WAKE UP! On ETBlitz | Tatum hosts Daingerfield tonight; full slate of games Friday
EDITOR’S NOTE: Wake Up! is a regular feature here on ETBlitz.com, where we have updates on happenings at the 15 schools that we cover, items of interest in those communities, talk about the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, college football and just a little bit of everything. Wake Up! is presented by Cozy Coffee Station, located in East Texas in Kilgore (at 110 Midtown Plaza) and in Gilmer (at 755 Highway 271 North). See their menu (now with the fall menu, too) on CozyCoffeeStation.com.
Tonight
You don’t have to wait until tomorrow night for high school football. Like last week, we’ve got Thursday night football.
Coach Whitney Keeling and the Tatum Eagles were on the road last Thursday. They’re home tonight against a Daingerfield team that might be ranked No. 10 in the state 3A-Division I poll, but the Tigers are 0-1, having lost at home to Gladewater last week. Both teams are trying to avoid an 0-2 start: Tatum ran into a buzzsaw in Winnsboro a week ago, and things just got away from them in the first half in a 55-28 loss to the Red Raiders (who are also state-ranked).
Daingerfield started 0-2 a year ago, against Gladewater and Tatum. Could it happen again?
We’ll have coverage here on ETBlitz.com, of course, and if you want to watch the game, you can do so in a couple of ways.
Watch by going online to YouTube and pulling up the NETSN LIVE channel, then simply clicking on Tatum-Daingerfield. Jarrin Peoples and his crew will have you covered.
You can also watch by downloading the CBS19+ app on your smart TV, as CBS 19 is doing a handful of high school games this year.
oh, and later today: our ETBlitz Power Picks: how we think this week’s games will play out, plus results from last weekend.
Friday night football
Now, the ETB crew will be scattered all over, but here are the games involving teams from our coverage area that are being played tomorrow night.
Teams that ETBlitz covers are in BOLD.
Beckville will play at Joaquin and they’ll get that one started a little early, at 7 p.m. The Bearcats had a weird opener last week, a loss to San Augustine at home, with a two-hour lightning delay in the middle.
White Oak also has a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday at home against Paul Pewitt, the Roughnecks’ home opener. Quarterback Jaxsen Ludlow is apparently somehow enrolled in medical school — he did surgery on Eustace last week, having a hand in six touchdowns (three passing, two rushing and even caught one from younger brother Tucker).
Sabine had a rough go of it in the season opener at home, with Spring Hill jumping out to an early lead and holding it throughout, a 38-13 Cardinals’ loss. They’re back at it Friday, a 7 p.m. kickoff at Harmony.
Overton looks to keep it rolling after a 45-0 demolishing of Alba-Golden a week ago. The Mustangs open their home schedule Friday against longtime rival Carlisle, where Clay Baker has returned as head coach and athletic director.
Leverett’s Chapel lost its opener at Greenville Christian last weekend, and opens its home schedule Friday night against Mesquite Founders, a 7 p.m. start for that six-man contest.
Arp will host Garrison at 7:30. The Tigers routed Harleton last week.
West Rusk gave sixth-ranked Malakoff all it wanted last week, before the Tigers came from behind for the win. The Raiders are on the road this week at Diboll, a 7:30 kickoff.
Coach Sam Wells and his Troup Tigers will play their first home game of the season Friday against Edgewood, and that also kicks off at 7:30. The Tigers were impressive in dropping 56 points (!) last week on Shelbyville.
How about Henderson, scoring 49 points in its first-ever game under new head coach Ricky Meeks in Athens last week?
Athens scored in the final seconds to break a 49-all tie.
Henderson is back on the road tomorrow at Liberty-Eylau in Texarkana, a rematch of last year’s 44-41 L-E win at Lion Stadium.
Van hosts upstart Pine Tree Friday night at 7:30. PT coach Jason Bachman and the Pirates will try and bounce back from a home loss to Gilmer last Friday.
Speaking of the Buckeyes, Gilmer hosts Chapel Hill at 7:30 Friday night, and that’s a rematch of “Light-Gate” last year. With Gilmer driving in the final seconds, looking to go ahead of the Bulldogs, the stadium lights went out in the middle of a pass play. Incredibly, the player caught the ball, but officials put everything on hold and called the UIL for clarification on how to proceed, apparently.
The game resumed when the lights came back on, and then-Chapel Hill defensive back Demetrius Brisbon intercepted a pass and ended the threat, with Chapel Hill winning.
Think Gilmer fans might remember that when the Bulldogs show up tomorrow night?
And the Kilgore Bulldogs, still ranked No. 3 in the state in 4A-Division I after a close loss at home to Carthage a week ago, will visit Whitehouse Friday, a 7:30 p.m. kick. Kilgore defeated Whitehouse last year, and that 2024 game was the first meeting between the two former district rivals since 2011.
Carthage, by the way, has an open date this week.