El Paso Pebble Hills (10-1) vs. North Crowley (11-0), 5:30 p.m. Friday at Andrews’ Mustang Bowl: Pebble Hills made some history last week winning their first playoff game in school history and doing so in emphatic fashion taking down longtime El Paso menace Odessa Permian in a 45-28 win. QB Gael Ochoa triggered a dynamic Pebble Hills offense throwing four touchdowns, while LB Bobby Deal picked off two passes and contributed on offense hauling in a touchdown pass. North Crowley, under first-year head coach Ray Gates is having a dream season and it continued last week with a dominant 66-17 win over Keller Timber Creek. The Panthers got the running game untracked last week as Dejuan Lacy and Cornelius Warren combined for 382 rushing yards and six touchdowns in the win. North Crowley’s overall team speed and physicality will be something Pebble Hills has never dealt with before and NCHS will have major edges at most positions, the only question for North Crowley will be how they handle the six-hour road trip west. If they navigate that and don’t get off the bus sluggish, the Panthers should roll. Stepp’s Pick: North Crowley by 21
Rockwall (10-1) vs. Waxahachie (9-2), 7:30 p.m. Friday at Arlington’s Globe Life Field: Rockwall has quietly put together a strong season, yet the 10-1 Yellow Jackets have flown under the radar, they’ll have a chance to pop up on the radar this week if they can take on up and coming Waxahachie, who won a 6A playoff game for the first time last week. Last week Rockwall got off to a slow start, but pulled away from Sachse in the second half of a 50-24 victory. QB Lake Bennett torched Sachse throwing for 424 yards and four touchdowns in the win and the ‘Jackets defense allowed just three second half points. Waxahachie went down to Central Texas and knocked off a tough Temple squad in their backyard 30-21, it was the Indians ground game that was key as Jayden Becks and Iverson Young combined for 175 yards rushing, while the Waxahachie defense forced five Temple turnovers. If Waxahachie’s defense can stand on their heads and cause Rockwall to get out of character and turn the ball over, the Indians can pull the upset. But that’s not the norm from Rockwall who typically takes care of the football. Stepp’s Pick: Rockwall by 8
Lake Travis (6-4) vs. Cibolo Steele (11-0), 7 p.m. Friday at Pflugerville’s The Pfield: It’s a rematch of a Week 2 game in which Steele survived a rally from a depleted Lake Travis squad to get the win. Lake Travis of today is a much different team and after their impressive 35-10 win over Round Rock, it might be fair to call the Cavs the favorite despite Steele’s unbeaten record. In that 35-10 win, Lake Travis’ dominant third quarter proved to be the difference as LTHS outscored RRHS 21-0 to turn a 10-7 halftime deficit into a 28-10 lead. Sophomore QB Kadyn Leon threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to pace the Cavaliers. Steele is unbeaten, but this version of the Knights is young and has been improving each week, last week they took down San Antonio Johnson 34-17 as sophomore QB Chad Warner led the Knights throwing for 238 yards and two touchdowns, while Utah State commit RB Jaydon Bailey chipped in 193 yards rushing and a touchdown. Steele is sophomore-heavy and has improved since Week 2, but so has Lake Travis who has gotten healthy. This is going to be a close one, but I’m going to roll with the hot hand and take Lake Travis. Stepp’s Pick: Lake Travis by 6
Denton Guyer (11-0) vs. Highland Park (11-0), 7 p.m. Friday at Frisco’s Ford Center: It’s a battle of unbeatens Friday night as Guyer and Highland Park elected to get out of the cold weather and play indoors. We feel like we know Guyer pretty well, considering the strength of their district as the Wildcats own wins over Allen, Prosper and McKinney along with non-district wins over Aledo and Lancaster. Last week Guyer had no troubles blasting past Flower Mound Marcus 42-7 as the Wildcats were led by QB Jackson Arnold who threw for two touchdowns and 230 yards and he added in a couple of rushing touchdowns as well. Highland Park is unbeaten but the Scots haven’t truly been tested in a while as 7-6A isn’t considered one of the stronger districts in DFW. They got pushed a bit last week, but the Scots passed the test pulling away from Arlington Bowie in a 44-27 win. QB Brennan Storer led the charge for Highland Park throwing for 345 yards and four touchdowns. Guyer’s got the better personnel, but one issue all year has been depth, the Wildcats had great luck with injuries during the regular season, but the secondary took a blow late in the game last week when junior DB Eli Bowen, a FBS recruit went out with an injury that according to reports will end his season. Look for Highland Park to try and work on Bowen’s replacement in the Guyer secondary, which could mean this results in a shootout, the Scots keep it close throughout, but Arnold and that Guyer offense pull it out late. Stepp’s Pick: Denton Guyer by 8
Humble Summer Creek (7-4) vs. Alvin Shadow Creek (11-0), 7 p.m. Friday at Houston’s TDECU Stadium: It’s a battle of the Creek’s at the University of Houston Friday night as two teams vying for regional supremacy hook up. Summer Creek’s 7-4 record isn’t the most impressive, but the resume is salty with close losses to North Shore, Atascocita and Klein Collins. Last week the Bulldogs rolled in a 72-7 win over an overmatched South Houston squad. Speaking of rolling, unbeaten Shadow Creek opened the playoffs in style drubbing Brazoswood 77-7 at home. The Sharks got three first half touchdown passes from QB Duke Butler and a pair of touchdown runs from Jacob Washington as Shadow Creek threw up 56 first half points. This will be a physical game, both defenses are fast and fly around, the difference is Shadow Creek’s offensive balance and experience at QB which gives them the edge in this one. Stepp’s Pick: Alvin Shadow Creek by 4
Amarillo Tascosa (10-1) vs. Burleson Centennial (10-1), 2:30 p.m. Friday at Wichita Falls’ Memorial Stadium: It’s a rematch of a playoff game a year ago as two teams who are mirror images of each other in a lot of ways meet up in a rare Friday afternoon showdown. Both teams run the flexbone (and run it quite well) and their game a year ago was a tight one, with Tascosa coming out with a close win. Amarillo Tascosa had no trouble last week in their playoff opener blasting El Paso Ysleta 70-7. Sophomore WR/DB T.J. Tillman hauled in a first half touchdown pass and returned an interception for a touchdown to lead the Rebels who also ran for 393 yards on the night, THS put up 49 first half points and rotated personnel in during the second half. Burleson Centennial was expected to get a push from Lake Belton in their playoff opener, but the Spartans jumped out quick on the Broncos and never looked back in a comfortable 55-28 win. BCHS showed they have balance running the ball as RB Elijah Zeh, QB Phillip Hamilton and RB Jahiem Ababio each rushed for more than 135 yards with at least two touchdowns. Zeh led the way with 184 yards on the ground. The key in this game is the Tascosa defense, the Rebels defensive line is among the best in the state and they’ll control things up front and manage to slow Burleson Centennial down some. Stepp’s Pick: Amarillo Tascosa by 7
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