler) 29-27. Longview opened with an impressive 35-16 victory over Lufkin.
