ETBLITZ POWER PICKS! | Time running out on the regular season; who’ll finish strong – and who’s just finished?!

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.

Come to think of it – let’s not. That sounds like a dance move that your parents told you not to do in public.

I guess what I meant to say is, the end of the regular season for high school football is upon us; we have two weekends of regular season games left, counting this weekend, and then the postseason is here.

Almost every team in the ETBlitz.com coverage area is in the playoff race in their district. For those who have been spending their time in caves the last few years, or if you’re new to Texas high school sports, the top four teams from each district make the playoffs. It’s that simple. If you’re fourth, you’re good, and you’re in. If you’re fifth or worse – get to working on your holiday chili recipe, because you’re not playing past the second week of November.

So here, in alphabetical order, are the teams we consider part of the ETBlitz.com coverage area: Arp, Gilmer, Gladewater, Henderson, Kilgore, Leverett’s Chapel, Overton, Sabine, Tatum, Troup, West Rusk and White Oak, as well as Kilgore College.

Three of our area teams – the Kilgore Bulldogs, the Sabine Cardinals and the Troup Tigers – all have open dates this weekend, very late in the season for an open date. But everyone else will be working, so to speak, in some cases wrapping up playoff spots, and in some cases, fighting like heck to get in.

In one case, Leverett’s Chapel hosting King’s Academy, it’s a non-district game, but it’s a good one: LC is good year-in and year-out at the UIL six-man level, and this year, King’s Academy is undefeated so far. We have that game down as a 7 p.m. start there at Laird Hill.

A few other 7 o’clock starts: Overton (6-2) at Mount Enterprise (6-2) in a very important game for seeding in District 11-2A, Division I; Atlanta (6-3) at Gladewater (3-5), and that’s at Jack V. Murphy Stadium, one of my favorite places for a game in East Texas. And the Bears need to win to keep any hope they have of making the UIL Class 3A playoffs alive.

Now, here’s what’s on tap for the rest of our high schools.

Arp (6-2) has a challenge on its hands hosting unbeaten, untied New Diana (8-0), the No. 4 team in the state in the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football 3A, Division I poll. That’s a 7:30 p.m. kickoff, at least that’s what we’ve got listed.

Also in that district – District 11-3A, Division II – coach Rafe Mata and the West Rusk Raiders (3-5) will visit Buffalo (1-7), who have way more convenience stores in town than they do wins (one this season).

White Oak (5-3) plays at Tatum (5-3), a couple of teams also trying to push into the UIL Class 3A postseason. That District 8-3A, Division I, with Tatum, Gladewater, White Oak, Atlanta, Sabine, Jefferson and Liberty-Eylau is a heck of a district: Jefferson is unbeaten, L-E once-beaten, and they play there at Texarkana tonight to see who’s taking the title in that district.

Everyone else is playing either for playoff seeding, or playing out their games; sadly, Sabine had quarterback Colt Sparks get injured in week three of the season, or they would also be in this mix.

The Schedule From He—er, Heck – continues for Gilmer, although they do face a team with a losing record tonight at home, in Spring Hill (2-6). Coach Alan Metzel’s Buckeyes (5-3) are the defending UIL Class 4A, Division II state champions, and they’re getting ready to make noise in the playoffs. They’ve got the Panthers tonight, who would love to deal Gilmer a loss.

And last but certainly not least, a HUGE game in Henderson in District 9-4A, Division I, where coach Clay Baker – a former Henderson Lion himself – and his Lions (6-2) will host normally-strong Chapel Hill (5-3) beleaguered by injuries and other issues in recent weeks. CHHS made the 4A, Division I state title game last year, losing to Anna, and still have a lot of talent back from that team. Losses to Kilgore and Pine Tree in district have pretty much eliminated any chance Chapel Hill would have had to win the district title, but they still look to get in to the UIL 4A, Division I playoffs and do damage.

Henderson, of course, is pumping like a brand new pumpjack. The Lions did drop a game at Pine Tree, but if Henderson can win out, they’ll be the district champions. One loss combined with wins by Kilgore and Pine Tree could knock the Lions down to third in the district standings as the playoffs begin. The pressure is on tonight at Henderson ISD Lion Stadium.

And for coach Willie Gooden and the Kilgore College Rangers, it’s homecoming on campus on Saturday, and the opponent: the Blinn Buccaneers, a 3 p.m. kickoff at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium. KC was upset last week on the road at Tyler by Tyler Junior College, but the Rangers aren’t conceding ANYTHING, let alone that first place spot in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference playoffs. KC has two games left before the playoffs start, and Saturday’s against Blinn is one of them; the other is a trip to Miami, Oklahoma next Saturday to face Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.

KC still has its sights aimed at winning the conference championship for a third straight season, which would be incredible in that conference, arguably the very toughest in the nation. KC, by the way, is 5-2 and ranked No. 14 in the nation. Blinn is 4-3.

THE PANEL

Most of our staff contribute each week by trying to guess the outcomes of all of the high school games involving the programs in our coverage area, as well as Kilgore College, plus college games of local and national interest – I normally put at least one big national game on the list – as well as the Dallas Cowboys, the Houston Texans and a few NFL games.

Dennis Jacobs and I have been together about half as long as I’ve been married, it seems like. Seriously, Dennis has been shooting Kilgore High School football for me for about 15, 16 years, much of the time I was at the other place, where I also had Kathy Bowden and Dr. Jeff Davis for some time – all three have been excellent.

Dennis is also an instructor in KISD, and about the nicest guy you’ll ever meet.

Also on our panel is longtime East Texas sportswriter Joe Hale, and to give you an idea of how long Joe has been doing this, a quick story.

Ever since COVID hit, I always call ahead to the various schools in the area when I know one or more of our people will be covering a game there, at least a few days ahead, just to make sure they know we’re coming, that we’ll need to be counted among the press box or sideline staff, etc. It’s a courtesy to them, but it also helps make life easier for the ones assigned to the game.

At any rate, I called ahead last week and spoke to a nice lady in the Palestine athletic department. I told her who would be there, and then at the end, I said, “Oh, and Joe Hale. You may know Joe.”

She said, “Mitch, everybody knows Joe,” and laughed.

Then, there’s my good friend, Dereck Borders, who’s been on his game lately: he hasn’t had less than 15 wins a week in over a month. Dereck works at a power plant, is a taxidermist (a very good one), and is also a KISD board member. And right now, he’s focusing on his youngest daughter’s upcoming wedding, a little more than two weeks away.

Dereck often is my traveling partner to games, and is my “spotter”: when I miss something, his eyes are my backup.

My wife, Jenna, the executive editor and business manager for ETBlitz.com’s parent company, WCAT Productions, picks each week with us – she’s also a good photographer that I often call out of semi-retirement! Jacob, my son, picks each week, even though he’s usually doing so from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he’s a student at the University of Alabama, doing video work for athletics there.

Jacob and my youngest daughter, Ashtyn, a Kilgore College student, have picked for me for many seasons – it’s not just a sibling rivalry thing, even though that’s part of it. Ashtyn, as you’ll see below, has gotten fairly good at this.

Alex Nabor, Clayton Fletcher and Ronnie Sartors round out the list. Alex is also a student at Kilgore College, and one heck of a photographer at a very young age. Alex did more before 20, shooting Big 12 and Southeastern Conference games for me, as well as anything you can think of, high school-wise, than most people have done in a career.

Clayton is my right-hand guy. He’s our assistant editor, and a former high school and cross-country runner. It was Clayton back in 2014 that got Kilgore High back to the state cross-country meet in Round Rock, under coach Phillip Lane – Clayton was the first cross-country runner for Kilgore after many years of absence at the state meet.

And there’s Ronnie, one of the best sports photographers in the state. He’s shot for me for many years, often does Overton and West Rusk sports, and has his own operation: Sport Shot Photography, and you can find him easily on Facebook.

THE STANDINGS

So Joe, at 139-52 after 191 games picked, is very much still in the lead, although Ashtyn is not far behind: she’s three games back, at 136-55.

Dereck, who has done really, really well the last month, is 132-59, and they’re the only three with over 130 wins right now.

I had a – well – not so good week last week, at 13-7, and I’ve fallen to 128-63. Clayton is right behind me, at 127-64, and Dennis is at 125-66.

Ronnie has 10 less picks than the rest of us, total, because he came in a little late, but is at 123-58. Jacob sits at 121-70, Alex at 118-73, and Jenna at 117-74.

THE CYCLONE STAMPEDE

I’ve been talking about this now for a couple of weeks, and so why not make it three straight?

When the high school football playoffs begin here in Texas, as well as the Southwest Junior College Football Conference playoffs (that includes Kilgore College), you’ll want to 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 KC. Beginning with the first week of the playoffs, which will be Nov. 14-16, 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. All entries have to be documented and filed prior to the playoff games each week.

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 a prize you will want.

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. The picks list can be a brutal place. Sometimes a sure thing – is suddenly not so sure. See my Alabama Crimson Tide and Vanderbilt earlier this year.

We’ll have everything finalized for the Cyclone Stampede and a story better explaining how to play by Monday, November 11.

THE GAMES

Here’s this week’s list, followed by our picks grid, where we do our best to pick the outcomes of these things.

Here we go. Hands inside the car at all times.

ETBLITZ.COM POWER PICKS!

Thursday, Oct. 31-Monday, November 4, 2024

HIGH SCHOOL GAMES

FRIDAY’S GAMES

(Kilgore, Sabine, Troup all open)

King’s Academy (8-0) at Leverett’s Chapel (4-4), 7 p.m., LCISD Stadium

Overton (6-2) at Mount Enterprise (6-2), 7 p.m., Mount Enterprise ISD Stadium

Atlanta (6-3) at Gladewater (3-5), 7 p.m., Jack V. Murphy Stadium

New Diana (8-0) at Arp (6-2), 7:30 p.m., at Bill Herrington Arp ISD Stadium

West Rusk (3-5) at Buffalo (1-7), 7:30 p.m., Buffalo ISD Stadium

White Oak (5-3) at Tatum (5-3), 7:30 p.m., Tatum ISD Eagle Stadium

Spring Hill (2-6) at Gilmer (5-3), 7:30 p.m., Jeff Traylor Buckeye Stadium

Chapel Hill (6-3) at Henderson (6-2), 7:30 p.m., Henderson ISD Lion Stadium

COLLEGE GAMES

SATURDAY’S GAMES

Blinn (4-3) at No. 14 (JUCO) Kilgore College (5-2), 3 p.m.

No. 10 Texas A&M (7-1) at South Carolina (4-3), 6:30 p.m., ABC

TCU (5-3) at Baylor (4-4), 7 p.m., ESPN

No. 4 Ohio State (6-1) at No. 3 Penn State (7-0), 11 a.m., FOX

No. 18 Pittsburgh (7-0) at No. 20 SMU (7-1), 7 p.m., ACC Network

NFL GAMES

THURSDAY’S GAME

Houston (6-2) at New York Jets (2-6), 7:15 p.m. Amazon Prime Video

SUNDAY’S GAMES

Dallas (3-4) at Atlanta (5-3), noon, FOX

Washington (6-2) at New York Giants (2-6), noon, FOX

L.A. Chargers (4-3) at Cleveland (2-6), noon, CBS

Detroit (6-1) at Green Bay (6-2), 3:25 p.m., FOX

L.A. Rams (3-4) at Seattle (4-4), 3:25 p.m., FOX

Indianapolis (4-4) at Minnesota (5-2), 7:20 p.m., NBC

MONDAY’S GAME

Tampa Bay (4-4) at Kansas City (7-0), 7:15 p.m., ABC & ESPN

MITCH	DENNIS	JOE	DERECK	JENNA	JACOB	ASHTYN	ALEX	CLAYTON	RONNIE
KA	KA	LC	KA	KA	KA	KA	KA	KA	KA
Overton	M. Ent.	Overton	Overton	Overton	Overton	Overton	Overton	Overton	Overton
Gladewater	Atlanta	Atlanta	Atlanta	Atlanta	Atlanta	Atlanta	Atlanta	Atlanta	Atlanta
Arp	ND	ND	ND	Arp	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
West Rusk	West Rusk	West Rusk	West Rusk	West Rusk	West Rusk	West Rusk	West Rusk	West Rusk	West Rusk
Tatum	Tatum	Tatum	Tatum	White Oak	Tatum	Tatum	Tatum	Tatum	Tatum
Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer	Gilmer
Henderson	Henderson	Henderson	Henderson	Henderson	Henderson	Henderson	Henderson	Henderson	Henderson
KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	Kilgore
SC	A&M	A&M	A&M	A&M	SC	A&M	A&M	A&M	KC
TCU	Baylor	Baylor	TCU	TCU	Baylor	TCU	TCU	TCU	A&M
Penn State	Penn State	Ohio State	Ohio State	Penn State	Penn State	Ohio State	Penn State	Penn State	Penn State
Pitt	SMU	SMU	Pitt	SMU	SMU	Pitt	SMU	SMU	SMU
Houston	Houston	Houston	Houston	Houston	Houston	Houston	Houston	Houston	Houston
Atlanta	Atlanta	Atlanta	Atlanta	Dallas	Dallas	Atlanta	Atlanta	Washington	Atlanta
Washington	NYG	Washington	Washington	Washington	Washington	Washington	Washington	Washington	Washington
L.A.	Cleveland	L.A.	L.A.	L.A.	L.A.	L.A.	L.A.	L.A.	L.A.
Detroit	Green Bay	Detroit	Detroit	Green Bay	Detroit	Green Bay	Detroit	Detroit	Detroit
Seattle	Seattle	L.A.	Seattle	Seattle	Seattle	L.A. Rams	Dallas	L.A. Rams	Seattle
Minnesota	Minnesota	Minnesota	Minnesota	Minnesota	Minnesota	Minnesota	L.A. Rams	Minnesota	Minnesota
K. City	K. City	K. City	K. City	K. City	K.City	K. City	Tampa Bay	K. City	K.City