FRIDAY

Brennan (3-0) at Southwest (2-1), 7:30 p.m.

Southwest utilized 12 ballcarriers in a 31-7 win over Lee last Friday.  That could be helpful as the Dragons’ offense will need to be diverse to challenge Brennan, No. 3 in the TexasHSFootball.com statewide Class 4A poll. Maybe not quite that diverse, but as East Central discovered in a 49-21 loss to the Bears last Thursday, vanilla doesn’t work.

The Dragons’ defense has seemed to make alarming progress since allowing 42 points in its season-opener against Laredo United. Against Lee, it allowed a previously productive offense just 131 total yards and took a shutout into the fourth quarter.

How much progress the unit truly has made will be measured Friday. Brennan is averaging 49.7 points a game behind fourth-year starting quarterback Da’Shawn Key. The Bears have no shortage of other weapons.

Southwest’s 28-5A rival East Central was not able to sustain drives against Brennan’s stingy defense, which limited the Hornets to 23 rushing yards and 104 total yards.

Southwest leaned a little more heavily on senior Brian Donnell to complement featured back Reilly Riggs. Expect that to continue. Junior quarterback Bowen Crisp likely will be called upon to throw a bit more. 2012 score: Brennan 41, Southwest 21.

Del Rio (1-2) vs. Brackenridge (1-2) at Wheatley Heights Sports Complex, 7:30 p.m.

After absorbing two consecutive losses, Brackenridge is anxious to get back to the form it showed in its opening win over Sam Houston.

The No. 1 priority will be maintaining possession. The Eagles committed three turnovers against Victoria East in a 42-35 loss last Saturday. Those mistakes hurt Brackenridge’s high-powered offense just enough to give the turnover-free Titans an edge.

Quarterback Ramon Richards rolled up 350 yards of total offense, including 205 passing yards. The Eagles have developed other targets to complement Rominique Anthony, especially Marco Marble. Trey Mathis is coming along as a featured back. Brack can move the ball on anyone, as long as it avoids turnovers.

The series, if it can truly be called that, had its second meeting last year. The first was in 1928.

Del Rio averaged less than three yards per play and lost three fumbles in a 37-0 loss to Clemens last Friday. The Rams rushed for 36 yards and had 105 total yards. That could be just the prescription Brackenridge’s defense needs after giving up 428 yards to Victoria East. However, a week earlier in a 17-7 win over Carlsbad (N.M.), Del Rio put up 354 total yards. Based on that game, the Rams will want to establish its running attack behind Emilio Villarreal.

Like Brackenridge, Del Rio has played a tough early schedule, but is expected to contend for the 29-5A title. Nonetheless, the Eagles bounced back from the loss to the Titans with a convincing win last year and are capable of doing the same. 2012 score: Brackenridge 61, Del Rio 28.

Judson (2-1) at East Central (2-1), 7:30 p.m.

The rankings reveal much about this game. East Central is No. 23 in the TexasHSFootball.com statewide Class 5A rankings, for the second-straight week. Judson is No. 24.

East Central became the first team to score on Brennan in a 49-21 loss, but the Bears exposed holes in the Hornets’ passing attack. EC wasn’t able to get first downs when it needed them out of its spread offense against Judson. Even though Johnathan Jackson is expected back to bolster the ground game, the Hornets will need a better game out of quarterback Jeremy Jones against the Rockets.

Judson drew a lot of attention with its season-opening 25-19 win over perennial state powerhouse Austin Lake Travis. The Rockets were derailed 51-34 by Steele, but got back on target with a solid 28-6 win over Churchill last Friday.

Even against Steele, the Rockets’ offense cranked out 609 total yards, so don’t be surprised if this turns into a shootout. Judson quarterback Rayjohn Austin-Ramsey has thrown for 697 yards and is one of three Rockets rushers with more than 120 yards in three games.

Judson has 10 turnovers to its opponents’ six. Winning the turnover battle could be a key for EC. The Rockets have won the last 12 games in the matchup. The Hornets’ most-recent victory was in 1981. 2012 score: haven’t played since 2010.

Highlands (2-1) at Central Catholic (1-2), 7:30 p.m.

This probably will never be a rivalry, but this promises to be a second-consecutive classic game in the fledgling series.

Both teams are coming off statement wins e of the most intriguing matchups of the weekend.

A year ago, Central Catholic scored the game’s only second-half touchdown and kept Highlands scoreless over the last 24:30 to earn the win. The Buttons’ defense is coming off a 28-0 win at Southside, but will be challenged to keep Owls  quarterback Jordan DeLuna under wraps in his third year as a starter.

The senior passed for 172 yards and three touchdowns against a McCollum defense that had only allowed five points in its first two games. Despite Highlands’ 21-7 victory, the Owls have had difficulty establishing a consistent running attack.

Central Catholic not only limited Southside to 224 total yards last Friday, the Buttons also produced their best offensive night thus far. Joseph Nava has been a dangerous playmaker for Central Catholic and Will Barr is a deep threat.

This game could easily go down to the wire. Neither team seems to have a clear-cut advantage, offensively or defensively. 2012 score: Central Catholic 20, Highlands 14.

Lanier (0-3) at Floresville (1-1), 7:30 p.m.

Lanier faces its fourth-consecutive tough non-district test, but the Voks have shown good improvement through the first three.

Offensively, the Voks have been solid behind quarterback Nick Garcia, back Stephen Veliz and receiver Jacob Munoz. Their defense has been pitted against three potent offenses and has been a bit overpowered. Pleasanton gained 509 total yards last Friday.

Floresville will try to control the ball behind back Gilbert Ortiz (113.5 yards a game). The Tigers were blanked in the second half of their Week 0 loss to Highlands, but quarterback Koby Wilkerson threw two second-half touchdown passes, including the game winner as Floresville beat Brackenridge 26-21 Sept. 6.

The Voks will need to be at their best to compete with a battle-tested Floresville team. 2012 score: Floresville 36, Lanier 25.

Pearsall (0-3) vs. Kennedy (2-0) at Frank Mata Stadium, 7 p.m.

Kennedy came out of its bye week like gangbusters, beating Jefferson 43-13. The Rockets return home to Mata Stadium a heavy-favorite against a Pearsall team that has been victimized for the first wins of the season  by Memorial, Burbank and Edison in consecutive weeks.

The Rockets opened up their offense against Jefferson while rotating quarterbacks Blade Alvarado, Eric Lira and Matthew Rangel. Matthew Avalos ran for 147 yards. Receivers Matthew Guzman and Isaiah Garcia have put up good numbers.

The defense has allowed 215.5 yards a game and has scored on three interception returns. The Rockets will be aiming for a shutout after coming close against Crystal City in Week 0, allowing just 190 total yards.

Quarterback T.J. Navarro is Pearsall’s leading rusher and passer.  2012 score: Kennedy 20, Pearsall 7.

Sam Houston (1-2) vs. Edison (1-2) at SAISD Sports Complex, 7:30 p.m.

Both teams have had their highs and lows this year, and will be looking to establish more consistency Friday.

Edison blanked Pearsall 41-0 last Friday after playing Carrizo Springs close a week earlier. The Golden Bears broke through to the win column behind four touchdown passes from quarterback Jonathan Hernandez and a defense that limited Pearsall to 220 total yards.

The Golden Bears only mustered 185 offensive yards, but showed room to grow with Hernandez connecting with David Sanchez and Francisco Gomez on long pass plays. Andres Aguilar remains a reliable, every-down back.

With the district opener against Brennan looming, the Golden Bears will need to continue to grow on offense. The Hurricanes’ offense can help prepare Edison’s defense for what’s ahead.

Devine defeated Sam Houston 35-21 last Saturday. The Warhorses simply outexecuted the Hurricanes throughout most of the game. Sam Houston’s defense did a better job of preventing Devine from controlling the ball and the clock in the second half, but the visitors still finished with 485 total yards.

Sam Houston got a spark on its last series with senior Jvoni Badie-Jones at quarterback. He gives the Hurricanes more of a run threat to balance out lefty Raymonte Prime’s passing ability. The hunch here is that they’ll share snaps.

The Hurricanes’ line will need to block consistently to keep back Erin Mack effective and allow the offense to establish its big-play possibilities. If that happens for the Hurricanes, it will be hard for Edison to keep pace.

The series stretches back to 1964, with the Hurricanes holding a 26-18 edge. The teams have split their last five games. If the pattern holds, it’s Sam Houston’s turn to win. 2012 score: Edison 47, Sam Houston 21.