Arlington Martin (6-2, 4-0) at Grand Prairie (6-3, 5-0): The two of the top teams in District 8-6A face off this week at the Gopher Bowl with a district title on the line as state ranked Arlington Martin takes on surprising Grand Prairie. Martin comes off their bye week into this one but in their last appearance they demolished Arlington Bowie 68-14. The Warriors put up 627 yards of offense while limiting Bowie to just 247 yards. Quarterback Cydd Ford threw for 181 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Zaire Burrow was the main beneficiary as he caught five receptions for 87 yards and three touchdowns. Grand Prairie pulled out the win against Arlington Bowie 42-40 last week. The Gophers were powered by a strong running game that put up 430 yards. Running back Drew Damper got the bulk of the carries with 22 for 254 yards and three touchdowns. His partner WR and SMU commit Savion Red had 173 yards receiving and two touchdowns. The state ranked Warriors might be too much for Grand Prairie to handle in this one, the Gophers are a good story and they’ll have their stadium rocking Friday but they don’t have the horses to keep up. DCTF Intern Joshua Price’s Pick: Arlington Martin by 21

Jersey Village (8-0, 5-0) at Houston Stratford (8-0, 5-0): It’s the biggest regular season game in several years at Tully Stadium as unbeaten and now state ranked Jersey Village takes on unbeaten Houston Stratford with the 17-6A district title on the line. Jersey Village blasted past an overmatched Houston Spring Woods squad last Thursday in a 55-3 win. Sophomore QB Adam Tran threw for three touchdowns, while the Falcons had four different backs rush for at least 61 yards on the night. Speaking of domination, Stratford’s 64-0 win over Cypress Creek was certainly eye-popping as the Spartans defense forced five turnovers, including a pick six, Luke Rives returned the game’s opening kickoff for a score and the offense rolled up 469 yards on the night, it was a complete effort in all three phases. Statford’s depth in the trenches on both sides of the ball will be tested in a big way by the team speed Jersey Village brings to the table. This one will be fun, but the slight edge goes to the Falcons in this Saturday night showdown. Stepp’s Pick: Jersey Village by 2

Humble Atascocita (7-1, 4-0) at Galena Park North Shore (8-1, 5-0): The 21-6A title is on the line on the Eastside of Houston as state ranked powers Atascocita and North Shore collide. Atascocita has had two weeks to prepare for this one after the Eagles rolled past C.E. King 42-21 in their last outing. AHS leaned on the running game as talented sophomore QB Zion Brown in his first start wasn’t going to have the entire offense on his shoulders replacing senior leader Gavin Session. RB Tyras Winfield led the Eagles offense with 161 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. North Shore’s elite defense had their best game of the year last week as the Mustangs pitched a shoutout, a 17-0 win over C.E. King. North Shore’s defense dominated all night allowing just 149 yards of offense, while the NSHS offense did just enough as QB Wyndell Mitchell tossed a pair of first touchdowns to Jhalyn Bailey and that was all the offense the Mustangs needed. The key in this one is which dominant unit controls the game? Does the Atascocita offense loaded with playmakers and averaging 42.5 points per game get the better of the nasty North Shore defense that allows just under twelve points per game? History says North Shore will find a way to get it done against Atascocita as they’ve had their number, this one will be much closer but in Galena Park I’m leaning to the Mustangs. Stepp’s Pick: Galena Park North Shore by 6

Alvin Shadow Creek (6-2, 5-0) at Pearland (6-2, 5-0): Bragging rights in 23-6A and to a lesser extent the city of Pearland are on the line in this one as Shadow Creek visits the Rig to take on Pearland with sole possession of first place in the district on the line. Even though Shadow Creek is an Alvin ISD program, the school actually sits in the Pearland city limits. Shadow Creek had no issues last week with Alief Elsik last week in an easy 49-0 win. The Sharks were dominant start to finish and since their slow start to the season SCHS has rattled off six straight wins. Pearland also dominated a week ago rolled past Alief Hastings 56-6 a week ago, so both teams come into this showdown rested and with plenty of confidence. The edge goes to Shadow Creek in this one, the Sharks are a bit more dynamic on offense and that’s the key for the Sharks in this one. Stepp’s Pick: Alvin Shadow Creek by 3

San Antonio Johnson (8-0, 6-0) vs San Antonio Reagan (6-2, 6-0): The 28-6A title is up for grabs as unbeaten Johnson puts their record on the line against the always tough Rattlers. Johnson got past a tough San Antonio Madison squad 42-35 as RB Ben McCreary ran wild putting up 246 yards and four touchdowns for the Jaguars. Reagan has battled through some early injuries and come out stronger on the other side. Reagan rolled past San Antonio Roosevelt last week 35-7, WR Luke Sasser led the Rattlers offense with eight receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns, but the Reagan defense was sensational as well holding a speedy Roosevelt offense to just 154 yards of offense and forcing three turnovers. Johnson’s explosive offense is the difference in this showdown in the Alamo City. Stepp’s Pick: San Antonio Johnson by 10

Katy Paetow (8-0, 6-0) at Manvel (6-2, 5-1): No team in the state of Texas made quite the statement that Katy Paetow made last week as on Thursday night the Panthers absolutely drilled Fort Bend Hightower 55-7. QB CJ Dumas threw for 229 yards and four touchdowns, while RB Damyrion Phillips chipped in 153 yards on the ground and three touchdowns and 50 yards receiving and a touchdown. The Paetow defense played their best game of the year as well holding an explosive Hightower offense to just 205 yards of total offense. The Panthers will need to duplicate that effort this week against an equally tough opponent in Manvel. The Mavericks rolled past Fort Bend Kempner 70-14 last week as MHS got three touchdown passes from Kaeden Smith and a balanced rushing effort that rolled up over ten yards per carry and 348 total yards on the ground. Manvel’s strong rushing offense will need to control the clock and try to limit the touches for the Katy Paetow’s explosive offense if they want to have any chance of pulling the upset against what looks to be the favorite in Region III in 5A-Division I. Stepp’s Pick: Katy Paetow by 13

Buda Johnson (8-0, 5-0) at Dripping Springs (8-0, 5-0): It’s a battle of unbeaten teams for the 12-5A Division I crown as upstart newcomer Buda Johnson looks to take down the established power in Dripping Springs. Johnson, playing in just their second varsity season has been sensational on the offensive side of the ball all year, but in last week’s 14-0 win over Seguin it was the defense that rose to the occasion in securing a key road win. The Jaguars defense allowed just 108 yards of offense on the night. Dripping Springs has one of the state’s top offenses as the Tigers average 54 points per game. Last week they basically hit their average in a 52-14 rout of San Antonio Harlandale, QB Austin Novosad again was the ringleader for the Tigers throwing for 424 yards and four touchdowns. Buda Johnson has rolled up an impressive record thus far, but this is still an unproven team. Johnson’s best win of the year was probably last week’s win over 5-3 Seguin. There’s still a lot the Jaguars have to prove, so we’ll take the proven commodity at home in a big game to decide the district title. Stepp’s Pick: Dripping Springs by 9

Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial (8-0, 6-0) at Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (7-2, 5-2): Flour Bluff looks to upset undefeated and state ranked Veterans Memorial in their last game of the season, while Vets looks to move one step closer to another title in District 15-5A Division I. Veterans Memorial continued their campaign for a district title as they put away Corpus Christi Carroll 66-24 two weeks ago. Quarterback Elijah Durrette threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Jerimiah Sosa made the most of his five carries as he broke off for 111 yards and one touchdown. Veterans Memorial also made it a no fly zone as they had three interceptions. Flour Bluff continued Carroll’s woes as they downed them 52-13 last week. Flour Bluff spread the love on offense as they had six different players score for them. In 2020, Flour Bluff only had two blemishes on their record, both came against Veterans Memorial, one in district and the other ending their playoff run and they weren’t particularly close. Considering some of the Hornets struggles late in the year and the fact that the Vets Eagles have had a full two weeks to prep for this one, look for VMHS to pull away for a comfortable win. DCTF Intern Joshua Price’s Pick: Veterans Memorial by 10

Wichita Falls Rider (7-1, 2-1) at Canyon Randall (5-3, 2-1): Second place is on the line in 3-5A Division II as Wichita Falls Rider heads north on Highway 287 into the Panhandle to take on a tough Canyon Randall bunch. Rider went up to Plainview last week and had no issues breezing past Plainview High 52-20. Rider raced out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back in this one as QB Jack Pitts opened the offense up for ROHO throwing for 360 yards and four touchdowns in the victory. The typically ground oriented offense, led by tough-running Anquan Willis was solid (Willis ran for 97 yards and a touchdown), but Friday night was all about the aerial game for Rider. Canyon Randall came into last week’s game against Abilene Wylie flying high, but the long road strip and a sluggish performance doomed Randall in a 16-13 loss. QB Braxton Burd led Randall running for a touchdown in the first half and throwing for a score in the second half, Randall’s offense just couldn’t do enough against a stingy Wylie defense and a late field goal proved to be their undoing. Expect a much better performance from Randall at home, but this Rider team is athletic, they have good size and they are a clear number two in this district. Rider gets a key road win to move into sole possession of second place where they can host a first round playoff game. Stepp’s Pick: Wichita Falls Rider by 9

Ennis (8-0, 5-0) at Royse City (8-0, 5-0): An under the radar battle of unbeatens takes place Friday night in Hunt County as Ennis visits surprising Royse City with a shot at first place in 8-5A Division II on the line. Ennis has been dominant once again this year rolling to eight straight wins, including a win over 6A rival Waxahachie. EHS rolled last week to an easy 31-7 win over Forney, who came into that game also unbeaten in district play. QB Jackson Gilkey tossed three touchdown passes, while the RB duo of Dee Johnson and Devion Beasley ran for 175 yards combined and a touchdown. Ennis’ held an explosive Forney attack in check all evening as well. Royse City needed every bit of their offense last week to slip past Crandall 65-63 in a game where the Bulldogs offense threw up an eye popping 784 yards of offense. QB Kenneth Spring threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 120 yards and a touchdown, RB’s Sam Mitchum and Ahmon Dozier combined for 295 yards on the ground and three scores and WR Jonah Roberson hauled in ten passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns. It was just an offensive circus, but the Bulldogs defense left a lot to be desired as they allowed Crandall to roll up 717 yards of offense and 63 points. Ennis is too physical, too fast and too sound for Royse City’s offense to run up and down the field on, the Bulldogs will have to work for points in this one. In the sixteen combined wins for these two teams only three have come against teams with winning records, (Ennis two wins over Waxahachie and Forney, Royse City one win over Corsicana) so there’s a lot of unknowns with these two. The known is Ennis is the team to beat in this district until proven otherwise and they’ve shown the ability to consistently get stops with their defense. Stepp’s Pick: Ennis by 13

Quick Picks

Allen (7-1, 4-0) at Prosper (5-3, 2-2) Stepp’s Pick: Allen by 14

Tomball (6-2, 2-2) at Klein Cain (7-2, 4-1) Stepp’s Pick: Klein Cain by 11

Cypress Ranch vs Cypress Park (7-1, 4-1) Stepp’s Pick: Cypress Park by 4

Austin Bowie (6-2, 3-2) at San Marcos (4-4, 3-2) Stepp’s Pick: Austin Bowie by 12

San Antonio Brennan (8-0, 6-0) vs San Antonio Holmes (5-3, 3-3) Stepp’s Pick: San Antonio Brennan by 28

Abilene Cooper (5-3, 3-2) at Azle (6-2, 4-1) Stepp’s Pick: Azle by 15

Magnolia West (8-0, 6-0) at New Caney (7-1, 5-1) Stepp’s Pick: Magnolia West by 8

Pflugerville Weiss (7-1, 5-0) at Cedar Park (5-3, 4-1) Stepp’s Pick: Pflugerville Weiss by 4

El Paso Austin (5-3, 3-1) at El Paso Jefferson (6-2, 3-1) Stepp’s Pick: El Paso Auston by 11

Mission Veterans Memorial (5-3, 5-1) at Mission Sharyland Pioneer (5-3, 4-2) Stepp’s Pick: Mission Veterans Memorial by 7