Week 4 is upon us and the area six-man picture is starting to take shape.

Disparate schedule strengths still makes judging teams against one another difficult, but each week provides more data by which to compare teams’ respective bodies of work. 

This week’s slate, headlined by a top-10 clash between Newcastle and May, will give us a number of intriguing matchups that should add more clarity to the area picture as we approach the season’s midway point. 

It’s time now to jump in and preview some of those games in this week’s “Six-Man Lookahead.” When you’re done reading, you can find area standings and results on our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page.

GAME OF THE WEEK

• Newcastle (3-0) at May (2-1) — This week’s top matchup sees the No. 8 Bobcats visit the No. 3 Tigers in a clash of Division I titans. Despite the teams’ respective rankings, Newcastle is favored by 12 to 21 points depending on the power rating service after opening the season with shutout wins over Iredell (46-0), Crowell (73-0) and Bowie Gold-Burg (63-0). The Bobcats are led on both sides of the ball by London Martinez, Mikey Soito and Keegan Boyles — all of whom had offensive touchdowns and interceptions in last week’s win over Gold-Burg. May, which beat Whiteface (64-46) and Rochelle (63-8) around a 42-14 loss to Richland Springs, is paced by Lane Goodson. As a nondistrict game, the outcome of this one won’t alter the goals of either of these squads, but the winner will be riding high into Week 5.

OTHER TOP MATCHUPS

• Hermleigh (2-1) at Rising Star (2-1) — This is an intriguing game between a pair of playoff hopefuls that missed the postseason a year ago. Hermleigh, led by Zaylan Delce, plays in one of the deepest Division I leagues in the state in District 7, where perennial toughies Westbrook and Ira are also housed, while the JV Kelly-led Wildcats share District 13-1A DII with strong squads from Zephyr, Blanket and Gustine. Both teams are off to solid starts with the Cardinals sandwiching wins over Ackerly Sands (46-29) and Loraine (51-6) around a 56-8 loss to DI No. 2 Water Valley and Rising Star beating Highland (52-28) and Lingleville (52-6) before falling 50-38 last week to Perrin-Whitt. Hermleigh is the favorite here, but the Wildcats will be looking to make a statement against a quality DI opponent.
• Gordon (3-0) at Thorndale (2-1) — In by far the most unique game on the area’s 1A slate for Week 4, the two-time DI champion and currently top-ranked Longhorns are leaving the comfort of the six-man game to take on the Bulldogs in an 11-man contest. If that seems like an unusual prospect, it’s because it is. But it will be neither the first nor last time that Gordon adds five additional players to its lineup this season. The Longhorns, who are paced by Division I talents Stryker and Ry Reed, scrimmaged Itasca in the preseason, dominating that affair, and they’ll take on Brackettville in Week 9. Thorndale (2-1) is a quality Class 2A DI opponent, returning 21 lettermen and seven starters both ways from an 8-4 outfit a year ago, so Gordon will be in for a significant challenge as it tries to extend its current win streak to a remarkable 34 games. But Longhorns coach Mike Reed is no stranger to the 11-man game, having spent four seasons as Hamilton’s head coach from 2014-17, and he’ll have his team well prepared to compete.
• Bronte (3-0) at Menard (3-0) — The only battle of unbeatens on this week’s area six-man schedule, this will be a solid benchmark game for a Longhorns squad that has outscored its three opponents 149-8 to date. Coming off dominating efforts against overmatched teams from Santa Anna (45-0), Rule (50-0) and Veribest (54-8), Bronte will get its first taste of playoff caliber competition this week against the Yellow Jackets, who have faced little resistance in wins over Blanket (57-25), Rochelle (65-16) and Rocksprings (68-6). This starts a tough stretch of nondistrict games for the Longhorns, who will play unbeaten teams from Eden and Robert Lee the next two weeks, before entering District 6-1A DII action in Week 7. The computers are split on this one, with PigskinPrep.com favoring Menard by three touchdowns and SixManFootball.com favoring Bronte by eight points.

UNDER THE RADAR

While the sections above are meant highlight the week’s biggest, most meaningful and/or most high-profile matchups, here we’re looking for competitive games that might not draw the same level of attention. Here are some matchups we’re keeping an eye on:

• FRIDAY
  • Paint Rock (2-1) at Brookesmith (2-1) — These two are both playoff longshots, but they’ll be playing with confidence after strong starts to the season. That will be especially true of the Indians, who are coming off back-to-back wins over Loraine and Olfen after going 0-9 a season ago.
  • Veribest (0-3) at Baird (1-2) — This is a matchup of solid teams off to slow starts against tough schedules. Ignore the records. This should be a competitive game that serves as a good measuring stick for both teams.
  • Iredell (1-2) at Gorman (1-2) — Neither of these teams is off to the start they were hoping for, but both have a chance to build some positive momentum here. Iredell is a slight favorite, but this one should be tight.
  • Harrold (2-1) at Paint Creek (2-1) — Like the Paint Rock-Brookesmith game above, this is another matchup between hot teams outside of the projected playoff picture. This game could go any number of ways, but the winner will solidify its strong start to 2025.

PREDICTIONS

• LAST WEEK: 30-3, .909
• SEASON TOTAL: 91-17, .843

STRAWN (2-1) at Bryson (2-1)

Knox City (0-3) at JAYTON (3-0)

NEWCASTLE (3-0) at May (2-1)

Covington (0-3) at PERRIN-WHITT (2-1)

HERMLEIGH (2-1) at Rising Star (2-1)

Highland (1-2) at MIDLAND HOLY CROSS (1-2)

O’Donnell (1-2) at IRA (1-2)

ROBY (2-1) at Petersburg (0-3)

Rotan (2-1) at VERNON NORTHSIDE (2-0)

PAINT ROCK (2-1) at Brookesmith (2-1)

ROBERT LEE (3-0) at Blackwell (0-3)

Veribest (0-3) at BAIRD (1-2)

WATER VALLEY (3-0) at Imperial Buena Vista (1-2)

Gordon (3-0) at THORNDALE (2-1)

IREDELL (1-2) at Gorman (1-2)

ZEPHYR (3-0) at Lingleville (0-3)

THREE WAY (3-0) at Ranger (2-1)

Santa Anna (1-2) at BLANKET (2-1)

BRONTE (3-0) at Menard (3-0)

Loraine (0-3) at ACKERLY SANDS (2-1)

Olfen (0-3) at LOHN (1-2)

Rule (0-2) at TRENT (2-1)

ASPERMONT (3-0) at Woodson (0-3)

HARROLD (2-1) at Paint Creek (2-1)

PANTHER CREEK (2-1) at Lueders-Avoca (1-2)

MULLIN (0-3) at Moran (0-3)

Sidney (1-2) at BLUFF DALE (2-1)

GUSTINE (2-1) at Priddy (2-1)

RICHLAND SPRINGS (2-1) at Bryan St. Joseph (1-2)

Lubbock Kingdom Prep (3-0) at ABILENE CHRISTIAN (2-1)

IDLE: Westbrook (2-1), Benjamin (3-0), Guthrie (2-1), Throckmorton (0-3)