Cibolo Steele (3-0) at Midland Legacy (2-1): It’s a fascinating San Antonio vs Permian Basin matchup that is born out of necessity as these two regional powers were put into six team districts and forced to scramble to fill the non-district slate. Steele has an impressive resume with wins over San Antonio Brennan, Lake Travis and Hutto to their credit. The Knights had their best performance of the young season last week rolling past Hutto 49-16. Sophomore QB Chad Warner continues to get better each week and the Steele defense, most notably the secondary continues to make play after play. They’ll have a huge test this week going against four-star QB Marcos Davila and an explosive Midland Legacy attack. Legacy bounced back from their loss to Amarillo Tascosa with a dominant 56-20 win over Abilene High on the road. Davila threw for 357 yards and five touchdowns in just over a half of football. Expect a lot of points and a lot of big plays in this one as both teams bring a lot of talent to the table. Because of the long road trip, homefield advantage will play a role in this one and that goes to Midland Legacy, who I am taking to pull the upset. Stepp’s Pick: Midland Legacy by 3

Killeen Harker Heights (3-0) at Odessa Permian (3-0): It’s a battle of unbeatens at historic Ratliff Stadium as Harker Heights makes the long road trip from Central Texas to take on Odessa Permian. Harker Heights knocked off Round Rock Cedar Ridge 27-20 last week, as Aimeer Washington found the end zone twice to take some of the offensive pressure off star RB Re’Shaun Sanford. Odessa Permian went on the road last week to Amarillo and played a very good Tascosa squad and after trailing 12-0 in the second half MOJO got going late and pulled out an improbable 13-12 win. Rodney Hall’s five-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Quan Richardson for the go-ahead score with 1:30 to play gave Permian their only lead of the night and the victory. Permian’s defense was outstanding keeping the Panthers in the game long enough for the offense to get going. This is a pick’em game where homefield is big, Harker Heights isn’t used to the long road trips and they are walking into a hostile environment out in Odessa. Stepp’s Pick: Odessa Permian by 6

The Woodlands (2-1, 1-0) at New Caney (3-0, 1-0): Two of the front-runners in 13-6A clash in a key showdown early on in the district race as The Woodlands visits New Caney. The Woodlands had no trouble last week in the district opener cruising past Conroe Oak Ridge 45-17, QB Mabrey Mettaur threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns and added another touchdown on the ground, while sophomore WR Quannell Farrakhan, Jr. hauled in a pair of touchdowns. New Caney rolled past Willis in impressive fashion last week 62-28 as Michigan State commit RB Kendrick Reescano had another monster game as he found the end zone five times for the Eagles in the win. Both offenses are plenty powerful, but when it comes to defense at least through three games, we’ll give the edge to the much larger school in The Woodlands, as the Highlanders have looked good since the season opening loss to North Shore. Stepp’s Pick: The Woodlands by 7

San Antonio Taft (2-0, 0-0) vs San Antonio Brennan (2-1, 1-0): The District 29-6A race will take shape this week in the Alamo City as Taft, a playoff contender looks to pull the upset against runaway district favorite Brennan. The Raiders had their bye a week ago, so expect Ricky Stade’s squad to have plenty of tricks up their sleeve with two weeks to prepare for this showdown. In their last game, two weeks ago, a 45-35 win over San Antonio Veterans Memorial, the Raiders got 281 yards rushing and three touchdowns from RB TJ Andrews. Brennan after their heart-breaking Week 1 loss to Steele has been a wrecking machine the last two weeks, including a 48-10 rout of San Antonio Harlan last week. QB Ashton Dubose threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns and added two rushing touchdowns for the Bears in the win. Brennan’s offense is just too high-flying and explosive for Taft, I expect the Raiders to keep it competitive, but Dubose and the Bears pull away down the stretch. Stepp’s Pick: San Antonio Brennan by 13

Wichita Falls Rider (3-0) at Lubbock Cooper (2-1): For the ninth time in five seasons, Wichita Falls Rider and Lubbock Cooper will meet up. After meeting in district play and the playoffs each of the last four years, this year’s non-district game is guaranteed to be the only matchup between the two schools as Lubbock Cooper has moved up to 5A-Division I. Rider last week earned themselves a gutty 28-24 win over Lubbock Coronado as the Raiders who trailed the entire game got a 55-yard touchdown pass from Jack Pitts to Baylor Wilson to put Rider up for good. The bad news from the win was Texas Tech commit RB/DL Anquan Willis went down with an injury and his status for the rest of the season is in doubt at this time. Lubbock Cooper got a big test from a much-improved Abilene Wylie squad, but the Pirates passed the test with a 33-28 win. Lubbock Cooper’s defense allowed over 500 yards of offense, but a couple of a key red zone turnovers and a kickoff return touchdown sparked the Pirates in this one. The Pirates had three backs gain at least sixty yards on the ground Jackson Austin leading the way with 142 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. Rider is a beat up football team and I think Lubbock Cooper is going to lead on the depleted Raiders all night and get a comfortable win. Stepp’s Pick: Lubbock Cooper by 14

Longview (3-0) at Lufkin (3-0): A long-time blood feud in East Texas had lost some if its luster the past two season with Lufkin’s struggles is back and could be as hot as ever as number one ranked and unbeaten Longview heads to Lufkin to take on the surprising Lufkin Panthers who are also unbeaten. Longview absolutely rolled last week as they drilled Tyler Legacy 69-0 behind three touchdown passes from QB Jordan Allen. The Lobos rotated a number of skill players in the game and the defense was lights out holding Tyler Legacy under 100 yards of offense on the night. Lufkin stunned state ranked A&M Consolidated last week with an impressive 31-14 win on the road. RB Kedren Young ran for 263 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Panthers, while the Lufkin defense stood on their heads slowing down a powerful Consolidated offensive attack. Lufkin is a much-improved team and could be in the playoff mix in 7-5A Division I, but Longview is absolutely loaded with veteran talent and even though Abe Martin traditionally is a tough place for Longview to play, the Lobos overwhelm a young Lufkin squad. Stepp’s Pick: Longview by 18

Crosby (2-1, 1-0) at Barbers Hill (2-1, 1-0): A budding rivalry just east of the city of Houston is renewed but this time in district play as 5A-Division I schools as Crosby visits Barbers Hill. Crosby after the slow start to the season seems to be getting healthy at the right time and playing good football as the Cougars opened up district play with a 41-21 win over previously unbeaten Baytown Lee last week. Barbers Hill also got a win over a school from Baytown as the Eagles drilled Baytown Sterling to the tune of a 59-7 drubbing. This is a heated rivalry and as both programs grow and improve it will only get better, the difference in this game is the dynamic skill talent Crosby has at its disposal, most notably QB Cyrin Myles. Stepp’s Pick: Crosby by 7

Quick Picks

Trophy Club Nelson (3-0) at Keller Fossil Ridge (2-1) Stepp’s Pick: Trophy Club Nelson by 20

Arlington Martin (2-1) at Temple (2-1) Stepp’s Pick: Arlington Martin by 10

Katy Cinco Ranch (2-1, 1-0) vs Katy Tompkins (2-1, 0-1) Stepp’s Pick: Katy Tompkins by 15

Fort Bend Hightower (2-1, 1-0) vs Fort Bend Ridge Point (1-2, 1-0) Stepp’s Pick: Fort Bend Ridge Point by 7

San Benito (3-0) at Mission Veterans Memorial (2-1) Stepp’s Pick: San Benito by 23

Frisco Reedy (3-0, 1-0) vs Frisco Wakeland (1-2, 0-1) Stepp’s Pick: Frisco Reedy by 12

Crandall (3-0) at Melissa (1-2) Stepp’s Pick: Melissa by 6

Carthage (3-0) at Marshall (2-1) Stepp’s Pick: Carthage by 21

Rosenberg Lamar Consolidated (2-1) at Stafford (2-1) Stepp’s Pick: Stafford by 10

Liberty Hill (2-1) at Leander Rouse (1-2) Stepp’s Pick: Liberty Hill by 16