Zapata vs Bridge City Div.I semi-finalist(RegionIII&IV)

[Old Cardinal]

After careful evaluation of Sinton and Zapata, I have switched horses... Zapata has easily handled good 5A and 4A teams in preseason. They moved down from 4A and sport 25 good Senior players. The Sinton/Zapata game should represent Region IV; but Zapata might well hold the edge on the two good teams... Bridge City looks like the apparent representative for Region III in Div. I; can't see anyone that has played good stiff(4A) competition and prevailed regularly, capable of de-railing them. Newton should be a State winner in Div. II and will have a cake-walk through Div. II(RegionIII&RegionIV)...Comments?

[Matthew328]

Watch out for Gatesville in Region 3..they are improving every week...also Sweeny is gonna be there also, they aren't playing well right now but I think they'll be ready come playoff time..if not Sweeny Wharton out of 24-3A could be a contender..other than that Div 1 in Region 3 isn't that strong..

[RBARKER]

Old Cardinal, I would be counting them chickens just yet. I can see Bridge City going far in the playoffs but Matthew is right Gatesville is a quality team and they have playoff experience. I wouldn’t say Newton is going to have a cake Walk through Div II ! There are a lot of good teams in Region 3 my team Barbers Hill is one of them. So lets not get carried away, alot of teams change when the playoffs begin. We found that out last year against Sweeny and Bridge City found that out against Clevland.

[Old Cardinal]

To: RBarker, Yes, I think Barbers Hill is a good team and I hope to see you two play this year. I am basing my thoughts on Newton, who can play with the likes of PA-Lincoln, Jasper, Beaumont Ozen etc: Yes, Bridge City was beaten in the second round in a close game by Cleveland who had a heavy Senior team, but remember BC had a predominately Soph. team that was picked 3rd or 4th in 21-3A. Winning the District handlely and going two rounds was more than we could expect. Those kids are seasoned Juniors now---again we might be expecting too much this year....but somebody will have to contend with them the rest of this year and all of next year. Want to see speed and depth come see a BC ball game!

[davidalex]

I just want to say that Zapata came from a 5A district(29-5A) two years ago with all the Laredo schools and eagle pass and not a 4A district. They used to overpowered by the 5A's schools then but now they are a power in 3A. Beware this team is hungry for winning they lost all the time when they were in 5A


Originally posted by Old Cardinal:
After careful evaluation of Sinton and Zapata, I have switched horses... Zapata has easily handled good 5A and 4A teams in preseason. They moved down from 4A and sport 25 good Senior players. The Sinton/Zapata game should represent Region IV; but Zapata might well hold the edge on the two good teams... Bridge City looks like the apparent representative for Region III in Div. I; can't see anyone that has played good stiff(4A) competition and prevailed regularly, capable of de-railing them. Newton should be a State winner in Div. II and will have a cake-walk through Div. II(RegionIII&RegionIV)...Comments?

[Old Cardinal]

Matthew 328-Please catch me up on Gatesville.... results thus far, Classification and strength of teams played. I had heard from folks from West(3A) that Gatesville had lost their speed via graduation last year...they say however that Champions die hard!

[SintonFan]

Old Cardinal, I disagree with your picks. At this point, I can't see where your confidence at Bridge City making state semi's is based. Is your region so weak in Div. 1 where BC is the prohibitive pick? Who are your possible opponents? I agree, also, that Zapata has an Awesome senior class... but they have yet to prove themselves in district(any class). Too soon to tell regardless...

[SintonFan]

I don't mean to demean BC, I'm just more curious about how you expect Zapata to get past Raymondville/La Feria, then Cuero/Sinton, then Bandera/Pearsall, and then Bellville/Burnet. They(Zapata) should be hungry. A good senior class can make things happen. How do you overlook Bandera and Bellville in region 4?

[Old Cardinal]

To Sintonfan, I agree that Sinton is right there in the running; however Zapata is mighty hungry and has viable talent-I am sure if you two meet it will be an interesting game....As for Bridge City after the 1st round it will be Sweeny, Sealy, Wharton, or Huffman-Hargrave. H-H is a high enrollment drop down from 4A, getting better each week they might be the best of the four by that time.....these are not weak teams. If BC prevails, it looks like Gatesville has the upper hand in their territory and they graduated heavy last year. I am hearing that they are coming on strong as of late...Please don't get your shorts in a twist over my predictions, I am just creating conversation...Best of luck to Sinton-I hear you also have a good crop of Junior players.

[SintonFan]

Shorts in a twist, hehe. I guess i deserve that. I agree it makes for interesting conversation, and that's what this post is for. Thanks for the info from your region. I truly enjoy your predictions, but don't have to agree with them. If you don't mind me asking, Old Cardinal, just how old are you? Just having some fun here...

[Old Cardinal]

Dear SintonFan, I am 60 years of age and played in Bridge City's FIRST varsity football game as a 9th grader. That was a long time ago, we didn't even wear any face mask back then--that's why their are so many ugly old men nowdays. Boy,I lost a lot a Sinton friends when I said that Zapata was making their presence known. Sinton looks mighty good. This Newton/Bridge City game is really a tossup now. Bridge City has two NCAA top prospects hurt. Robert Melich, BC's answer to LeRoy Jordon went to surgery for a broken arm in the Elbow area...As you know, even if you have depth-losing exceptional team leaders can affect a team.

[SintonFan]

Old Cardinal, you didn't lose my friendship. My outlook at other ppl's opinions is this...
Instead of getting my shorts in a twist(hehe, good one), I'll agree to disagree. You keep more friends that way. Hopefully, if Sinton and BC get a chance to play each other, we can meet. Good luck, and don't worry about other ppl getting mad, because you can't please everybody.

[footballer2]

old cardinal,i don't care how many seniors Zapata has. i do not believe they will be truly tested until they get out of district play. they belong to a fairly weak 6 team district. to say that they will win their region this early is comical. the 3 5a teams that they beat could have been beaten by other 3-a teams in region 4 as well. i guess only time will tell, but if i was a betting man, i'd bet Zapata doesn't make it past the 2nd round.

[Centex]

Gatesville is a good 3A football team and is the frontrunner right now in 17-3A. They did lose some of their speed to graduation (24 seniors including Taurean Henderson - Tech, Pedro Quintero - SWT), but Coach Morgan and his staff have made the most of what's left. Their offensive line is still capable of dominating a game with all-state G Darrion Roberts and T Ben Wilson. I don't believe they are as good as they were, but you're right...they still know how to win.
McGregor ought to be an interesting matchup with them this week with the speed they are able to put on the field.

[Specklebelly]

It will be Sweeny and Bellville in my opinion. Everyone on that Zapata bandwagon better check their history. No team south of Corpus has won Region 4 in the last 20 years except Port Isabel in 1994 and 1981. Both of those times they consequently got smoked in the semifinals. I dont care who Zapata has beaten, they still have only beaten valley teams and valley teams cant ever really compete with the big boys. Not trying to rain on anyone's parade but its the truth, history doesnt lie.

[footballer2]

SPECKLEBELLY, I JUST CHECKED ZAPATA'S SCHEDULE. THEY HAVE PLAYED MAINLY LAREDO SCHOOLS, NOT VALLEY SCHOOLS. I THINK FROM WHAT I HEAR THAT SOME OF THE VALLEY 3-A SCHOOLS COULD HAVE BEEN THOSE SAME LAREDO SCHOOL. ALSO I'VE BEEN ASKING FOR HELP ON THE VALLEY 3-A PICTURE. CAN ANYBODY HELP? I KNOW THAT IT IS USUALLY A FOUR TEAM RACE BETWEEN RAYMONDVILLE,PORT ISABEL,LA FERIA, AND LATELY RIO HONDO. WHO LOOKS LIKE THE TOP DOG DOWN THERE?

[SintonFan]

I believe La Feria just beat Raymondville, which if Raymondville loses again La Feria could be the big school rep. It's still too early with alot of deciding games coming up.