Ranked 100th in our preseason rankings
3-7 in 2016
This week’s game: vs. Cedar Ridge, 5:00 p.m. Saturday at Pflugerville’s The Pfield
Chip Killian and his staff have long been known for developing some of the state’s best collegiate players, but have run into some road blocks over the years in the playoffs. That, of course, makes this run all the more satisfying to watch after all the scrapping. One nod the Hawks get that many other teams don’t: they schedule a challenging pre-district slate. They’ve been playing Lake Travis long after district alignments required it, and they opened this year with Smithson Valley. Games like that aren’t always fun for a program trying to make noise in a city dominated by LT, Westlake and Cedar Park, but they certainly show kids what it takes to make deep playoff runs. With as many wins in the playoffs this year as they had in the regular season last year, a district rematch with Cedar Ridge (the Raiders won 43-27 earlier this year) stands in the way of a fourth and a state semifinal berth.
Austin McCallum (13-0)
Ranked 39th in our preseason rankings
10-2 in 2016
This week’s game: vs. Corpus Christi Calallen, 12:00 p.m. Saturday at the Alamodome
There’s some magic in Central Texas this year, it seems. This is the deepest run in school history, which is saying something since the Knights have been playing football in the heart of Austin since the 1950’s, when the school was founded and became just the second in AISD. In the time since, they’ve watched Reagan, Westlake, Lake Travis, Liberty Hill, Wimberley and Cedar Park all become state powers at various times. Now Calallen, led by all-time winningest coach Phil Danaher and fresh off a state title game appearance last year, stands in the way of even more history. This will be the toughest team the Knights have faced this season by far (McCallum’s opponents went a combined 49-90 this year), but with weapons like QB Max Perez leading the way, anything is possible, and it's not like teams accidentally go 13-0.
Wichita Falls Hirschi (11-2)
Ranked 45th in our 4A DI preseason rankings
6-5 in 2016
This week’s game: vs. Stephenville, 7:00 p.m. Friday at Fort Worth’s Ranger Stadium
The Huskies’ season storyline has been dominated by their growing dominance with each week, and the emergence of running back Daimarquas Foster, now a 2017 Mr. Texas Football finalist. Ask people in the know, like Wichita Falls Times-Record reporter Zach Duncan, and this breakout season isn’t necessarily a surprise. It also seemed fait accompli that the Huskies would have to dispatch Argyle in the regional final to advance to the state semifinals, but Stephenville slayed the Eagles last round and rewarded us all with a fascinating clash of styles to sort out the region crown. It won’t be the first tough game for the Huskies, who have already taken on five teams in the 4A DI or DII top 30 this year, with a 4-2 record.
Bushland (11-2)
Ranked 45th in our 4A DII preseason rankings
6-5 in 2016
This week’s game: vs. Graham, 7:00 p.m. Friday at Lubbock’s Lowrey Field
The Falcons have one of the most interesting schedules of any team in 4A. Their two losses came in pre-district against 3A DII powerhouse Canadian (47-23) and 5A Amarillo Caprock (52-49). That’s quite a range of competition. Another interesting note with the Falcons is that all but one of their 11 victories this season has come by double digits, but on the flip side, their two most impressive wins are over Levelland (4A DI No. 42) and Seminole (4A DII No. 16). It’s a mixed bag. They’ve beaten the teams they should, and soundly, but have only just now faced their first Top 25 test in Seminole. They passed with flying colors, can they do it again?
New Diana (10-3)
Ranked 56th in our 3A DII preseason rankings
3-7 in 2016
This week’s game: vs. Gunter, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Royse City’s Royse City ISD Stadium
The Eagles were 0-10 two years ago before Robbie Coplin took over and installed #EagleTempo, an ode to the offensive stylings of Chad Morris, for whom Coplin was an assistant at Lake Travis. There just aren’t many teams at the 3A DII level who have seen or can deal with the furious pace at which the Eagles play, and to top it off, they’re led by another 2017 Mr. Texas Football finalist, QB Jackson Sampson. Coplin hasn’t avoided tough competition, either. District 7-3A DII is no pushover, and the Eagles have cleared a couple tough teams along the way. On New Diana’s schedule: 3A DI No. 22 White Oak (L, 54-41), 3A DII No. 6 West Rusk (L, 40-23), 3A DII No. 16 Daingerfield (W, 24-21) and 3A DII No. 15 Jacksboro (W, 49-48). The defending state champs will be a different test entirely, but this has been quite a run. Especially when you consider where New Diana was just two years ago.
Panhandle (9-4)
Ranked 40th in our 2A DI preseason rankings
7-4 in 2016
This week’s game: vs. Stratford, 7:00 p.m. Friday at Dumas’ Demon Stadium
The Amarillo Globe’s Kale Steed warned us when the playoffs started to keep an eye on the Panthers, and boy was he right. Panhandle lost games in the first half of the season to 3A DII Childress (44-26) and 2A DII Wellington (33-0), both teams still alive in the playoff hunt in their respective classes. Since a 35-31 overtime loss to Stratford in district play, the Panthers have gone on an impressive run that included a 30-21 shocker over Abernathy, a dominant 55-28 win over a very good McCamey squad and a thumping 63-29 win last week over Stamford, a team on its own surprising run until that clash. Now comes the Stratford rematch, and while the Elks are the deserved favorites, it sure looks like the Panthers are at least 4 points better since their last meeting. Maybe double overtime this time around?
[For more on the 2017 Texas high school football playoffs, visit Playoff Central, where you can find brackets, game times and locations, our expert predictions, and much more!]
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