WHO’S WHERE & WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING?! | A busy weekend, with Henderson visiting PT, Gilmer hosting Van, Kilgore & Lindale tying up, and KC at Trinity Valley on Saturday
Right now, it’s crunch time in high school football. Volleyball, too, for that matter.
Right now, everybody is fighting for a playoff spot.
Right now, everybody is still in the pool, so to speak.
Right now, every football team in the ETBlitz.com coverage area has designs on making the playoffs, and it’s not too late for any of them. Even Sabine, with a five-game losing streak, could technically still get into the UIL Class 3A playoffs. Now, at 0-3 in their district, they’d have to win out: at home against White Oak tonight, at Jefferson next Friday, and after an open date, a home game against Liberty-Eylau on Nov. 8.
It would be hard as heck to do that. But everybody has hope.
Right now. (Van Halen – Right Now (Official Music Video) [HD Remaster] (youtube.com))
So, who’s where and what the heck is happening?
In case you missed it – we have a TON of coverage on the home page – but Tatum came from behind, took the lead on Gladewater, and held on for a 33-28 win Thursday night in a key game in District 8-3A, Division I.
Tonight, here’s the menu, the games for teams in the ETBlitz coverage area this weekend.
Leverett’s Chapel is our only six-man program, and coach Keith Hughes and the Lions had a tough loss at Union Hill last week. But they’ll try and pick themselves up and get back on track with one-win Savoy (1-6), a 7 p.m. kickoff, as we understand, there in Laird Hill at Leverett’s Chapel ISD Stadium.
The Lions are 3-3, and just 0-1 in the district; the game at Union Hill last week was their district opener. So they still have three games after tonight’s.
Two more ETBlitz-area teams face off against each other tonight at James Bamberg Stadium in Liberty City, as Sabine (2-5) hosts White Oak (4-2). Sabine, as most know now, lost starting quarterback Colt Sparks in the third game of the season, and it’s been a rough go since.
White Oak cruised through its first four games, but then ran into a couple of buzzsaws in Atlanta and at home against Jefferson.
We talked about Sabine’s situation regarding any postseason possibility earlier. The Roughnecks are also 0-2 in a very tough district. And they have a difficult schedule upcoming, but two of those remaining three games after tonight are at home: Liberty-Eylau next Friday, Oct. 25, and against Gladewater on Nov. 8. Sandwiched in the middle is a trip to Tatum on Nov. 1.
Until facing Jefferson last week, the Roughnecks had been a tough out on offense. Quarterback Jaxson Ludlow has fantastic numbers: 72-of-111 for 1,165 yards, completing 65 percent of his passes, 15 touchdown throws to just three interceptions. That’s good in anyone’s book. He’s also ran for 432 yards and five scores on 54 carries – a quarterback averaging 8 yards a game, folks.
His receivers: a bunch of ‘em. Logan Ladwig has 29 catches for 519 yards and seven touchdowns, leading the team in catches and TD catches. Braydon Bratcher has 15 catches for 284 yards and four scores; Tysen McClain, 11 for 188 and three TDs; and Tyson McKinney, 10 for 139 and a score, just to name a few.
Look for Junior Allen out of the backfield – Allen also has 432 rushing yards on 80 carries, and leads the team with nine touchdowns.
Defensively, where do we start? Ok, how about Cameron Venable, with 70 tackles on the season, averaging 11 per game and five for loss? Then there’s Levi Sipes: 51 tackles this season.
The ‘Necks need more quarterback pressure: only one sack this year (by Michael Morgan), and maybe a few more turnovers. They’ve got nine fumble recoveries and four interceptions (two by Scotty Breitenberg, and one each by McKinney and Venable).
Sabine has had quarterback by committee since Sparks’ injury, with no less than five players taking snaps there. They’ve totaled 566 yards, five touchdowns and eight interceptions.
They are running the ball well, though, for coach Cody Gilbert: 1,008 yards on the ground, 4.6 per carry, and nine scores. Sparks still leads with 440 yards, but Cason Patterson has 414 yards on 93 carries, and two TDs.
Defensively for the Cardinals, Myles Bradley far and away leads in tackles: 82, averaging almost 12 a game. Like White Oak, though, only one sack this season (by senior Kadin Voss).
Sabine also has four interceptions defensively this year: Patterson has two, and Lincoln Royce and Chris Williams each have one. Bradley has two fumble recoveries.
Continuing with our games, Arp (4-2) welcomes Elkhart (2-5) tonight, a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
Arp is 2-1 in District 11-3A, Division II play. That’s a mouthful, for sure, but the Tigers need this win due to what’s on the horizon. There’s a trip to winless Winona next Friday, Oct. 25, and then tough games to close the season: home against No. 5-ranked New Diana on Nov. 1, and then at West Rusk on Nov. 8.
Quarterback Zane Borque went 10-of-16 for 133 yards and a touchdown two weeks ago in the Tigers’ 61-8 win at Buffalo – they haven’t played since then, were off last week.
On the season, Arp has gotten good quarterback production from both McKelvey and Borque, 939 total yards, nine touchdowns and seven interceptions, that last number not so great.
Still, the Tigers have rushed for 1,557 yards and 22 touchdowns as an offensive unit. Josh Smith leads the way with 522 yards and eight touchdowns on 58 carries. McKelvey has 307 yards on 53 carries and five scores, and Borque, 320 yards and five scores, as well.
Watch for Demarcus Wade to make some plays. Wade, a senior, has 26 catches for 378 yards and two touchdowns this season. Borque might be running routes, too, who knows? If he does, he’s already got 285 yards and five scores on 24 catches, so he’s a definite threat.
Defensively, Smith leads the team with 71 tackles, 11 for loss, and Casch Cameron has 41, with eight for loss.
Wyatt Johnson has three interceptions for the Tigers defensively, and Smith, three fumble recoveries.
And Arp fans, don’t overlook Elkhart’s offense. Quarterback Trystyn Tidrow can be a handful: he’s 67-of-127 on the season, not great, but has thrown for 1,220 yards, 12 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Wide receiver Jayden Chapman leads the team with 27 catches for 515 yards and six touchdowns, and Dalton Walker, their running back, has nine touchdowns this season to go with 554 yards.
Here’s a question: can Troup be the team to put an end to New Diana’s unbeaten season?
We’ll all find out tonight, as coach Sam Wells’ Troup Tigers (5-2, winners of five straight) host the New Diana Eagles, ranked fifth in the state among 3A-Division II schools by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
And if anybody passes an eye test immediately, it’s the Eagles (6-0). Quarterback DeJuan Johnson has 23 total touchdowns (he’s ran for 13), and over 1,700 total yards. Davyon Mapps is mapping his way to a big year: 28 touchdowns, 18 of them on the ground. And then there’s Jaiydyn Johnson, who has 529 yards receiving and seven scores, as well.
If anyone can give the Eagles trouble, it might be Troup. Troup technically, in spite of New Diana’s lofty ranking, is the district leader, with a 3-0 record. ND has played one game less.
The Tigers have the Wallum-Wells Department Store going on, and they’re blistering folks. Bryce Wallum has 22 total touchdowns (11 through the air, 11 on the ground) and is 54 yards away from a 1,000-yard rushing season headed into tonight. Wells already surpassed that mark, with 1,077 rush yards, and has eight scores, and throw in Hayden Huml and James Pierce – three TD catches each this season – and the Tigers are a heck of an opponent, sort of a “if the left don’t get you, the right hand will” situation.
Defensively, four players each have more than 60 tackles this year: Wells (69), Jackson Waller (65), Noble Kendrick (65) and Luke Skillern (64). Skillern has seven tackles for loss, Kendrick, five.
Sophomore A.J. Dewberry leads the team in sacks (three), and Huml has four interceptions.
Troup’s remaining schedule after tonight: at West Rusk next Friday, Oct. 25; an open date on Nov. 1; and home against Buffalo on Nov. 8.
Now to Class 4A, where three games loom large.
The defending 4A, Division I state champion Gilmer Buckeyes (4-2) are back home at Jeff Traylor Stadium tonight at 7:30 p.m. for a District 7-4A, Division II game against Van (5-1).
Now, Gilmer is ranked third in the state by DCTF in the 4A-DII poll, but be careful of Van.
The Vandals have just one loss this season (to Pine Tree, 36-30 – one of Gilmer’s two losses was at home to Pine Tree in the season opener), and Van also has wins over Dallas Carter and Lindale.
Leading Van’s offense is quarterback Jaxon Moffatt, who has thrown for 1,149 yards and nine scores, and ran for six additional TDs, and a strong backfield of Chris Fabian and Austin Moffatt, who have combined for 851 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
But Van better be careful messing with Gilmer. Coach Alan Metzel has not one, but three talented quarterbacks in Brady McCown, Cadon Tennison and Zade Taylor. McCown is the starter and is 92-of-164 (56 percent) for 1,185 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions.
And Gilmer has always loved to throw, but they’re also very good at running the ball: 1,031 yards, averaging 5.8 a carry, and 17 touchdowns.
The Gilmer pass rush is real, and it’s a good one, led by senior Alex Guillen, who not only has five sacks, but also five hurries. Trey Lee has three sacks, Jet Bates 11 hurries, and the Buckeyes as a defensive unit have 14 sacks and 42 hurries, a lot of quarterback pressure.
They have seven interceptions and five fumble recoveries.
In Longview, over at Pine Tree’s Pirate Stadium, is the site of a big one tonight.
District 9-4A, Division I-leading Henderson (6-1, 3-0 in district play) faces home-team Pine Tree (5-1, 1-1) in a game that everyone in the district will have their eyes on.
If Henderson wins, the Lions remain atop the district standings by themselves. A Henderson loss, though, opens the door for a tie between Kilgore, Chapel Hill, and Henderson, and would leave the Pirates just a half-game back.
Coach Clay Baker and the Lions have three games left: tonight at PT, and then they take an open date Oct. 25, then at home against Chapel Hill on Nov. 1, and a road trip to Lindale to close the regular season.
Henderson’s spark plug is no secret: it’s running back Jesstin Starling, he of the 21 touchdowns, and 1,047 yards, and an experienced offensive line. Quarterback Vince Howard has 888 passing yards and five scores, and has ran for three touchdowns and 289 yards.
Lemarion Coleman has four rushing touchdowns and leads the team with 30 catches for 417 yards and four MORE touchdowns, eight total. Also big for the Lions: receiver Amauri Murphy, with 14 catches for 200 yards, and a good defense, led by senior Logan White. White averages almost 14 tackles a game, and the Lions are also very good at pressuring opposing quarterbacks: 16 sacks (led by Varian Williams’ four) and 30 hurries.
Pine Tree, on the other hand, hasn’t lost since the 17-6 setback at home to Kilgore. The Pirates have a good one-two punch in quarterback Matt Cates and running back L’Marion Hunter – Hunter has eight touchdowns this season, and Cates has ran for one score and thrown for 945 yards and 10 TDs.
Henderson needs to make sure they know where Peyton Davis is when Howard is dropping back to pass. Davis has 15 quarterback hurries and a couple of sacks this season.
Kilgore (5-2) continues its challenging 2024 schedule with a visit tonight from old rival Lindale (3-3), at Kilgore’s R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium.
The Bulldogs routed Chapel Hill, 42-7, in Tyler a week ago, sending a message to the entire district. Lindale is 1-1 in district play, having executed a rout of their own last week over Palestine, 47-14.
The Eagles, though, have already played and lost to Chapel Hill – they have Mabank (Oct. 25, at home), Pine Tree (on the road, Nov. 1) and Henderson (home, Nov. 8) left on their schedule.
Lindale will count on a host of offensive players to try and pull the upset at Kilgore tonight. Quarterback David Lindig has thrown for 742 yards and six touchdowns, and has a talented backfield to hand it to: A’Million Johnson has 388 yards and a score this season; Caleb Hart has five touchdowns and 290 yards; and Hayden Tageley has 370 yards and two scores. One of Lindig’s targets is Chad Ward, who has 13 catches for 246 yards and two TDs in 2024.
Defensively, look out for Kaleb Walker: he’s among the team leaders with 44 tackles, and this key stat: five sacks.
Kilgore has weapons everywhere on offense, from Michigan-bound Jayden Sanders to Rayshaun Williams and Isaiah Watters, from Lakeyleon Graves to the reigning Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Player of the Week, Javon Towns.
But the man pulling the trigger is Kayson Brooks, who is 97-of-156 for 1,418 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, and went 10-of-14 for 349 yards and three touchdowns a week ago in scorching Chapel Hill.
Williams leads the team in rushing yards (491) and has five touchdowns, and Watters scored twice last week.
Sanders, a Michigan verbal commit as a defensive back, has 35 catches for 624 yards and four scores on the season; Towns has 23 for 347, and six touchdowns; and Graves, 16 catches for 356 yards and four touchdowns, including a 92-yarder last week.
La’Perrion Graves leads the team in tackles (65, seven for loss) and Dre’ Sanders leads in interceptions (three).
As a team this year, Kilgore has only allowed 709 yards rushing – on average, that’s just 101 yards a game they’re giving up. They’ve given up just 1,327 yards, total, all season.
Also this weekend, Kilgore College (4-1) plays a Southwest Junior College Football Conference game at Trinity Valley (3-3), a 3 p.m. kickoff in Athens.
The Rangers were open last week, and haven’t played a conference game since dropping a 35-31 upset at home to Cisco Sept. 28.
It’s a tough stretch for KC, attempting to win the conference for a third consecutive year. They’re at Trinity Valley Saturday, then play at Tyler Junior College Oct. 26, host Blinn Nov. 2, and finish the regular season with the long trip to Miami, Okla., to play Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (NEO) Nov. 9.
If KC can win this game, though, that would allow them to remain a game behind TJC (4-0 in conference) a week before they meet on the field.
The Rangers, coached by Willie Gooden, are ranked No. 9 in the nation – Navarro is ranked 13th, and Tyler, in spite of leading the conference currently, is ranked No. 15.
