Gobbler Fan
07-03-2007, 08:09 PM
Class 3A Mascot Bowl
07/02/2007
On the heels of the ever-popular 5A and 4A Mascot Bowls comes (no suspense here) the Class 3A Mascot Bowl. Like its predecessors, we've crowned the regional champs in the middle-child of 11-man classifications, and now it's up to readers to vote for the champs.
As a refresher, here's the criteria we used to select the semifinalists. We suggest you adhere to this as well. Please, don't treat this like a real election -- do some actual research.
* Originality: This automatically rules out Tigers, Panthers, Bulldogs, et. al. Not that those are bad mascots: they're classic, tried and true and are both fearsome and a source of pride. But they're a dime a dozen.
* Uniqueness: We're not sure if "uniqueness" is a word, but you get the point. And this is not another way of saying "original." If only one school in the state had the name "Tigers," we'd still not advance them. "Bengals" or "White Tigers" or Sabertooths" (or is it "Saberteeth?") on the other hand ... that's a positive spin on a common name.
* Indigenous: While we don't strictly apply this, we would prefer a mascot to come from the region of its host school.
* Logo: Again, this doesn't make or break a mascot, but having a logo that equals the mascot's originality gives bonus points to the school.
* One per field: As in only one version of a mascot per Mascot Bowl. For example, if there were two "Woodchucks" in a class, only one would be allowed to advance to the field of 32. Yes, we're tough around here.
Due to time limitations, i.e. overall staff laziness, rather than a PDF of the entire field, the Class 3A Final Four is below, followed by the Road to the Final Four:
The Road to the Mascot Bowl Final Four
REGION I
First Round District 1: Monahans Loboes District 2: Bye Matchup breakdown: With no such thing as a District 3, Monahans gets a free pass. Winner: Bye (just kidding .... Loboes advance)
District 3: Lamesa Tornadoes District 4: Brownfield Cubs Matchup breakdown: Lamesa had a decent district matchup vs. Greenwood, which fittingly is the Rangers; the Cubs beat out Levelland's Lobos, since that mascot technically was already in the field (though spelled with an "e"). Winner: Lamesa Tornadoes
District 5: Dalhart Golden Wolves District 6: Graham Steers Matchup breakdown: We didn't know there was such a thing as a gold wolf, so the Steers win by virtue of our ignorance. Winner: Graham Steers
District 7: Breckenridge Buckaroos District 8: Bowie Jackrabbits Matchup breakdown: The Jackrabbits (Forney) were good enough to make the 4A Final Four, but they're no match for Buckaroos. Winner: Breckenridge Buckaroos
Second Round Monahans Loboes vs. Lamesa Tornadoes Matchup breakdown: Do we really need the "oes" at the end of these mascot names? Can't a simple "s" signify plurality? Winner: Lamesa Tornadoes
Graham Steers vs. Breckenridge Buckaroos Matchup breakdown: How appropriate, Buckaroos (fancy word for cowboy) rope Steers in real life. Which is exactly what happens in this round. Winner: Breckenridge Buckaroos
REGION I FINALS Lamesa Tornadoes vs. Breckenridge Buckaroos Matchup breakdown: We imagine many-a-Buckaroo has sat out on the open land through Tornadoes and made it out just fine. That's not reason enough to declare Breckenridge the winner. Having a better mascot name is. Region I Champs: Breckenridge Buckaroos
REGION II
First Round District 9: Wakeland Wolverines District 10: Nevada Community Braves Matchup breakdown: We're not big on alliteration, but Wakeland is a new school, and rather than going with Tiger or Bulldog, it wised up and chose Wolverine. Still, there are more Wolverines (4) in Texas than Braves (2). Winner: Nevada Community Braves
District 11: Lake Worth Bullfrogs District 12: West Trojans Matchup breakdown: There are those moments when you take a step back and realize you're in the presence of greatness. That's the feeling we get when we see "Bullfrog" as a mascot name. Winner: Lake Worth Bullfrogs
District 13: Crandall Pirates District 14: Van Vandals Matchup breakdown: You'd think a Vandal would have too many negative connotations to be a mascot. But Pirates ravaged and plundered. Heck, Bulldogs can be rabid; Tigers can escape a zoo and maul the innocent; and Bears destroy trashcans all over the great white north. But should we have mascot names like the "Flowers?" I think not. Winner: Van Vandals
District 15: White Oak Roughnecks District 16: Atlanta Rabbits Matchup breakdown: Very tough first-rounder, but Atlanta moves on, and here's why: The "Rabbits" come from a legendary Atlanta coach whose last name was "Rabb." The mascot, therefore, is a living tribute to him. Winner: Atlanta Rabbits
Second Round Nevada Community Braves vs. Lake Worth Bullfrogs Matchup breakdown: Lake Worth won't croak that easily (couldn't help ourselves with that one). Winner: Lake Worth Bullfrogs
Van Vandals vs. Atlanta Rabbits Matchup breakdown: This is proving to be a very strong region. The winner here isn't guaranteed to be the favorite in the regional finals. Winner: Atlanta Rabbits
REGION II FINALS Lake Worth Bullfrogs vs. Atlanta Rabbits Matchup breakdown: Atlanta's mascot has a cool origin, but at the end of the day, it's not about being cool (us creating a Mascot Bowl in the first place proves that). Region II Champs: Lake Worth Bullfrogs
REGION III
First Round District 17: Waco Connally Cadets District 18: Hutto Hippos Matchup breakdown: Hutto's district caused a crisis -- the Hippos weren't shoo-ins. We had the Taylor Ducks, very nice, but the Hippos were slightly better. Then there's the Cameron Yoe Yoemen. Great, great name. Deciding factor? Yoemen was actually too easy to come up with. They just added "men" to their school name. Winner: Hutto Hippos
District 19: Groesbeck Goats District 20: Diboll Lumberjacks Matchup breakdown: While the Goats cruised (Mexia's Blackcats were a bit of a challenge), Diboll had to deal with the Red Devils (Huntington) and Roughriders (Center). That takes it out of them. Winner: Groesbeck Goats
District 21: Hamshire-Fannett Longhorns District 22: Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans Matchup breakdown: Neither district provided any talent, but one has to move on. The Longhorns won the last time they played the Trojans (in the Rose Bowl at least), but the score is reversed. Winner: Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans
District 23: Navasota Rattlers District 24: Needville Blue Jays Matchup breakdown: Technically, the Needville has the only Blue Jays in the state. The only other team that shares that, Snook, doesn't play football. So in Texas terms, they don't exist. Winner: Needville Blue Jays
Second Round Hutto Hippos vs. Groesbeck Goats Matchup breakdown: Hippos and Goats -- does it get any better? This is the kind of matchup Mascot Bowl analysts (it's a growing profession believe it or not) fight over. When finding a leader, we looked to a 4A finalists: The Fredericksburg Battlin' Billies. They showed it's possible to make a more clever name out of "goat," so we have to go with Hippos. Winner: Hutto Hippos
Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans vs. Needville Blue Jays Matchup breakdown: Needville has the only Blue Jays in the state, which is good enough for us. Winner: Needville Blue Jays
REGION III FINALS Hutto Hippos vs. Needville Blue Jays Matchup breakdown: Do we really need to break this one down? Blue Jays aren't bad, but the Hippos are, well, special. Region III Champs: Hutto Hippos
REGION IV
First Round District 25: Wimberley Texans District 26: South San West Cougars Matchup breakdown: Though the Houston Texans have had an impossible time making the playoffs, Wimberley is a veteran. Winner: Wimberley Texans
District 27: Poteet Aggies District 28: Devine Warhorses Matchup breakdown: The Warhorses survived an all-out brawl to win their district, surviving a major scare from the Crystal City Javelinas. That toughened them up for the showdown with the Ags. Winner: Devine Warhorses
District 29: Cuero Gobblers District 30: Aransas Pass Bobcats Matchup breakdown: No need to get verbose here: Gobblers in a landslide. Winner: Cuero Gobblers
District 31: Falfurrias Jerseys District 32: Progreso Red Ants Matchup breakdown: This is one of those first-round matchups we're reluctant deciding. There's no loser in this matchup: both have A-game mascots. Jerseys should advance: it's both a cow and a uniform top. But Red Ants ... that name is so sweet, so choice. Winner: Progreso Red Ants
Second Round Wimberley Texans vs. Devine Warhorses Matchup Breakdown: This Region IV final four consisting of Texans, Warhorses, Gobblers and Red Ants is better than the final four of all of 5A. Winner: Devine Warhorses
Cuero Gobblers vs. Progreso Red Ants Matchup Breakdown: Eyes around the state no doubt are tuned into this Mascot Bowl matchup. In this dream matchup, we had to go with the Gobblers. Winner:
REGION IV FINALS Devine Warhorses vs. Cuero Gobblers Matchup Breakdown: The Warhorses have been simply divine up to this point (we've been waiting to work that joke in), but the run ends here against clearly the best mascot in the region. Region IV Champs: Cuero Gobblers
http://www.texasfootball.com
07/02/2007
On the heels of the ever-popular 5A and 4A Mascot Bowls comes (no suspense here) the Class 3A Mascot Bowl. Like its predecessors, we've crowned the regional champs in the middle-child of 11-man classifications, and now it's up to readers to vote for the champs.
As a refresher, here's the criteria we used to select the semifinalists. We suggest you adhere to this as well. Please, don't treat this like a real election -- do some actual research.
* Originality: This automatically rules out Tigers, Panthers, Bulldogs, et. al. Not that those are bad mascots: they're classic, tried and true and are both fearsome and a source of pride. But they're a dime a dozen.
* Uniqueness: We're not sure if "uniqueness" is a word, but you get the point. And this is not another way of saying "original." If only one school in the state had the name "Tigers," we'd still not advance them. "Bengals" or "White Tigers" or Sabertooths" (or is it "Saberteeth?") on the other hand ... that's a positive spin on a common name.
* Indigenous: While we don't strictly apply this, we would prefer a mascot to come from the region of its host school.
* Logo: Again, this doesn't make or break a mascot, but having a logo that equals the mascot's originality gives bonus points to the school.
* One per field: As in only one version of a mascot per Mascot Bowl. For example, if there were two "Woodchucks" in a class, only one would be allowed to advance to the field of 32. Yes, we're tough around here.
Due to time limitations, i.e. overall staff laziness, rather than a PDF of the entire field, the Class 3A Final Four is below, followed by the Road to the Final Four:
The Road to the Mascot Bowl Final Four
REGION I
First Round District 1: Monahans Loboes District 2: Bye Matchup breakdown: With no such thing as a District 3, Monahans gets a free pass. Winner: Bye (just kidding .... Loboes advance)
District 3: Lamesa Tornadoes District 4: Brownfield Cubs Matchup breakdown: Lamesa had a decent district matchup vs. Greenwood, which fittingly is the Rangers; the Cubs beat out Levelland's Lobos, since that mascot technically was already in the field (though spelled with an "e"). Winner: Lamesa Tornadoes
District 5: Dalhart Golden Wolves District 6: Graham Steers Matchup breakdown: We didn't know there was such a thing as a gold wolf, so the Steers win by virtue of our ignorance. Winner: Graham Steers
District 7: Breckenridge Buckaroos District 8: Bowie Jackrabbits Matchup breakdown: The Jackrabbits (Forney) were good enough to make the 4A Final Four, but they're no match for Buckaroos. Winner: Breckenridge Buckaroos
Second Round Monahans Loboes vs. Lamesa Tornadoes Matchup breakdown: Do we really need the "oes" at the end of these mascot names? Can't a simple "s" signify plurality? Winner: Lamesa Tornadoes
Graham Steers vs. Breckenridge Buckaroos Matchup breakdown: How appropriate, Buckaroos (fancy word for cowboy) rope Steers in real life. Which is exactly what happens in this round. Winner: Breckenridge Buckaroos
REGION I FINALS Lamesa Tornadoes vs. Breckenridge Buckaroos Matchup breakdown: We imagine many-a-Buckaroo has sat out on the open land through Tornadoes and made it out just fine. That's not reason enough to declare Breckenridge the winner. Having a better mascot name is. Region I Champs: Breckenridge Buckaroos
REGION II
First Round District 9: Wakeland Wolverines District 10: Nevada Community Braves Matchup breakdown: We're not big on alliteration, but Wakeland is a new school, and rather than going with Tiger or Bulldog, it wised up and chose Wolverine. Still, there are more Wolverines (4) in Texas than Braves (2). Winner: Nevada Community Braves
District 11: Lake Worth Bullfrogs District 12: West Trojans Matchup breakdown: There are those moments when you take a step back and realize you're in the presence of greatness. That's the feeling we get when we see "Bullfrog" as a mascot name. Winner: Lake Worth Bullfrogs
District 13: Crandall Pirates District 14: Van Vandals Matchup breakdown: You'd think a Vandal would have too many negative connotations to be a mascot. But Pirates ravaged and plundered. Heck, Bulldogs can be rabid; Tigers can escape a zoo and maul the innocent; and Bears destroy trashcans all over the great white north. But should we have mascot names like the "Flowers?" I think not. Winner: Van Vandals
District 15: White Oak Roughnecks District 16: Atlanta Rabbits Matchup breakdown: Very tough first-rounder, but Atlanta moves on, and here's why: The "Rabbits" come from a legendary Atlanta coach whose last name was "Rabb." The mascot, therefore, is a living tribute to him. Winner: Atlanta Rabbits
Second Round Nevada Community Braves vs. Lake Worth Bullfrogs Matchup breakdown: Lake Worth won't croak that easily (couldn't help ourselves with that one). Winner: Lake Worth Bullfrogs
Van Vandals vs. Atlanta Rabbits Matchup breakdown: This is proving to be a very strong region. The winner here isn't guaranteed to be the favorite in the regional finals. Winner: Atlanta Rabbits
REGION II FINALS Lake Worth Bullfrogs vs. Atlanta Rabbits Matchup breakdown: Atlanta's mascot has a cool origin, but at the end of the day, it's not about being cool (us creating a Mascot Bowl in the first place proves that). Region II Champs: Lake Worth Bullfrogs
REGION III
First Round District 17: Waco Connally Cadets District 18: Hutto Hippos Matchup breakdown: Hutto's district caused a crisis -- the Hippos weren't shoo-ins. We had the Taylor Ducks, very nice, but the Hippos were slightly better. Then there's the Cameron Yoe Yoemen. Great, great name. Deciding factor? Yoemen was actually too easy to come up with. They just added "men" to their school name. Winner: Hutto Hippos
District 19: Groesbeck Goats District 20: Diboll Lumberjacks Matchup breakdown: While the Goats cruised (Mexia's Blackcats were a bit of a challenge), Diboll had to deal with the Red Devils (Huntington) and Roughriders (Center). That takes it out of them. Winner: Groesbeck Goats
District 21: Hamshire-Fannett Longhorns District 22: Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans Matchup breakdown: Neither district provided any talent, but one has to move on. The Longhorns won the last time they played the Trojans (in the Rose Bowl at least), but the score is reversed. Winner: Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans
District 23: Navasota Rattlers District 24: Needville Blue Jays Matchup breakdown: Technically, the Needville has the only Blue Jays in the state. The only other team that shares that, Snook, doesn't play football. So in Texas terms, they don't exist. Winner: Needville Blue Jays
Second Round Hutto Hippos vs. Groesbeck Goats Matchup breakdown: Hippos and Goats -- does it get any better? This is the kind of matchup Mascot Bowl analysts (it's a growing profession believe it or not) fight over. When finding a leader, we looked to a 4A finalists: The Fredericksburg Battlin' Billies. They showed it's possible to make a more clever name out of "goat," so we have to go with Hippos. Winner: Hutto Hippos
Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans vs. Needville Blue Jays Matchup breakdown: Needville has the only Blue Jays in the state, which is good enough for us. Winner: Needville Blue Jays
REGION III FINALS Hutto Hippos vs. Needville Blue Jays Matchup breakdown: Do we really need to break this one down? Blue Jays aren't bad, but the Hippos are, well, special. Region III Champs: Hutto Hippos
REGION IV
First Round District 25: Wimberley Texans District 26: South San West Cougars Matchup breakdown: Though the Houston Texans have had an impossible time making the playoffs, Wimberley is a veteran. Winner: Wimberley Texans
District 27: Poteet Aggies District 28: Devine Warhorses Matchup breakdown: The Warhorses survived an all-out brawl to win their district, surviving a major scare from the Crystal City Javelinas. That toughened them up for the showdown with the Ags. Winner: Devine Warhorses
District 29: Cuero Gobblers District 30: Aransas Pass Bobcats Matchup breakdown: No need to get verbose here: Gobblers in a landslide. Winner: Cuero Gobblers
District 31: Falfurrias Jerseys District 32: Progreso Red Ants Matchup breakdown: This is one of those first-round matchups we're reluctant deciding. There's no loser in this matchup: both have A-game mascots. Jerseys should advance: it's both a cow and a uniform top. But Red Ants ... that name is so sweet, so choice. Winner: Progreso Red Ants
Second Round Wimberley Texans vs. Devine Warhorses Matchup Breakdown: This Region IV final four consisting of Texans, Warhorses, Gobblers and Red Ants is better than the final four of all of 5A. Winner: Devine Warhorses
Cuero Gobblers vs. Progreso Red Ants Matchup Breakdown: Eyes around the state no doubt are tuned into this Mascot Bowl matchup. In this dream matchup, we had to go with the Gobblers. Winner:
REGION IV FINALS Devine Warhorses vs. Cuero Gobblers Matchup Breakdown: The Warhorses have been simply divine up to this point (we've been waiting to work that joke in), but the run ends here against clearly the best mascot in the region. Region IV Champs: Cuero Gobblers
http://www.texasfootball.com