ETBLITZ POWER PICKS! | It’s the final week of the regular season, and we’re pumped!

Well, it went by quickly, but we’re here.

It seems like it’s been just a couple of weeks since we were all dealing with the late-August heat, the tough non-district schedules, and then the district openers. But as hard as it is to believe, just like it seems to do every year, the regular season of Texas high school football has flown by.

I’m really tempted here to talk about the high school football playoffs coming up, but I won’t do that. We won’t steal next week’s thunder. This is the final regular weekend, though, and I’m just excited about what some of the teams in the ETBlitz.com coverage area have an opportunity to do this year in the postseason.

On the other hand, there are a few ETBlitz-area teams that won’t be headed into the playoffs, and let me just encourage you fans of those schools to stay involved here on the site. We’re not a one-trick pony here. Basketball season has started and we’ve had Kilgore College basketball already; we’re about to take a full dive into high school basketball, and just around the corner – time goes by quick – soccer will start, then baseball, softball, golf, spring tennis and track.

We’re gonna have some fun.

And that’s what these picks are about. This is just for fun. If we happen to pick against your team this week, don’t hold it against us too badly. What we say here and (with inflation) about $5 will get you a large coffee. Or a large iced, shaken doppio with two pumps of white mocha – you know, whatever you prefer.

THE PANEL

Joining myself with our ETBlitz.com Power Picks! here each week is a group of people that are actually pretty solid at doing this, unlike the Presidential pollsters. We’re all way over .500, no one has lost more picks than they’ve won, and we earnestly try and do our best to pick who we believe will win.

Sometimes, when ETBlitz-area programs are playing each other, it’s tough to make that pick. That goes back to what I was saying – you know, the part about not being offended if we pick against your team? Ties in football went out with the 1990s. So someone’s gotta win. Right?

On the panel this football season, and every football season with me for the last decade, are Dennis Jacobs and two of my three children, Jacob Lucas and Ashtyn Lucas. Dennis is here because he enjoys it, and he’s a multi-freakin’-time champion. He’s won it so many times, I’ve forgotten. Dennis is our Kilgore High School photographer, and you’ll see him just about any time a Bulldogs’ sports team is playing anything. He’s also a teacher in the KISD system.

Jacob is my son, a student at the University of Alabama, and works inside their athletic department doing some really cool things with video there. Ashtyn is my youngest daughter, a dancer, a dance teacher, and a student at Kilgore College. And she’s here because she loves beating Jacob in any possible way. Just calling it.

Also on the panel: my best friend, Dereck Borders, who has more going on right now than President-elect Trump. Dereck has a regular job, is a taxidermist (busy time for that), is a member of the KISD school board, and his youngest daughter, Sydni, is marrying rodeo star Bodee Lammers next Saturday. Man, that made me tired writing all of that. And congratulations to Sydni and Bodee.

Check out Bodee in action right here, on YouTube: Bodee Lammers | 2023 Fort Worth.

By the way, you can follow Bodee on Instagram here: @lammerhammer_

We have a couple of other photographers on our panel.

There’s Alex Nabor, my pride and joy, an almost-20-year-old who’s shot more big events in sports than most people have in a career. Seriously, Alex already has shot dozens of high school playoff games for me, as well as major college football games, including the Cotton Bowl and Big 12 Championship a couple of years running. Gonna make a career of this one day. Actually, I guess he already is. He’s a student at Kilgore College and shoots often for them, as well.

And then there’s our seasoned veteran photographer, Ronnie Sartors. If you want to have some fun, search for Ronnie’s work on our site, or look him up on Facebook – he’s also listed under Sport Shot Photography. People are jealous of what Ronnie can do with a camera, guys.

Last but not least, there’s Joe Hale, a 40-plus-year veteran sportswriter whom everybody in coaching in East Texas has talked to at one point or another, and Clayton Fletcher, our assistant editor.

Doug Smith, of Kilgore’s Ragin’ Red Broadcasting crew, says Joe’s older than baseball. Doug and I aren’t spring chickens, ourselves.

THE STANDINGS, & LAST WEEK

So, I don’t really want to talk about last week, as far as my own performance, but we’ll get to that.

Joe went a scorching 19-2 last week – that’s the best single week anyone has had the entire season. So he widened his lead a little bit over Ashtyn, who had a good week; she went 15-6.

But Joe still leads the field with a 158-54 record. Ashtyn is second, at 151-61, but now she’s seven games out of the lead, thanks to his big week.

Dereck went 15-6, as well, so he’s four games behind Ashtyn (147-65). Clayton – you guessed it, another 15-6 performance. And he’s in fourth, behind Dereck, but back a bit at 142-70.

I had what, for me, is an awful week: I went 13-8 last week and really lost ground on the leaders. I’m now at 141-71.

Three of us – Jacob, Dennis and Ronnie – have 137 wins each. Jacob is 137-75 and actually had the second-best week of anybody last weekend; he went 16-5, second only to Joe’s 19-2.

Also at 137-75 is Dennis, who went 12-9 a week ago (Dennis & I can both do much better). Ronnie went 14-7 last weekend; he’s 137-65 on the season (he has 10 less picks than we do because of a late start).

Alex sits at 132-80, after a 14-7 week last week. And Jenna, bless her heart, has slipped to the bottom. She’s at 128-84, and went 11-10 last week.

THE CYCLONE STAMPEDE PICKS CONTEST STARTS NEXT WEEK

OK, next week is the week.

We’re starting our first-ever picks contest for you guys, the fans, where you can enter and win, get into the ETBlitz.com College Football Pickoff, and win something really nice (which I’m not going to give away just yet – that’s coming, I promise).

When the high school football playoffs begin next week, as well as the Southwest Junior College Football Conference playoffs that includes Kilgore College, you’ll want to look for our Cyclone Stampede contest.

You’ll enter by making a list of our 21 games (preferably typed, so we can see it ) or on your phone, and take a photo so that your entry is dated before the games begin. All entries have to be documented and filed prior to the playoff games each week, so when the picks list comes out Monday, you’ll need to get them back sometime before Wednesday at midnight.

Post your picks in our Forum page, in the football topic under Cyclone Stampede. If you win your week, you’ll advance to the finals against the winners of other picks weeks, and play in our college bowl pickoff for a chance at the big prize.

Why do we call it the ‘Cyclone Stampede?’Well, it’s going to be wild, and the ‘cyclone’ comes from everything happening at once, like a tornado, or a cyclone. But be warned: picking the outcomes of these games isn’t the easiest thing you’ll ever do.

We’ll have a story with the complete rules on Monday, as well as the first list of picks.

THE GAMES

Here is this week’s picks list, which begins with Kilgore hosting Mabank on Thursday, and winds up with the Miami Dolphins playing at the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.

Following the games: our picks grid.

Practice for the Cyclone Stampede: take down these picks, and just pick the winners, no score necessary, and look to see how you did late Monday night or Tuesday morning, when the games have all been played.

ETBLITZ.COM POWER PICKS!

Thursday, November 7-Monday, November 11, 2024

HIGH SCHOOL GAMES

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Gilmer (6-3) at North Lamar (1-8), 7 p.m., NLISD Stadium

Mabank (1-8) at Kilgore (7-2), 7:30 p.m., R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Campbell (2-7) at Leverett’s Chapel (5-4), 7 p.m., LCISD Stadium

Tatum (6-3) at Jefferson (9-0), 7 p.m., at Jefferson ISD Stadium

Cushing (2-7) at Overton (7-2), 7:30 p.m., Coach Chester Roy Stadium

White Oak (5-4) at Gladewater (3-6), 7:30 p.m., Jack V. Murphy Stadium

Buffalo (1-8) at Troup (6-3), 7:30 p.m., Troup ISD Tiger Stadium

Arp (6-3) at West Rusk (4-5), 7:30 p.m., Bruce Bradshaw Stadium

Liberty-Eylau (7-2) at Sabine (2-7), 7 p.m., James Bamberg Stadium

Henderson (6-3) at Lindale (4-5), 7:30 p.m., Lindale ISD Eagles Stadium

COLLEGE GAMES

SATURDAY’S GAMES

No. 13 (JUCO) Kilgore College (6-2) at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (2-6), Red Robertson Field, Miami, Okla., 1 p.m.

Florida (4-4) at No. 5 Texas (8-1), 11 a.m., ABC

No. 20 Colorado (6-2) at Texas Tech (6-3), 3 p.m., FOX

No. 3 Georgia (7-1) at No. 16 Ole Miss (7-2), 2:30 p.m., ABC

Oklahoma State (3-6) at TCU (5-4), 6 p.m., FS1

Oklahoma (5-4) at No. 24 Missouri (6-2), 6:45 p.m., SEC Network

NFL GAMES

THURSDAY’S GAME

Cincinnati (4-5) at Baltimore (6-3), 7:15 p.m. Amazon Prime Video

SUNDAY’S GAMES

Pittsburgh (6-2) at Washington (7-2), noon, CBS

Philadelphia (6-2) at Dallas (3-5), 3:25 p.m., CBS

Detroit (7-1) at Houston (6-3), 7:20 p.m., NBC

MONDAY’S GAME

Miami (2-6) at L.A. Rams (4-4), 7:15 p.m., ABC  & ESPN

MITCH	DENNIS	JOE	DERECK	JENNA	JACOB	ASHTYN	ALEX	CLAYTON	RONNIE
Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer
Kilgore	Kilgore	Kilgore	Kilgore	Kilgore	Kilgore	Kilgore	Kilgore	Kilgore	Kilgore
LC	LC	LC	LC	LC	LC	LC	LC	LC	LC
Jefferson	Jefferson	Jefferson	Jefferson	Tatum	Jefferson	Jefferson	Tatum	Jefferson	Jefferson
Overton	Overton	Overton	Overton	Overton	Overton	Overton	Overton	Overton	Overton
Gladewater	White Oak	Gladewater	White Oak	White Oak	White Oak	White Oak	White Oak	White Oak	White Oak
Troup	Troup	Troup	Troup	Troup	Troup	Troup	Troup	Troup	Troup
West Rusk	Arp	Arp	West Rusk	Arp	West Rusk	Arp	Arp	Arp	West Rusk
L-E	L-E	L-E	L-E	L-E	L-E	L-E	L-E	L-E	L-E
Henderson	Lindale	Lindale	Henderson	Henderson	Henderson	Henderson	Henderson	Henderson	Henderson
KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC
Texas	Texas	Texas	Texas	Texas	Texas	Texas	Texas	Texas	Texas
Colorado	Tech	Tech	Tech	Tech	Colorado	Tech	Colorado	Tech	Colorado
Ole Miss	Georgia	Georgia	Ole Miss	Georgia	Ole Miss	Georgia	Ole Miss	Georgia	Georgia
TCU	TCU	TCU	TCU	TCU	TCU	TCU	TCU	TCU	TCU
OU	Missouri	Missouri	Missouri	Missouri	Missouri	Missouri	OU	Missouri	Missouri
Baltimore	Baltimore	Baltimore	Baltimore	Baltimore	Baltimore	Baltimore	Cincinnati	Baltimore	Baltimore
Washington	Washington	Washington	Pittsburgh	Washington	Pittsburgh	Washington	Washington	Washington	Washington
Philly	Dallas	Philly	Philly	Philly	Philly	Philly	Philly	Philly	Philly
Houston	Houston	Detroit	Detroit	Detroit	Detroit	Detroit	Houston	Detroit	Detroit
Miami	L.A.	L.A.	L.A.	L.A.	Miami	L.A.	L.A.	L.A.	L.A.