Muenster (13-2) vs Shiner (12-3), 7 p.m. Wednesday at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium: 

You didn’t have to squint too hard to see this matchup coming when the playoff brackets came out six weeks ago as we get a much-anticipated showdown in the 2A-Division II title game.

Muenster has been an absolute buzzsaw this postseason winning five playoff games by an AVERAGE of 44 points per game.

The Hornets got pushed for much of the first half against unbeaten Gruver last week as they held just a 21-13 edge with under five minutes left. But then they hit the gas right before halftime in a decisive stretch that saw a pair of Brady Carney touchdown runs to extend the lead to 35-13. Muenster put the game out of reach early in the third quarter after getting an interception on the first play of the third quarter. That led to a Carney 17-yard TD run and then Simon Johnson returned another Gruver interception for a touchdown. Carney finished the night 162 yards and two passing touchdowns and 155 rushing yards and three scores.

Shiner got pushed a bit last week but escaped with a 41-33 win over Bremond despite the Comanches' defense giving up a season-high in points.

QB Carson Schuette took Shiner back to the future as the Comanches brought back some of their tried and true veer offensive concepts. It paid off in a big way as he ran for 207 yards and four touchdowns to pace the Comanches offensive attack.

The key matchup in this game is Shiner's defense vs. the speedy and balanced Muenster offensive attack. Whichever unit gets the edge likely walks out of Arlington with a state title. My money is on Muenster, who has been the best team in the state in 2A-Division II all season. 

Stepp’s Pick: Muenster by 10

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Muenster

QB Casen Carney - Carney, son of head coach Brady, has blossomed as a junior with 2,990 passing yards and 34 touchdowns while also leading the team with 1,446 yards and 28 touchdowns. He watched his father win a state championship in 2017 and now has his opportunity.

TE Garrett Hess -The 6-4 receiver has a large catch radius that he’s used to catch a team-best 49 passes for 1,077 yards and 10 touchdowns. He lines up on the outside numbers and is a deep threat for QB Carney.

MLB Tate Sampson - Sampson wreaks havoc on opposing running backs, and he’ll have to stop an entire stable of them against Shiner. He teams up with fellow backer Simon Johnson, who returned an interception for a touchdown against Gruver.

Shiner

QB Carson Schuette - The Comanches could do themselves a lot of good by extending drives and keeping Muenster's potent offense off the field. For that to happen, Schuette's going to have to take control as he has all season. He's been superman-like this postseason.

ATH Jarvis Williams - This feels like a game that Shiner could really use a big play in the special teams department from, and Williams could be the one to make that happen. He had a 50-yard punt return for a TD against Junction in the regional finals.

LB/TE Kyle Adamek - Muenster's offense can get going in a hurry, so it will be up to players like Adamek to be sound in coverage and sure in their tackling. Adamek always finds himself around the ball. He'll need to continue that trend if the Comanches want to pull off the upset.

PREDICTIONS

THE PICK