Westbrook (13-1) vs. Gordon (14-0) - 11 a.m. Wednesday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington

The four-day extravaganza of football kicks off with one of the most hotly anticipated games in six-man football this year as the two-time defending champion Westbrook Wildcats draw the unbeaten Gordon Longhorns, into its first title game since 1999. If you’re expecting a typical wide-open back-and-forth six-man scorefest, you’ve got another thing coming — these are two of the very best defenses in six-man ball squaring off. Gordon, in fact, boasts the state’s best defense, allowing a paltry 8.2 points behind bruising Brayden Walters and Kaden Crowe. Westbrook’s not far behind, allowing just 16.3 points per game anchored by Parker Matlock and Aiden Sullivan. That’s not to say there’s no firepower here, because Westbrook can run with the best of them, as Grayson Jeffrey and Keegan Gilbreath have led the Wildcats back to their third consecutive state title game appearance. Gordon’s ground-based attack will run through the Reed boys — Riley Reed and Stryker Reed (the latter of which is the son of head coach Mike Reed). There’s plenty of intrigue here, specifically based around who can hit the home runs and how Gordon handles their first-ever trip to AT&T Stadium. Expect a low-scoring slugfest, but Westbrook’s big-stage experience is the difference in a game where the margins are very thin. 

Tepper’s Pick: Westbrook by 4

PREDICTIONS

THE PICK