ETBLITZ POWER PICKS! | Three HUGE 4A games; KC at TVCC; Gladewater at Tatum tonight; don’t miss the Cyclone Stampede picks contest
Well, we’re getting down to the heart of the matter in high school football.
There are some – well – large games this week, beginning tonight at Tatum ISD Eagle Stadium, where two of the teams in the ETBlitz.com coverage area will face off. The Gladewater Bears will meet the Tatum Eagles Thursday night in a big battle in District 8-3A, Division I.
You’re taught as a young sportswriter to always remind people why a game is important, so this is the part where I have to remind you guys that the top four teams in each district in Texas high school (University Interscholastic League) football make the playoffs. Anyone who finishes fifth and back? Their season is over.
Nobody wants to be in that soup line, so to speak.
So Tatum and Gladewater will get it on tonight, and we have a huge slate on Friday: Leverett’s Chapel hosts Savoy, and LC will try to put last week’s loss at Union Hill behind them in the ETBlitz.com area’s only six-man district.
We mentioned Gladewater at Tatum, and two other teams in our area will play Friday night at James Bamberg Stadium at Sabine High School in Liberty City. White Oak, looking to get back to its winning ways after dropping the last two to Atlanta and Jefferson, visits Sabine on Friday, as the Cardinals will attempt to stop a five-game losing streak.
Also locally, Troup – winners of five straight under coach Sam Wells – will host New Diana, who is smokin’ hot and ranked No. 5 in the state in the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Class 3A, Division II poll. The winner of that game is the district leader outright.
Gilmer blew past Pittsburg (blew the doors off of Pittsburg, is more like it) last weekend, but this week, things look a little harder when Van visits Jeff Traylor Stadium on Friday. Van’s only loss: a 36-30 setback to Pine Tree. They’ve beaten everyone else they’ve faced, including Dallas Carter and Lindale.
Henderson, who leads in District 9-4A, Division I, puts that 3-0 record on the line in Longview, at Pine Tree’s Pirate Stadium. That’s a huge game for Henderson, to stay out in front of rivals Kilgore, Chapel Hill and Pine Tree in the district race.
Kilgore is back at home to host Lindale, always a big game, on Friday night at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium, where the 2024 inductees into the KHS Wall of Honor will be announced and honored.
And finally locally, coach Willie Gooden and the Kilgore College Rangers – ninth in the national poll – will go see “old friends” Trinity Valley on Saturday in Athens, a 3 p.m. kickoff there of that key Southwest Junior College Football Conference game.
THE PANEL
It’s a great group, actually – and everybody has almost twice as many wins as we do losses. They’re all very knowledgeable about football.
We’ve got Dennis Jacobs, who’s won this thing on several occasions, dating back to when I was at the other place. Once Dennis gets a lead in the picks contest, it’s normally a strangle-hold. He’s chasing a few of us right now, but don’t be surprised when he’s in it until the very end. Dennis is our Kilgore High School sports photographer, and he’s also a teacher at Kilgore Middle School. And he’s the friendliest person on the planet.
Joe Hale is leading right now, and if you don’t know Joe, you’re missing out. Joe is one of those “unintentionally funny” people, and he’s an encyclopedia (that’s a really thick, smartly-written book to help you learn things, for you people under 25) on sports, especially sports in East Texas. Joe has been a sportswriter professionally for over 40 years.
Then there’s my friend Dereck Borders. Now, he can be a glass-half-empty (or dusty, or dry) person when it comes to Texas A&M football, but that’s just because he’s a little temperamental about his Aggies. You won’t find anyone who loves A&M more than Dereck, driver of our “Happy Bus” when the ETBlitz crew goes somewhere en masse. He’s a member and former president of the Kilgore Independent School District board, a taxidermist and one heck of a preparer of smoked meats.
My wife Jenna, my son Jacob and my youngest daughter Ashtyn are all also on the list, and legitimately so: if you saw the video work done by Jacob at last week’s Kilgore-Chapel Hill game (highlights of Jayden Sanders), then you won’t be surprised that he does that on a daily basis for the University of Alabama’s athletic department. He’s quite good.
Ashtyn is a student at KC and my gauge when it comes to current slang, and social media, and helps me in both categories (don’t laugh, sometimes I need it).
And Jenna is a nurse, and nurse educator, by trade, but is also the executive editor / business manager for ETBlitz and very good with a camera; her photos of last year’s Cotton Bowl and other games have appeared here on the site.
Speaking of photos, you can’t get any better than Ronnie Sartors and Alex Nabor. There’s a pretty good-sized age difference there: Ronnie is retired, but has shot photos under the Sport Shot Photography banner for decades, and also for Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, at all kind of events, including the UIL State Football Championships.
Alex is a student at KC and hasn’t even celebrated his 20th birthday; he’s just 19. But he’s so good with a camera. Personally for me, he’s shot almost 100 events over the last three to four years, including the football teams in our coverage area; just about any high school sport you could name; Kilgore College football and basketball; and an impressive list that includes Texas and Texas A&M football, bowl games, and the Big 12 Championship Game.
Clayton Fletcher is our assistant editor, and moves around a lot during the fall, covering anything from Tatum, West Rusk and other programs as needed to PBR Rodeo, and a lot more. Clayton is my right-hand man, my sounding board, and pretty soon, we’re going to debut Clayton’s Hot Seat right here on ETBlitz. It’s kind of morbid, but it’s the coaches in college and pro football that Clayton believes are in trouble, and could be out. And you’d be amazed how often he’s correct on this.
Last and least is me, the good ol’ sportswriter from Vernon, Alabama. If you don’t know where Vernon is, you’re not alone. I’d say that I lived so far out in the country that I had to walk toward town to hunt, but hunters were actually out on my property, so that wouldn’t be true. I am very proud to be from Vernon, a small town in northwest Alabama, about an hour from Tuscaloosa, and about 20 miles from Columbus, Mississippi.
By the way, Vernon’s high school is Lamar County High School, and they’re the Bulldogs.
THE CYCLONE STAMPEDE
Now, we’re certainly not telling you to take anything that we say for more than just fun. And if you’d like to, play along – make your own picks for each of the 21 games on the list, and tell us how you did in the comments below.
That reminds me: in the playoffs, look for our CYCLONE STAMPEDE contest. We’ll continue to pick games until the end of the season for all of our 12 high schools and Kilgore College. Beginning with the first week of the high school playoffs, we’ll start the Cyclone Stampede. You 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 (can’t have folks sending in an entry after games are played).
Post that photo in the 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 pick-off for a chance at – well, I won’t spoil it. But it will be a prize you will want. Put it that way.
Why do we call it the ‘Cyclone Stampede?’ Well, it’s going to be wild, like a stampede, and the ‘cyclone’ comes from everything happening at once, like a tornado, or a cyclone. The picks list can be a brutal place, if you have three, four, maybe even five picks that looked like sure things… only to fall apart. And then, you’re busted.
THE STANDINGS
Joe has a lead and he’s trying to tuck the ball away and run with it – but he’s still within striking distance. He’s only got a few yards’ cushion, so to speak.
Joe has a 109-41 record in the 150 games we’ve picked so far. Ashtyn is right behind him at 106-44.
Three of us – Dereck, Clayton and myself – are tied at exactly 100 wins and 50 losses. And I’m not happy about it! I should have done a little better. But I’ll get you, Joe!
Ronnie got a little bit of a late start, but he’s got 95 wins and 45 losses; he’s about 10 games off the rest of our totals.
Alex, Dennis and Jacob were all pretty impressive last week, and now they’re all tied at 94-56.
Jenna has a 91-59 record.
Last week, by the way, Ashtyn, Dennis, Dereck and Joe each went 18-4, which is fantastic. Ronnie hit for 17-5. Jacob and Alex each went 16-6, and Clayton, 15-7. I was 14-8, and Jenna, 13-9.
THE GAMES
Here are the games we pick, which will always include Kilgore College, if they’re playing, as well as the teams from our 12 ETBlitz.com-area high schools: in alphabetical order, Arp, Gilmer, Gladewater, Henderson, Kilgore, Leverett’s Chapel, Overton, Sabine, Tatum, Troup, West Rusk and White Oak.
This week, West Rusk and Overton have open dates, but everyone else, including KC, is on the schedule.
Also off this week: the Dallas Cowboys. So there’s no way the Cowboys can lose this weekend.
We add to the mix of local games a healthy dose of college and NFL games, and try to pick 21 total games every week. We had 22 a week ago because I accidentally gave the list out with too many picks, and didn’t want to eliminate a game.
Here’s our list, followed by the grid with the panel’s picks. And don’t forget to pick along with us – practice for the Cyclone Stampede contest, that starts with the high school playoffs.
ETBLITZ.COM POWER PICKS!
Thursday, Oct. 17-Monday, Oct. 21, 2024
HIGH SCHOOL GAMES
THURSDAY’S GAME
Gladewater (3-4) at Tatum (4-2), 7 p.m., Tatum ISD Eagle Stadium
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Savoy (1-6) at Leverett’s Chapel (3-3), 7 p.m., Union Hill Stadium
White Oak (4-2) at Sabine (2-5), 7 p.m., James Bamberg Stadium
Elkhart (2-5) at Arp (4-2), 7 p.m., at Bill Herrington Arp ISD Stadium
New Diana (6-0) at Troup (5-2), 7 p.m., Troup ISD Stadium
Van (5-1) at Gilmer (4-2), 7:30 p.m., Jeff Traylor Stadium
Henderson (6-1) at Pine Tree (5-1), 7:30 p.m., Pine Tree Pirate Stadium
Lindale (3-3) at Kilgore (5-2), 7:30 p.m., R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium
COLLEGE GAMES
FRIDAY’S GAMES
No. 2 Oregon (6-0) at Purdue (1-5), 7 p.m., FOX
Oklahoma State (3-3) at No. 13 BYU (6-0), 9:15 p.m., ESPN
SATURDAY’S GAMES
No. 9 (JUCO) Kilgore College (4-1) at Trinity Valley (3-3), 3 p.m.
No. 5 Georgia (5-1) at No. 1 Texas (6-0), 6:30 p.m., ABC
No. 14 Texas A&M (5-1) at Mississippi State (1-5) 3:15 p.m., SEC Network
Baylor (2-4) at Texas Tech (5-1), 3 p.m., ESPN2
No. 8 LSU (5-1) at Arkansas (4-2), 6 p.m., ESPN
NFL GAMES
THURSDAY’S GAME
Denver (3-3) at New Orleans (2-4), 7:15 p.m. Amazon Prime Video
SUNDAY’S GAMES
Seattle (3-3) at Atlanta (4-2), noon, FOX
Houston (5-1) at Green Bay (4-2), noon, CBS
Detroit (4-1) at Minnesota (5-0), noon, FOX
Kansas City (5-0) at San Francisco (3-3), 3:25 p.m., FOX
MONDAY’S GAME
Baltimore (4-2) at Tampa Bay (4-2), 7:15 p.m. ESPN
| MITCH | DENNIS | JOE | DERECK | JENNA | JACOB | ASHTYN | ALEX | CLAYTON | RONNIE |
| Tatum | Tatum | Tatum | Tatum | Tatum | Tatum | Tatum | Tatum | Tatum | Tatum |
| LC | LC | LC | LC | LC | LC | LC | LC | LC | LC |
| White Oak | White Oak | Sabine | White Oak | White Oak | White Oak | White Oak | White Oak | White Oak | White Oak |
| Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp |
| ND | ND | ND | ND | Troup | ND | ND | Troup | ND | ND |
| Gilmer | Gilmer | Gilmer | Gilmer | Gilmer | Gilmer | Van | Van | Gilmer | Van |
| Henderson | PT | PT | PT | Henderson | Henderson | Henderson | Henderson | Henderson | Henderson |
| Kilgore | Kilgore | Kilgore | Kilgore | Kilgore | Kilgore | Kilgore | Kilgore | Kilgore | Kilgore |
| Oregon | Oregon | Oregon | Oregon | Oregon | Oregon | Oregon | Oregon | Oregon | Oregon |
| BYU | BYU | BYU | BYU | BYU | BYU | BYU | BYU | BYU | BYU |
| KC | KC | KC | KC | KC | KC | KC | KC | KC | KC |
| Texas | Georgia | Texas | Georgia | Texas | Georgia | Texas | Texas | Georgia | Texas |
| A&M | A&M | A&M | A&M | A&M | Miss. State | A&M | A&M | A&M | A&M |
| Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech |
| LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | Arkansas | LSU | Arkansas | Arkansas | LSU |
| NO | NO | Denver | Denver | Denver | NO | Denver | Denver | Denver | Denver |
| Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta |
| Green Bay | Green Bay | Houston | Houston | Green Bay | Houston | Houston | Houston | Houston | Houston |
| Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Minnesota | Detroit | Minnesota | Minnesota | Minnesota | Detroit |
| K. City | SF | SF | The Swifties | K. City | SF | K. City | K. City | SF | K. City |
| Tampa Bay | Baltimore | Baltimore | Baltimore | Baltimore | Baltimore | Baltimore | Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay | Baltimore |
