SIX-MAN LOOKAHEAD: Playoffs open with strong slate of area matchups

We’ve reached Week 12 and with it comes the start of the high school football playoffs. While a handful of area teams kicked off their postseason runs on Thursday, most of the Big Country’s most competitive matchups are still to come.

As we did in the regular season, we’ll continue to preview each week’s top matchups through the playoffs here in our “Big Country Lookahead” column. 

We’ve got plenty to talk about, so let’s go ahead and dive in. And be sure to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page for results as these games go final.

THIS WEEK’S TOP MATCHUPS

• Ira (8-2) vs. Robert Lee (9-1) — One of the most high-profile matchups of the week, this game pits the Division I No. 10 Bulldogs against the sixth-ranked Steers in a rematch of a September game that Robert Lee won 60-14. Don’t expect a repeat of that lopsided outcome, though, as Ira has done nothing but win since then, rattling off seven straight victories on their way to the District 7 crown. The spread on this game is between four and seven points depending on the power rating service, and it should be a thriller as Brandt Cox and Brenner Sherwood meet in a clash of the area’s two most dynamic playmakers.
• Benjamin (8-0) vs. Aspermont (9-1) — Moving to Division II, this is also a meeting of ranked teams, as the No. 4 Mustangs ready for the 10th-ranked Hornets. But this matchup may be better on paper than it proves to be on the field. Led by do-it-all junior Keegan Hayes, still-undefeated Benjamin is favored heavily in this matchup — by 22 points by PigSkinPrep.com and 45 by SixManFootball.com. That’s likely because Aspermont has beaten only one team this season with more than four wins and lost 50-0 to Jayton in its only other game against a ranked opponent. But Isaiah Johnson and the Hornets will be looking to prove they’re a contender this week after downing a quality Paint Creek team 46-22 in their regular-season finale to earn their playoff spot, so don’t count them completely out against the Mustangs.
• Bronte (7-3) vs. Grandfalls-Royalty (8-2) — Another game that is expected to be extremely competitive, this matchup has the District 6-1A DII champion Longhorns taking on the District 5 runner-up Cowboys. Bronte has won four straight games since falling 70-20 to Robert Lee to cap a three-game losing streak, while Grandfalls-Royalty has won eight of its last nine contests, falling only to Balmorhea in a de facto district championship game during that stretch. The Cowboys are a slight favorite here, by eight or nine points depending on the source, which makes this a virtual toss-up. The Longhorns are very much a threat to advance.
• Three Way (9-1) vs. Oakwood (6-4) — This DII matchup, which features the District 11 runner-up Braves against the District 12 champion Panthers, has the computers flummoxed. PigSkinPrep.com sees it as a virtual pick ’em, with Oakwood favored by just two points, while SixManFootball.com is expecting a blowout, with the Panthers tabbed as 35-point favorites. I tend to believe it will be considerably more competitive than that, given that Three Way has lost only one game all year, pushing an excellent Bluff Dale team to the brink before falling 34-29 in its district opener. The Panthers have played the tougher schedule and come in on a four-game win streak, but the Braves have been a tough out for a couple of years now and will come in not only expecting to compete, but to win.
• Blanket (8-2) vs. Oglesby (9-1) — Another in a long line of intriguing matchups this week, this Tiger fight between District 13-1A DII runner-up Blanket and District  14 champion Oglesby could go any number of ways. The power ranking services like OHS here, by as many as 35 points depending on the source, but Blanket’s only two losses this season are to a pair of 10-win teams, and the last of those was a competitive game against Zephyr for the District 13 title. Around that setback, the Kannon Kensing-led Tigers have dominated their schedule, going 8-1 since a season-opening loss to still-unbeaten Menard, so expect a fight from BHS. 
• Abilene Christian (7-3) vs. Rockwall Heritage Christian (7-1) — Moving to the private school ranks, this TAPPS Six-Man Division II matchup features the District 1 third-place Panthers and the District 3 champion Eagles. But there’s not much separating these two squads, as Heritage Christian comes in as a two- to three-score favorite. The two squads have played a couple of common opponents, with both earning mercy-rule wins over Weatherford Christian and both playing close games against Fort Worth Covenant Classical, resulting in a 56-50 season opening win for Eagles and a 62-56 loss last week for the Panthers. Pierson Walters and ACS are underdogs here, but the Panthers are more than capable of pulling off an upset here and advancing in the playoffs.

NOTEBOOK

Heavy hitters open playoffs with convincing wins

While most of this week’s best matchups will be played on Friday — or Saturday, in the case of Abilene Christian’s game against Rockwall Heritage — a number of area teams got their playoff runs underway Thursday, including many of the Big Country’s top teams.

That included both defending champions, as DI favorite Gordon routed Jonesboro 52-6 and DII favorite Jayton blasted Guthrie 56-6 on the postseason’s opening night.

Other prominent area teams to pick up impressive wins include DI No. 2 Water Valley (62-14 over Hermleigh) and DII No. 3 Richland Springs (62-0 over Calvert).

PREDICTIONS

• LAST WEEK: 25-2, .926
• SEASON TOTAL: 262-41, .865

REGION II-1A DIV. I (Full bracket)

BI-DISTRICT

Ira (8-2) vs. ROBERT LEE (9-1): 7 p.m. Friday, Sterling City’s Eagle Stadium

WATER VALLEY (10-0) vs. Hermleigh (7-3): 7 p.m. Thursday, Garden City’s Bearkat Stadium

NEWCASTLE (7-2) vs. Petersburg (4-6): 7 p.m. Friday, Knox City’s Greyhound Field

REGION IV-1A DIV. I (Full bracket)

BI-DISTRICT

GORDON (9-0) vs. Jonesboro (4-6): 7 p.m. Thursday, Hico’s Tiger Stadium

MAY (9-1) vs. Gorman (4-6): 7 p.m. Friday, May’s Tiger Field

REGION II-1A DIV. II (Full bracket)

BI-DISTRICT

Blackwell (4-6) vs. BALMORHEA (9-1): 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Rankin’s Red Devil Stadium

BENJAMIN (8-0) vs. Aspermont (9-1): 6:30 p.m. Friday, Benjamin’s Ben Grill Field

JAYTON (10-0) vs. Guthrie (7-2): 7 p.m. Thursday, Knox City’s Greyhound Field

Bronte (7-3) vs. GRANDFALLS-ROYALTY (8-2): 6:30 p.m. Friday, Mertzon’s O.K. Wolfenbarger Field

REGION III-1A DIV. II (Full bracket)

BI-DISTRICT

STRAWN (9-1) vs. Bowie Gold-burg (2-7): 7 p.m. Friday, Bryson’s Cowboy Stadium

BLUFF DALE (9-1) vs. Mount Calm (8-2): 7 p.m. Thursday, Abbott

Woodson (2-7) vs. FANNINDEL (10-0): 7 p.m. Thursday, Saint Jo’s Harley Sewell

Three Way (9-1) vs. OAKWOOD (6-4): 7 p.m. Friday, Abbott’s Panther Stadium

REGION IV-1A DIV. II (Full bracket)

BI-DISTRICT

ZEPHYR (9-1) vs. Evant (5-5): 7 p.m. Thursday, Priddy Athletic Complex

RICHLAND SPRINGS (9-1) vs. Calvert (4-5): 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Blum

Rochelle (4-6) vs. CHEROKEE (9-1): 6:30 p.m. Thursday, San Saba’s Rogan Field

Blanket (8-2) vs. OGLESBY (9-1): 7 p.m. Friday, Priddy Athletic Complex

TAPPS SIX-MAN DIV. II

BI-DISTRICT

Abilene Christian (7-3) vs. ROCKWALL HERITAGE CHRISTIAN (7-1): 6 p.m. Saturday, Rockwall’s Hobart Wisdom Field