THE PLAYOFFS! | Here’s the complete schedule for next weekend

The regular season has ended, and it’s playoff time – high school football playoff time – at ETBlitz.com.

The playoffs are officially under way with the first round next week, and seven teams from the ETBlitz coverage area are going in, with the ultimate goal of winning a state championship.

Here are the first-round matchups.

• Tatum (6-4) vs. Malakoff (10-0). Coach Whitney Keeling and the Eagles will get to try their hand at the No. 1 team in the state in 3A, Division I, according to the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football rankings. That matchup is set for Thursday night, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium. The Eagles just gave unbeaten Jefferson all it wanted Friday night, losing 18-13. Malakoff (10-0) beat Winnsboro, 35-28, on Friday night. Tatum and Malakoff have that in common: both beat Winnsboro. Winnsboro lost at Tatum to open the season, and then ran the table before losing to the Tigers this weekend.
• Overton (8-2) vs. Evadale (7-3). The Mustangs evaded Mount Enterprise, 45-44, after a great comeback two weeks ago, and then blasted Cushing, 52-0, on Friday night to finish second in District 11-2A, Division II. Overton will go to San Augustine this coming Friday, Nov. 15, and they’ll face Evadale, a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Rebels have won their last two games, beating Colmesneil, 49-14, on Nov. 1, and finishing the regular season with a 43-8 win at Hull-Daisetta Friday night. The winner of Overton-Evadale will play either Mart (8-2) or Cumby (5-5) next weekend.

• Kilgore (8-2) vs. Vidor (5-5). The Kilgore Bulldogs will be home for round one of the University Interscholastic League’s Class 4A, Division I playoffs as the number one seed from District 9-4A, Division I. Coach Clint Fuller and the Bulldogs will host the Vidor Pirates next Friday, Nov. 15, a 7:30 p.m. kickoff as usual at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium. Kilgore beat Mabank in a rout, 48-0, on Thursday night (JUST SMASHING | Kilgore completes regular season with big win over Mabank, goes into 4A postseason as district’s No. 1 seed). Vidor beat winless Livingston, 61-14. The Kilgore-Vidor winner will face either Needville (6-4) or Houston-area Furr (6-4) the following weekend, in the second, or area, round.
• Gilmer (7-3) at Center (8-2). Coach Alan Metzel and his Gilmer Buckeyes will begin the defense of the 2023 UIL Class 4A, Division II state championship on the road at Center next Friday at 7 p.m. Gilmer’s three losses were to non-district opponents Pine Tree and Chapel Hill to begin the season, then to Pleasant Grove just a couple of weeks ago, a district loss. The Buckeyes go into the playoffs as the number two seed from District 7-4A, DII. Center has won three of its last four, the one loss to Athens, 43-36, back on Nov. 1. The winner of Gilmer-Center goes on to the area round next weekend to meet either Sunnyvale (7-3) or Caddo Mills (6-4).
• Troup (7-3) vs. Anderson Shiro (8-2). Troup’s Tigers grabbed the number two seed in District 11-3A, Division II, and will go to Crockett on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff in round one of the 3A-DII playoffs. Troup beat both rivals Arp and West Rusk to get that number two spot. The Tigers routed Buffalo, 57-21, on Friday night. Anderson Shiro has won three straight games since losing to Woodville, 48-27, on Oct. 18. The Owls beat Warren, 48-0, on Friday night.

• Arp (7-3) vs. Woodville (8-2). Coach Wes Schminkey and the Arp Tigers had to win a battle with district rival West Rusk on Friday night, a game to decide who would take third in 11-3A. Arp escaped with a closer-than-it-sounds 22-13 win, and now will face the Woodville Eagles, with three straight wins, most recently a 61-6 rout of Kountze on Friday. Arp plays Woodville Friday night at 7 p.m. at Rusk High School.
• West Rusk (4-6) vs. Newton (7-3). The Raiders are back in the 3A postseason, and they’ll start off against the Newton Eagles. That game will be Friday at 7 p.m. at Diboll. The unique thing about this game: Newton will have been off two weeks by the time the game is played. The Eagles had an open date on Friday, the final weekend of the regular season, and haven’t played since beating Warren, 64-0, back on Nov. 1.