Rockwall (4-1, 1-0) at Mesquite Horn (4-1, 1-0): After drilling arch-rival Rockwall-Heath last week in the I-30 Classic, Rockwall has to avoid a letdown this week against a dangerous and much-improved Mesquite Horn bunch. RHS rolled in their 56-21 win over Heath as QB Lake Bennett accounted for seven touchdowns and the ‘Jackets led 43-7 at the half and put it on cruise control the second half. Horn opened up district play on Thursday with a key win over North Forney 35-25. Kevontae White ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns to lead Horn, but the offense had their issues as they lost a pair of touchdowns that were returned for touchdowns. Horn is talented, but they are also young and they can’t afford to make those types of mistakes against this veteran and playoff tested Rockwall squad. Mesquite Horn’s going to throw everything they have at Rockwall, but it won’t be enough this time as Rockwall takes charge of the 11-6A title race. Stepp’s Pick: Rockwall by 13

Spring Dekaney (2-2, 1-0) at Spring Westfield (3-1, 1-0): Westfield looks for the Spring ISD sweep this week as after taking down Spring High in convincing fashion, the Mustangs take on Dekaney. The way 14-6A has been going, the winner of this game likely wins the district as Spring ISD has had their way with their Aldine ISD district bunkmates. Dekaney opened up district play last week with a solid 35-7 win over playoff contender Aldine Eisenhower, QB Rechuuk Hines had a pair of touchdown passes and added a touchdown run, while Dekaney’s defense pitched a shutout after allowing Ike to take an early 7-0 lead. Westfield had their way with Spring in their 61-22 win, QB PJ Hatter threw for 443 yards and seven touchdowns on just fifteen completions as the big play was the Mustangs best friend in this showdown. Westfield is the class of this district and no one has the firepower to keep up, Dekaney’s defense will keep them in it for a while but too much Westfield offense in this one. Stepp’s Pick: Spring Westfield by 19

Jersey Village (4-0, 1-0) vs Cy-Fair (3-1, 1-0): After struggling with a young team in 2021, it appears Cy-Fair is back to being a force in 17-6A and the Bobcats are looking to get the inside track to a district title this week with a win over state ranked Jersey Village. Cy-Fair already took care of one of the district favorites last week with a massive 43-31 win over Houston Stratford. After falling behind 14-0 early Cy-Fair roared back to get the win as QB Trey Owens tossed four touchdown passes in the win. Jersey Village really struggled in their final non-district game a three-point win over Cy Springs, but they got the wheels back on last week in a 65-0 win over Houston Spring Woods to open up district play. If the veteran Falcons play up to their paper, they’ll knock off Cy-Fair, JVHS is the most talented team in Cy-Fair ISD, but they are also very inconsistent, if they don’t bring their A-Game Cy-Fair is plenty good enough to pull off the mild upset. Stepp’s Pick: Jersey Village by 6

Katy Jordan (3-1, 2-0) vs Katy (5-0, 3-0): In their first varsity season, Katy Jordan suddenly finds themselves squarely in the middle of a muddled 19-6A playoff race with the chance to doing the unthinkable this week, knocking off Katy High. Jordan last week stunned last year’s 5A-Division I state champion Katy Paetow 41-13. QB Colin Willets fired three touchdown passes and a third quarter interception return broke open a close game. Katy High very quietly has put together a 5-0 start and the Tigers appear to be cruising to a district title, last week they cruised past Katy Mayde Creek 59-3 as the Tigers scored on all six of their first half drives in racing out to a 42-3 halftime lead. Katy’s backups played most of the second half, so expect the Tigers to be well rested going into this Thursday night showdown. Pulling the upset will be an incredibly tall task for Katy Jordan, but being competitive with Katy High could give the Warriors confidence as they move into the latter stage of district play as they fight for a playoff spot. Stepp’s Pick: Katy by 21

San Antonio Brandeis (4-1, 3-0) at San Antonio Johnson (3-1, 2-0): Two of the top teams in 27-6A will meet up with first place in the district on the line. Brandeis got a big win over San Antonio Madison last week 50-27 as the return of QB JC Evans was a big boost for the Broncos as the senior QB accounted for four touchdowns, while RB Joseph Coleman ran for 216 yards and three touchdowns. San Antonio Johnson, on the strength of a monster second quarter rolled past San Antonio Roosevelt 63-35 last week, sophomore QB Ty Hawkins had over 300 yards of offense and five touchdowns and RB Lorenn Johnson ran for 238 yards and three touchdowns to lead a dynamic Jaguars offensive attack. Both offensive units have a ton of firepower, this one will come down to defense and that edge goes to Brandeis. Stepp’s Pick: San Antonio Brandeis by 8

Killeen Shoemaker (4-1, 2-1) at Red Oak (3-1, 1-1): 4-5A Division I has been full of intrigue early on in district play and that intrigue continues this week as an underrated Shoemaker squad visits Red Oak in a key game as both try and remain in the district title hunt. Shoemaker last week had to scratch and claw, but they earned a key win over Killeen Ellison 16-8. Shoemaker’s defense was the story in the win as they held Ellison to just 44 yards of offense in the win. Red Oak had last week off after their 28-21 win over Killeen Ellison two weeks ago, the Hawks only loss was an overtime heartbreaker by one point to Lake Belton, while Shoemaker beat LBHS by a point. Both teams hold one score wins over Killeen Ellison as well, so on paper, these two are incredibly evenly matched. The difference in this one for me is Red Oak is at home and they’ve had two weeks to get ready for Shoemaker, that’s the difference in this one. Stepp’s Pick: Red Oak by 2

Richmond Foster (5-0, 3-0) at Magnolia West (3-1, 1-1): Foster continues their run through 10-5A Division I after the Falcons rolled past Friendswood 41-0. In five games, Foster has allowed a total of just 21-total points. RB Ashton Ojiaku led the way for a Foster attack that totaled 435 yards of offense rushing for 240 yards and three touchdowns in the win. It was a tough go for Magnolia West last week as the Mustangs dropped their first game of the season in a 30-14 loss to Manvel. The Mustangs struck early to jump out 7-0 lead, but then from that point forward Manvel’s defense totally dominated. Expect Magnolia West to throw the kitchen sink at Foster and keep the game close for a half, but Foster rolls in the second half. Stepp’s Pick: Richmond Foster by 16

Grapevine (3-1, 1-0) vs Colleyville Heritage (3-1, 1-0): The Battle of the Red Rail has some major implications this year as now its a district ball game and these two are the favorites to bring home the district title. Grapevine rolled past Fort Worth North Side 56-21 as RB Parker Polk led a balanced attack with 167 yards rushing and three touchdowns for the Mustangs. Colleyville Heritage blasted past Fort Worth Trimble Tech 57-0, the Panthers were dominant start to finish holding Trimble Tech to -4 yards of total offense. Colleyville has gotten the better of Grapevine recently, but this may be Grapevine’s best chance in a few years to knock off their younger brothers. It’s a toss-up type game with two top ten teams that have regional title aspirations, I lean to Colleyville Heritage in a barn-burner. Stepp’s Pick: Colleyville Heritage by 3

Quick Picks

Houston C.E. King (3-1, 1-0) at Galena Park North Shore (4-0, 1-0) Stepp’s Pick: Galena Park North Shore by 31

San Antonio Brennan (3-1, 2-0) vs San Antonio O’Connor (2-3, 2-1) Stepp’s Pick: San Antonio Brennan by 24

Abilene (2-3, 1-0) at Amarillo Tascosa (4-1, 1-0) Stepp’s Pick: Amarillo Tascosa by 11

Donna (5-0, 1-0) at Brownsville Veterans Memorial (3-1, 0-0) Stepp’s Pick: Brownsville Veterans Memorial by 15

Austin LBJ (2-2, 1-0) vs Austin McCallum (2-2, 1-0) Stepp’s Pick: Austin LBJ by 13