neck_06
11-30-2006, 10:38 PM
DIVISION I
Below, TexasFootball.com breaks down every third-round game.
EA Subscribers: click here to get additional picks and point spreads
REGION I FINALS PICK:
Andrews (5-7) vs. Canyon (10-2): With 196 passing yards this weekend, Canyon QB Anthony Ramos would become the Panhandle's all-time leading passer in 11-man football history. But he has much more to play for than numbers -- and he'll get both accomplished when Canyon beats Andrews to advance to the state semifinals.
REGION II FINALS PICK:
Royse City (11-1) vs. Texarkana Liberty-Elyau (9-3): After one week of playing the favorite, L-E returns to the underdog role. Last time it was there, it shocked Gilmer. L-E is playing its best football of the season, but we're picking Royse City to get the win.
REGION III FINALS PICK:
Robinson (10-2) vs. Columbia (8-4): Since the start of the playoffs, it's been "Flannel time" for Columbia, as in Jared Flannel. Last week, he was huge in a 44-41 win over Silsbee, rushing for 246 yards, 2 TDs, and adding a 36-yard TD pass. The week before, he was more than instrumental in the 26-12 win over Bellville -- he was pretty much the whole band, gaining 277 yards on the ground. Flannel time might go on, but his team won't after Columbia falls to Robinson and its hot QB, Randy Kitchens.
REGION IV FINALS PICK:
Pleasanton (7-5) vs. Ingleside (11-1): Ingleside is back in the third round for the second straight season, and offense has a little something to do with it. Ingleside as a team has produced over 2,000 yards both passing and rushing. Talk about balance. That kind of productivity will have Pleasanton off kilter and will help Ingleside make it to the fourth round, something it could not achieve a year ago.
DIVISION II
Below, TexasFootball.com breaks down every third-round game.
EA Subscribers: click here to get additional picks and point spreads
REGION I SEMIFINALS PICK:
Snyder (9-3) vs. Vernon (7-5): Snyder's pair of underclassmen phenoms once again had a team screaming Mayday -- or was it ClayDay? Lance Day intercepted a pass and returned it 64 yards for a score, and Will Clay had two TD runs of 70 and 55 yards to lead Snyder to a revenge win against Monahans. Day's pick was one of 5 Snyder INTs. We think this week, though, Vernon will take better care of the ball, and that will result in a Vernon win.
Midland Greenwood (11-1) vs. Graham (7-5): We're two more upsets away from an all 6-3A regional final. Like Vernon, Graham limped into the playoffs with a 5-5 record, but it has since won two straight when winning streaks matter most. Last week was a sloppy win, though, as Graham overcame five turnovers to win in 4 OTs. That won't get it done against Greenwood, which pounced on Clint last week Clint mishandled the ball. It's been a nice run for Graham, but it will be Greenwood moving on.
REGION II SEMIFINALS PICK:
Celina (12-0) vs. Canton (8-4): The question we've got to ask ourselves is will it be easier for Celina to win a 3A DII crown than it was to win a 2A DII crown last year? So far, Celina is outscoring playoff opponents by 5 TDs per game, and that includes a route of state-ranked Dallas Madison last week. Credit Canton for getting here when few thought it would happen after the events this summer, but we feel that run is going to come to an end. Celina rolls on to the next round.
Pilot Point (8-4) vs. Brownsboro (9-3): It's obvious Pilot Point is not the same team it was earlier in the season. Evidence: last week's 35-3 win over Lake Worth avenged a loss to that same team in non-district play. Same for Brownsboro, which since a 5-point loss to Canton has been rolling, averaging nearly 40 points over the last four games. In a game troubling us when trying to pick a winner, we'll go with the team that's been steadier this year, and that leads us to believe Brownsboro will emerge victorious.
REGION III SEMIFINALS PICK:
Waco La Vega (10-2) vs. Giddings (12-0): Coming off a 3-6 season (and 0-10 mark in 2004) and picked fifth out of six teams in the preseason, few knew this Waco-area team would be so good. Conversely, we expected Giddings to be every bit this good. And considering Giddings beat West Orange-Stark last week -- a team it lost to by 3 TDs in last year's playoffs -- we think the Buffs have only gotten better. It's been a storybook year for the Pirates of La Vega, but the season only will go on for Giddings.
Liberty Hill (9-2) vs. Sweeny (10-2): Liberty Hill's had two chances to proves it's among the elite, and both times (to Cuero and Wimberley), it came up four points short. Sweeny hasn't played quite as tough a schedule, but you have to admire what the team's done since losing its first two games of 2006. Last week we called for a Sweeny win, but we also thought it could shut out Kirbyville. Instead, Sweeny had to outscore Kirbyville 21-0 in the fourth quarter just to force OT. It can't trail like that this week, or Sweeny will get what we see as the result: a Liberty Hill win here.
REGION IV SEMIFINALS PICK:
Wimberley (11-1) vs. Cuero (12-0): This is far and away the best matchup in Class 3A this weekend, probably the best statewide. We think the winner will make it into the state finals (though we've seen bold claims like that come back to haunt us). Wimberley is one of five defending champs still going, and we're not sure by how many that list will be cut, but we're predicting by at least one more. Cuero will win a thriller over Wimberley and unseat last year's DI champions.
Hondo (12-0) vs. Orange Grove (11-1): It's somewhat agreed upon of all the regions in 4A and 5A, Region IV isn't quite the strongest. That doesn't apply in 3A. The other semifinal pits two of the state's top five teams, and both these teams earned regular-season rankings. But in this matchup, we're going with old over new. Orange Grove is making its first-ever third-round appearance; Hondo is in the playoffs for a 3A-record 44th time. Hondo will pull out a tight win over Orange Grove.
Below, TexasFootball.com breaks down every third-round game.
EA Subscribers: click here to get additional picks and point spreads
REGION I FINALS PICK:
Andrews (5-7) vs. Canyon (10-2): With 196 passing yards this weekend, Canyon QB Anthony Ramos would become the Panhandle's all-time leading passer in 11-man football history. But he has much more to play for than numbers -- and he'll get both accomplished when Canyon beats Andrews to advance to the state semifinals.
REGION II FINALS PICK:
Royse City (11-1) vs. Texarkana Liberty-Elyau (9-3): After one week of playing the favorite, L-E returns to the underdog role. Last time it was there, it shocked Gilmer. L-E is playing its best football of the season, but we're picking Royse City to get the win.
REGION III FINALS PICK:
Robinson (10-2) vs. Columbia (8-4): Since the start of the playoffs, it's been "Flannel time" for Columbia, as in Jared Flannel. Last week, he was huge in a 44-41 win over Silsbee, rushing for 246 yards, 2 TDs, and adding a 36-yard TD pass. The week before, he was more than instrumental in the 26-12 win over Bellville -- he was pretty much the whole band, gaining 277 yards on the ground. Flannel time might go on, but his team won't after Columbia falls to Robinson and its hot QB, Randy Kitchens.
REGION IV FINALS PICK:
Pleasanton (7-5) vs. Ingleside (11-1): Ingleside is back in the third round for the second straight season, and offense has a little something to do with it. Ingleside as a team has produced over 2,000 yards both passing and rushing. Talk about balance. That kind of productivity will have Pleasanton off kilter and will help Ingleside make it to the fourth round, something it could not achieve a year ago.
DIVISION II
Below, TexasFootball.com breaks down every third-round game.
EA Subscribers: click here to get additional picks and point spreads
REGION I SEMIFINALS PICK:
Snyder (9-3) vs. Vernon (7-5): Snyder's pair of underclassmen phenoms once again had a team screaming Mayday -- or was it ClayDay? Lance Day intercepted a pass and returned it 64 yards for a score, and Will Clay had two TD runs of 70 and 55 yards to lead Snyder to a revenge win against Monahans. Day's pick was one of 5 Snyder INTs. We think this week, though, Vernon will take better care of the ball, and that will result in a Vernon win.
Midland Greenwood (11-1) vs. Graham (7-5): We're two more upsets away from an all 6-3A regional final. Like Vernon, Graham limped into the playoffs with a 5-5 record, but it has since won two straight when winning streaks matter most. Last week was a sloppy win, though, as Graham overcame five turnovers to win in 4 OTs. That won't get it done against Greenwood, which pounced on Clint last week Clint mishandled the ball. It's been a nice run for Graham, but it will be Greenwood moving on.
REGION II SEMIFINALS PICK:
Celina (12-0) vs. Canton (8-4): The question we've got to ask ourselves is will it be easier for Celina to win a 3A DII crown than it was to win a 2A DII crown last year? So far, Celina is outscoring playoff opponents by 5 TDs per game, and that includes a route of state-ranked Dallas Madison last week. Credit Canton for getting here when few thought it would happen after the events this summer, but we feel that run is going to come to an end. Celina rolls on to the next round.
Pilot Point (8-4) vs. Brownsboro (9-3): It's obvious Pilot Point is not the same team it was earlier in the season. Evidence: last week's 35-3 win over Lake Worth avenged a loss to that same team in non-district play. Same for Brownsboro, which since a 5-point loss to Canton has been rolling, averaging nearly 40 points over the last four games. In a game troubling us when trying to pick a winner, we'll go with the team that's been steadier this year, and that leads us to believe Brownsboro will emerge victorious.
REGION III SEMIFINALS PICK:
Waco La Vega (10-2) vs. Giddings (12-0): Coming off a 3-6 season (and 0-10 mark in 2004) and picked fifth out of six teams in the preseason, few knew this Waco-area team would be so good. Conversely, we expected Giddings to be every bit this good. And considering Giddings beat West Orange-Stark last week -- a team it lost to by 3 TDs in last year's playoffs -- we think the Buffs have only gotten better. It's been a storybook year for the Pirates of La Vega, but the season only will go on for Giddings.
Liberty Hill (9-2) vs. Sweeny (10-2): Liberty Hill's had two chances to proves it's among the elite, and both times (to Cuero and Wimberley), it came up four points short. Sweeny hasn't played quite as tough a schedule, but you have to admire what the team's done since losing its first two games of 2006. Last week we called for a Sweeny win, but we also thought it could shut out Kirbyville. Instead, Sweeny had to outscore Kirbyville 21-0 in the fourth quarter just to force OT. It can't trail like that this week, or Sweeny will get what we see as the result: a Liberty Hill win here.
REGION IV SEMIFINALS PICK:
Wimberley (11-1) vs. Cuero (12-0): This is far and away the best matchup in Class 3A this weekend, probably the best statewide. We think the winner will make it into the state finals (though we've seen bold claims like that come back to haunt us). Wimberley is one of five defending champs still going, and we're not sure by how many that list will be cut, but we're predicting by at least one more. Cuero will win a thriller over Wimberley and unseat last year's DI champions.
Hondo (12-0) vs. Orange Grove (11-1): It's somewhat agreed upon of all the regions in 4A and 5A, Region IV isn't quite the strongest. That doesn't apply in 3A. The other semifinal pits two of the state's top five teams, and both these teams earned regular-season rankings. But in this matchup, we're going with old over new. Orange Grove is making its first-ever third-round appearance; Hondo is in the playoffs for a 3A-record 44th time. Hondo will pull out a tight win over Orange Grove.