Euless Trinity 34, Abilene High 16 — The Trojans’ defense and running game proved too much for the Eagles to handle Friday at Pennington Field, where Trinity outgained AHS 406-153, including a 281-65 advantage on the ground.

Running back Brandon Theus was especially potent, rushing for 184 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries for the Trojans (7-1, 4-1). Despite this, the Eagles (5-5, 2-4) only trailed 21-9 at halftime and 27-16 heading into the final quarter.

While AHS missed a chance to clinch a playoff spot with an upset, the Eagles remain in the playoff picture thanks to North Richland Hills Richland’s 36-33 win over Weatherford on Friday. If Hurst Bell can knock off Weatherford this week and Trinity can take care of Richland, the Eagles, who are idle in Week 11, will make the playoffs as the district’s fourth seed.

BEDFORD — Abilene High lost its district finale to Trinity to close out the regular season at 5-5, but the news wasn’t all bad for the Eagles  on Friday.

Waiting on the field after their 34-16 loss to the Trojans, the AHS coaches and players learned that North Richland Hills Richland had held off Weatherford 36-33, keeping the Eagles’ narrow playoff hopes alive entering their Week 11 bye week.

AHS, which wrapped up District 3-6A play at 2-4, now needs Weatherford to lose to Hurst Bell and Richland to lose to Trinity next week lock up the district’s fourth playoff spot.

Entering their regular-season finale at Euless Trinity on Friday, the Abilene High football team’s path to the postseason is a murky one.

Consecutive losses to San Angelo Central, Haltom City Haltom and Weatherford have the Eagles needing some help from their district mates to extend their season to Week 12, as no outcome this week at Pennington Field will — on its own — ensure that AHS (5-4 overall, 2-3 District 3-6A) will make or miss the playoffs. 

With so much beyond their control, Coach Del Van Cox and his Eagles are focusing on the one thing they can influence: their own play. And they’re treating Friday’s matchup against the Trojans with all the must-win urgency of a playoff game.

Missed opportunities, struggles in the running game and an inability to slow Weatherford’s passing attack all cost the Abilene High football team dearly Friday in a 42-23 loss to the Kangaroos on Parent Night at Shotwell Stadium.

The Eagles, who failed on several occasions in the first half to capitalize on excellent field position, finished with just 41 yards rushing while surrendering 349 yards through the air, allowing Weatherford to score 35 consecutive points over the final three quarters and turn a game that was tied at halftime into a rout.

WEATHERFORD (2-5, 0-3) AT ABILENE HIGH (5-3, 2-2)

7:30 p.m. Friday at Shotwell Stadium, Abilene

What it means: After dropping their last two District 3-6A games to San Angelo Central (17-15) and Haltom City Haltom (28-14), the Eagles need a win Friday to solidify their hold on the league’s fourth playoff spot. AHS will have a chance to improve its standing regardless next week at Euless Trinity, but coach Del Van Cox’s team doesn’t want to go into that game needing a win to lock up a postseason berth. This is the 11th meeting between the Eagles and Kangaroos. AHS has won all 10 previous meetings, including last year’s game by a 30-7 margin.

Looking solely at the Abilene High stat sheet, it would be difficult to identify the Eagles’ featured running back. That’s largely because that title — and the player who holds it — can vary from drive to drive.

With injuries and position changes impacting that spot this season, the AHS coaching staff has taken more of a committee approach to the running game. But the trio of Xavier Carrillo (76-397), Phonzo Dotson (59-395, 4 TDs) and Esai Jaques (64-215) have combined to provide the offense with steady and needed production.

With everyone healthy and more comfortable with their roles within the offense, the members of that committee are excited about what the final two weeks of the regular season holds and eager to bring a new level of consistency to their play as the playoffs approach.

Haltom City Haltom 28, Abilene High 14 — The Eagles (5-3, 2-2) held the Buffalos to their season-low scoring output, including just seven points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to hand Haltom its first loss of the season.

The Buffs (7-0, 3-0) raced out to a 21-0 halftime lead, extended it to 28 points with a third-quarter touchdown and held off a late AHS rally to stay alone atop the 3-6A standings.

The Eagles allowed 445 yards, with 195 of those coming on Haltom’s four scoring plays. The back-breaker came on the Buffs’ final touchdown, an 84-yard pass from Michael Black to Julian Johnson after Black had retrieved an errant shotgun snap.

Leading the way for AHS, which was limited to 260 yards, was backup quarterback Matthew Ezzell (7-12-1—103, 1 TD), running back Xavier Carrillo (25-95 rushing) and receiver Reese Pettijohn (7-84 receiving).

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS — Haltom’s quick-strike offense accounted for three big-play touchdowns, and that was enough to propel the unbeaten Buffalos to a 28-14 win over Abilene in a District 3-6A game Friday night that probably left the Eagles wondering, “What if …?” afterward.

Though the Buffs improved to 7-0 on the season and 3-0 in league play, Abilene High’s defense often put the clamps on a team that was averaging more than 50 points per game — and that had taken down perennial district kingpin Trinity 48-34 a week earlier.

It couldn’t stymie Haltom’s talented quarterback Michael Black three times, however, and that was pretty much the difference in a hard-hitting game. Black ran for a 51-yard score and threw a 51-yard touchdown bomb to Decorian Mitchell. At that, it was his third scoring play that showed why the Buffalos are so dangerous.

ABILENE HIGH (5-2, 2-1) AT HALTOM CITY HALTOM (6-0, 2-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday at Birdville Fine Arts/Athletics Complex, North Richland Hills

What it means: A win by Haltom would keep the Buffalos alone atop the District 3-6A standings as the league’s only undefeated team, while an AHS victory would put the Eagles in a tie with as many as three other teams for the district’s top spot. This matchup, the fifth between these schools, features 3-6A’s best offense (Haltom, 51.3 points per game) and best defense (AHS, 16.4 points allowed per game). The Eagles hold a 3-1 edge in this series, with the lone loss coming last year in a 36-35 thriller at Shotwell Stadium.

While Abilene High’s last-second loss to San Angelo Central may have kept this week’s game against Haltom City Haltom from being a clash of District 3-6A unbeatens, it did little to steal the intrigue from what remains one of the region’s top Class 6A matchups for Week 8.

The game, which pits 3-6A’s top offensive team against the district’s top defense, still has massive implications on the league’s playoff and championship races.

Add some history to the mix — Haltom came from behind to beat AHS 36-35 last year, effectively taking the district’s fourth playoff spot from the Eagles in the process — and you’ve got enough storylines to get even the most casual of fans excited for this one.

Abilene High 28, Hurst Bell 7 — Playing for coach Del Van Cox, who lost his father to an inoperable brain tumor just days before Friday’s game, the Eagles did what they needed to do to secure an emotional road win Friday in Bedford.

Trailing 7-0 late in the first quarter, AHS (5-1, 2-0) tied the game on a 49-yard pass from Kallin Sipe to Clay Cox, Del Van’s son. And the Eagles took the lead for good midway through the second, when Griffin Cooke blocked a field goal attempt and Tyler Simpson took it back 72 yards to the house.

The Eagles ran just 30 offensive plays in the victory, gaining 244 total yards, but they limited the Blue Raiders (1-5, 0-2) to 212 total yards. Sipe finished 3-of-5 passing for 144 yards and two touchdowns, with two of those throws going to Marcos Garcia for 95 yards, including a 77-yard bomb in the third quarter.

BEDFORD — Sparked by big plays by the offense, defense and special teams, the Abilene High Eagles earned an emotional 28-7 win over the Hurst Bell Blue Raiders in a District 3-6A game Friday night at Pennington Field.

Just days after the passing of Coach Del Van Cox’s father, Nowlin “Corky” Cox, the Eagles struck quickly on a bomb and a blocked a field goal — and intercepted a pass at a key juncture in the game — to improve their record to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in district. Bell fell to 1-5 and 0-2.

Afterward, during Cox’s postgame speech to the squad, dozens of Eagles shouted, “We love you, Coach!” and then proceeded to give him a group hug after he congratulated them on their effort against the Raiders.

After watching the defense shut down Cooper and Midland High the past two weeks, the Abilene High offense knew it needed to pick up the slack Friday night in the Eagles’ District 3-6A opener at Shotwell Stadium against North Richland Hills Richland.

Boy, did the offense do its job.

Abilene High put up 565 total yards in a back-and-forth affair before putting together a fourth-quarter rally for a 48-41 win.

Kallin Sipe threw for 207 yards and four touchdowns, but it was the Eagles’ ground game that dominated. Abilene High ran 51 times for 358 yards in the win.

N.R.H. RICHLAND (2-2, 0-0) AT ABILENE HIGH (3-1, 0-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday at Shotwell Stadium, Abilene

What it means: It’s the first district game for both teams and could be an important one in the District 3-6A playoff race. This league is five deep with quality teams this year, and only four can advance to the postseason. That puts added importance on every district game and adds pressure with every loss. AHS enters this matchup on a three-game winning streak and is 2-0 on its home field. Richland, meanwhile, enters this game off a 38-8 drubbing by Arlington Lamar. These teams have only met three times previously, the last in 2009. The Eagles, who hold a narrow 2-1 lead in the series, downed the Rebels 48-28 in 2008 and 45-14 in 2009, both of which were district matchups.

The Abilene High defense continued its dominating start to the season Friday, limiting an explosive Midland High offense to 172 total yards and seven first downs in a 13-0 homecoming win at Shotwell Stadium.

Playing in heavy wind and a steady rain that kept both teams’ offenses grounded, the Eagles allowed just 25 yards in the second half in winning their third consecutive game.

Midland High, which came in averaging 34.7 points per contest, went three and out on eight of its 12 possessions, including all but its last of the second half. And on the two occasions the Bulldogs pushed into AHS territory, the Eagles defense came up with big plays, forcing and recovering a fumble inside the 10 midway through the first quarter and stopping MHS on downs at the 30 early in the second.

Those missed opportunities proved costly for the Bulldogs against an AHS defensive unit that allowed just one first down over the final two quarters in lowering its points-against average to 12.5 per game.