SIX-MAN REWIND: Ira topples Westbrook, Perrin-Whitt holds off Bryson in action packed Week 8

A common knock on six-man football is that it doesn’t yield many upsets or tight margins. Well, Week 8’s most high-profile games featured both.

Not only did we see Ira score what have been the upset of the year over Westbrook in our “Six-Man Lookahead” Game of the Week, we also got a 72-70 barn-burner between Perrin-Whitt and Bryson that saw the Pirates hold off one of the season’s most exciting comebacks.

It’s time now to relive those games — and more — in this week’s “Six-Man Rewind” column. We hope you enjoy this look back at Week 8 and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for more information on your favorite team(s).

LAST WEEK’S TOP RESULTS

• Ira 56, Westbrook 34 — Led by Brandt Cox, who passed for 109 yards, ran for 135 yards and accounted for four total touchdowns, the Bulldogs jumped on the Wildcats early and never let up, scoring a wild upset win in a huge District 7-1A Division I matchup. Ira (5-2, 2-0) outscored Westbrook 18-6 in the opening quarter and added to its lead each of the next two periods to pull away for the three-touchdown victory. The Bulldogs took a 34-18 lead into halftime and 56-34 advantage into the final quarter and held off the Wildcats (5-2, 1-1) from there to join Hermleigh as the only other unbeaten team in 7-1A DI. Westbrook had 392 total yards in the loss, including 245 yards passing from Caleb Browne, but the Ira defense forced three turnovers to help in securing the upset.
• Perrin-Whitt 72, Bryson 70 — The Pirates kept their playoff hopes alive with a thrilling win over the Cowboys, holding off a furious Bryson rally in the second half to escape by the thinnest of margins. After opening District 6-1A DI play with a 51-14 loss to Newcastle, Perrin-Whitt (6-2, 1-1) raced out to a 30-6 first-quarter lead and appeared headed for a 45-point-rule win, but Bryson scored 32 second-quarter points to go to halftime down 64-38 and outscored the Pirates 32-8 after the break to pull within two points in the game’s final minute. That was as close as the Cowboys (4-3, 0-1) could get, though, as they were unable to recover the onside kick after a successful two-point conversion made it 72-70. Perrin-Whitt was led in the victory by Cole Keeney and Nate Scruggs. 
• Bluff Dale 61, Iredell 16 — The Bobcats followed their district-opening win over Three Way with a dominating effort against the Dragons to solidify their hold on the top spot in District 11-1A DII. Bluff Dale outscored Iredell 20-0 in the first quarter to take control early, before increasing that advantage to 54-16 by halftime. With the mercy rule in reach after that, the Bobcats closed things out with a single touchdown after halftime to improve to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in league play.
• Blanket 52, Rising Star 6 — Kannon Kensing ran for 188 yards and five touchdowns, and Mason Beck added 91 yards and a TD on the ground to fuel the Tigers to a blowout win over the Wildcats. Blanket (7-1 overall, 2-0 in District 13-1A DII) ran for 279 of its 308 total yards in the win, which set up a huge district matchup with Zephyr (6-1, 1-0) next week. Rising Star fell to 4-4 on the season and 0-2 in district play with the loss.
• Crowley Nazarene Christian 78, Abilene Christian 46 — Cristian Adams passed for 305 yards and seven touchdowns and ran for 253 yards and two more scores to lead the Lions to a big TAPPS Division II District 1 win over the Panthers. Luke Scarbrough (6-110, 3 TDs), Will Smithers (4-91, 1 TD) and Carson Drury (3-82, 2 TDs) all had big receiving days for Nazarene Christian (4-4 overall), which took sole possession of the league lead at 2-0. Abilene Christian, which fell to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in league play, will be idle next week before closing out the regular season with games against Keller Harvest Christian (4-3, 0-1) and Fort Worth Covenant Classical (3-3, 1-1). 

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

• Kannon Kensing, RB, Sr., Blanket — Ran for188 yards and five touchdowns, had a 25-yard reception and recorded eight tackles in Tigers’ win over Rising Star.
• Alfonso Gomez, RB/LB, So., Gustine — Ran for 240 yards and two touchdowns, passed for 123 yards and two scores and had a fumble recovery for a TD in the Tigers’ 64-34 win over Sidney.
• Zaylan Delce, WR/DB, Jr, Hermleigh — Ran for 174 yards and three touchdowns, passed for 39 yards and a score, caught a 32-yard TD pass and added three tackles and fumble recovery defensively in the Cardinals’ 62-0 win over Rotan.
• Brandt Cox, RB, Sr., Ira — Ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 109 yards and two more scores in the Bulldogs’ win over Westbrook. 
• Michael Wallis, RB, Jr., Trent — Ran for 373 yards and six touchdowns in the Gorillas’ 70-25 win over Olfen.
• Caleb Hale, QB, So., Panther Creek — Threw for 202 yards and three touchdowns on 9-of-11 passing, ran for 55 yards and a score and had an interception and a fumble return TD defensively in the Panthers’ 73-28 win over Brookesmith.
• Adan Wyatt, RB, Panther Creek — Received for 154 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 55 yards and a score, had a 51-yard kickoff return TD and added a sack and an interception defensively vs. Brookesmith.
• Tyson Goodwin, QB, Fr., Baird — Threw for 213 yards and five touchdowns on 10-of-18 passing in the Bears’ 56-6 win over Lingleville.
• Bode Ham, RB, Sr., Jayton — Ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns and had a 16-yard scoring catch in the Jaybirds’ 66-0 win over Rule.
• Kaden Crowe, LB, Sr., Gordon — Had a pair of pick-sixes in the Longhorns’ 64-0 win over Ranger.

BCP POWER RANKINGS

DIVISION I

1. Gordon (7-0) ⇔ — The top-ranked Longhorns continued their win streak with a rout of Ranger last week. They’ll try their hand at 11-man football again on Friday with a neutral site game against Brackettville.
2. Water Valley (7-0) ⇔ — The No. 2 Wildcats cruised past Veribest last week with a 46-0 win. They’ll face their biggest test of the regular season this week when unbeaten Robert Lee comes to town.  
3. May (6-1) ⇔ — The third-ranked Tigers had the week off last week to prepare for their District 14 opener against Santa Anna. They’ll likely continue their current five-game winning streak through the end of the regular season and into the playoffs.
4. Robert Lee (8-0) ⇔ — The No. 5 Steers had no trouble with Paint Rock last week in a 54-0 win. Things get much tougher this week, though, with a trip to Water Valley for the District 8 lead.
5. Ira (5-2) ⇑3 — The Bulldogs are riding high after knocking off Westbrook last week. Following a trip to Rotan this week, they’ll host Hermleigh in Week 10 with a chance to all but wrap up the District 7 championship.
6. Newcastle (5-2) ⇔ — The ninth-ranked Bobcats blasted Knox City 52-0 last week to improve to 2-0 in District 6 play. A matchup with unbeaten Vernon Northside is up next.
7. Westbrook (5-2) ⇓2 — The Wildcats had a three-game win streak snapped last week at Ira. They’ll try to get back on track against Highland and Roby before closing the regular season with a big home game against Hermleigh.
8. Perrin-Whitt (6-2) ⇓1 — The Pirates held off Bryson to stay in line for District 6’s second playoff spot behind Newcastle. They’ll have this week off to heal up for the stretch run.
9. Hermleigh (5-2) ⇔ — The Cardinals control their own destiny in District 7 after securing lopsided wins over Highland and Rotan. But after a matchup with Roby this week, they’ll close the season with massive games against Ira and Westbrook.
10. Bryson (4-3) ⇔ — The Cowboys find themselves behind the eight ball after falling last week to Perrin-Whitt. They’ll likely now need to sweep district games against Knox City, Northside and Newcastle to reach the postseason. 

First five out — Roby (5-2) ⇔, Veribest (2-6) ⇔, Knox City (1-7) ⇔, Gorman (2-5) ⇔, Rotan (2-5) ⇔

DIVISION II

1. Jayton (8-0) ⇔ — The No. 1 Jaybirds remained undefeated with a 66-0 win over an overmatched Rule squad. They’ll travel to Lueders-Avoca this week before closing the regular season with a high-profile matchup against also-unbeaten Aspermont.
2. Richland Springs (5-1) ⇔ — The third-ranked Coyotes enjoyed their second open date last week. They’ll have a chance to lock up the District 15-1A championship with wins over Panther Creek and Rochelle the next two weeks. 
3. Benjamin (5-0) ⇔ — The No. 4 Mustangs were idle last week for the third time this season. Don’t expect any ring rust this week against Chillicothe, though, as BHS continues its charge toward the postseason.
4. Strawn (6-1) ⇔ — The sixth-ranked Greyhounds were out of action for the second straight week last week, picking up a forfeit win over Azle Christian. They’ll kick off District 9 play this week at Throckmorton.
5. Bluff Dale (7-1) ⇑2 — The Bobcats have flexed their muscles to open District 11 play, scoring wins over quality teams from Three Way and Iredell to all but clinch a district championship. They’ll be heavily favored in remaining league matchups against Morgan and Kopperl.
6. Aspermont (8-0) ⇓1 — The No. 8 Hornets have been nothing short of dominant against a light schedule, outscoring their opponents by a 456-72 margin to date. They’ll get this week off to prep for next week’s showdown with Jayton.
7. Zephyr (6-1) ⇓1 — The Bulldogs should be well-rested heading into this week’s clash with Blanket, having enjoyed an open date last week. A win over the Tigers would put ZHS in the catbird seat for the District 13 championship.
8. Three Way (7-1) ⇔ — The Braves rebounded from a tough district-opening loss to Bluff Dale with an 80-34 win over Kopperl last week. After taking this week off, they’ll play Iredell in a game that will likely decide District 11’s second playoff team.
9. Blanket (7-1) ⇔ — The Tigers will ride a huge wave of momentum into this week’s matchup with Zephyr, having won seven games since falling to still-unbeaten Menard in Week 1. 
10. Gustine (5-2) ⇔ — The Tigers will have a tough time cracking the playoffs out of District 13, but this is a quality team. After taking this week off, they’ll close out the regular season against Rising Star and Zephyr, needing wins in both matchups to earn an 11th game.

First five out — Paint Creek (5-2) ⇔, Bronte (4-3) ⇔, Guthrie (5-2) ⇑2, Trent (6-1) ⇔, Rochelle (2-5) ⇑⇑⇑