FRIDAY
Austin St. Michael’s (2-2, 0-0) at Central Catholic (2-3, 0-0), 7:30 p.m.
Central Catholic has had a week to regroup from a 31-24 loss to South San and to prepare for their distant rivals from Austin St. Michael’s.
The Buttons led South San 17-10 early in the third quarter Sept. 27, but the Bobcats scored three of the last four touchdowns, including the game-winner with just 26 seconds remaining.
Central Catholic’s defense hadn’t allowed any points in six of the eight quarters prior to the South San game, but gave up 356 total yards and 295 rushing yards to the Bobcats. That should be of particular concern to the Buttons because St. Michael’s is primarily a running team, led by back Malcolm Postell and quarterback Reed Carlton.
The Crusaders have averaged 39 points a game offensively. They defeated San Antonio Christian 32-24 in the season opener.
Central Catholic unveiled back Jimin Suh against South San. He ran for 85 yards on 14 carries. That should help give balance to the Buttons’ offense, although quarterback Joseph Nava will need to bounce back from the South San game, in which he threw for just 49 yards.
A victory here won’t come easily, but would be a huge asset for a Central Catholic team that needs to establish consistency as it ventures into the TAPPS District 2-I season. 2012 score: Austin St. Michael’s 36, Central Catholic 29.
Brennan (6-0, 2-0) vs. Burbank (3-3, 2-0) at SAISD Sports Complex, 7:30 p.m.
Brennan’s 62-6 win over Brackenridge last Saturday didn’t offer much hope to the other SAISD teams in District 28-4A that have yet to face the Bears.
Burbank takes a two-game winning streak into their meeting with the district leader Friday. Senior Daniel Tello ran for 244 yards and passed for 146 in the Bulldogs’ 40-33 win over Jefferson last Friday. They rang up 534 total yards.
Tello likely will need support in Burbank’s running game from Tru Bradford Damien Gusme and Marcos Luna to be able to move the ball successfully against Brennan’s top-flight run defense. To set up Tello’s play action, that will be an essential element.
Brackenridge had the same approach against the Bears, No. 3 in the TexasHSFootball.com statewide Class 4A poll, last week, but weren’t able to implement it. An injury to Ramon Richards, who missed a couple of series but returned to action, didn’t help.
Brennan can score quickly, either with long runs or pass plays. When they wanted to run the clock against Brack, they sustained drives, too.
The Bears won the only game in the series last year. 2012 score: Brennan 63, Burbank 6.
Corpus Christi Carroll (1-4, 0-0) at East Central (2-3, 0-0), 7:30 p.m.
The Hornets have had a week to retool after dropping a 28-3 decision to previously winless New Braunfels Sept. 27. On paper, it seems like Corpus Christi Carroll is the perfect opponent for East Central’s return home and District 28-5A opener.
Carroll has only won two of its last 14 games.
That stat might be a bit misleading, though. The Tigers’ only win this year was a 38-14 victory Sept. 13 over Gregory-Portland, a solid Class 4A team.
East Central is hoping to recover from a three-game losing streak, after winning its first two games this year. The Hornets were outscored 126-31 in losses to Brennan, Judson and East Central.
There’s a basis for comparison between Carroll and East Central. Judson defeated the Hornets 49-7 Sept. 20 and beat the Tigers 54-18 a week later.
East Central gained 254 total yards against the Rockets, while allowing 520. Carroll mustered 204 total yards against Judson’s defense and surrendered 403. Back Noah Lisk rushed for 83 yards and three touchdowns for the Tigers.
The Hornets only mustered 151 total yards and threw for just 52 against a hungry New Braunfels team. Junior Joseph Gutierrez split quarterbacking duties with senior Jeremy Jones.
East Central has installed a new offense under first-year coach Clint Hartman. It didn’t really click during the non-district season. Hopefully for the Hornets, another week to work on the finer points will produce better results in their 28-5A debut. 2012 score: East Central 43, Corpus Christi Carroll 14.
Edison (2-3, 0-1) vs. Brackenridge (3-3, 1-1) at Wheatley Heights Sports Complex, 7:30 p.m.
Both teams will have a sense of urgency as they try to recover from Brennan aftershock.
Brennan was the last team to face each of them. In fact, the Bears ended two-game winning streaks in both cases.
Edison has had an extra week to recover.
In terms of playoff possibilities, Brackenridge-Edison isn’t quite a must-win game, but regaining the lost traction will be a priority for both teams.
Brackenridge scored its only points against Brennan on an 80-yard run from Trey Mathis late in the third quarter. The Eagles will count on a solid game from Mathis again, as well as a return to form from quarterback Ramon Richards, who got a bit dinged up against Brennan.
The Eagles will need to limit their turnovers. They’ve committed 13 in the last four games.
Edison, which gained just 65 total yards against the Bears, will need to re-establish its running attack with Andres Aguilar. The Golden Bears also will need a big game from quarterback Jonathan Hernandez. On the plus side, Edison was turnover-free against Brennan.
This one could come down to which defense is more effective.
Brack leads the series 14-11 and has won the last two games. 2012 score: Brackenridge 42, Edison 32.
Floresville (3-2, 1-1) vs. Memorial (3-2, 1-1) at Frank Mata Stadium, 7 p.m.
There will be an element of mystery on both sides of the field.
Floresville could be in uncharted waters if it doesn’t have standout running back Gilbert Ortiz available. Ortiz was injured in the second half of the Tigers’ 28-17 loss to Harlandale last Friday and did not return.
In his absence, Floresville’s offense struggled to move the chains.
For Memorial, the question is how the Minutemen will respond to a 36-35 heartbreaking loss to McCollum last Thursday. The Cowboys scored the last 15 points.
Even if Floresville is without Ortiz, Memorial will need to play four solid quarters against the Tigers to have a chance for its third win in four games.
The Tigers’ ball-carrying duties will fall to Kyle Bippert and Travis Morales. Floresville quarterback Koby Wilkerson also is a running threat. He’s also able to pass effectively, once the ground game is established.
The Minutemen will have an edge through the air with quarterback Alfred Ramos and receiver Manases Cano. Re-establishing the ground game behind Raul Rangel will be a key, after McCollum limited Memorial to 112 rushing yards. 2012 score: Floresville 49, Memorial 8.
Holy Cross (3-2, 2-0) at San Marcos Academy (0-5, 0-2), 7 p.m.
Holy Cross has been challenged in both of its first two TAPPS District 3-II opener, and found a way to win both.
This should be a less-strenuous test for the Knights, but then TMI didn’t seem to be on paper as it proved to be last Saturday in Holy Cross’ homecoming game. The Knights pulled out the 34-20 win on the strength of a 55-yard run by Greg Scott just before halftime and a 14-7 scoring advantage after halftime.
A week earlier, against San Antonio Christian, Holy Cross won the second-half scoring battle 15-7.
The Knights limited San Antonio Christian to 222 total yards, but gave up 402 last week. Continued improvement on the defensive side of the ball will be important if Holy Cross is to defend its district title.
Offensively, the Knights are playing very well. Greg Scott rushed for a season-high 232 yards and Cisco Flores added 162 against TMI.
San Marcos Academy has been overpowered in its first two district games, losing 56-7 to Austin Hyde Park last Friday and 41-0 to Austin Regents a week earlier. Offensively, the Bears have scored just 19 points this year. The touchdown against Hyde Park was their first since the opening week.
Bears quarterback Kyle Robbins is a run-pass threat. 2012 score: Holy Cross 34, San Marcos Academy 0.
Kennedy (3-2, 0-2) vs. Harlandale (5-0, 2-0) at Harlandale Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m.
It’s Harlandale’s high-powered offense against Kennedy’s big play defense. Well, that’s half the equation in this District 29-4A match up, anyway. The strength-versus-strength half.
Brandon Ramon and the Indians’ offense have drawn so much attention, there hasn’t been much left over for Harlandale’s defense.
The Indians have given up 219 yards a game and an average of 12.3 points a game over the last three games. They’ve also forced eight turnovers during that span.
The Harlandale defense’s mission for Friday will be to keep Kennedy’s Matthew Avalos in check. The senior back is the key to the Rockets’ offense.
Matthew Guzman made final score close (34-26) against Medina Valley last Friday with a 13-yard touchdown reception and an 85-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter. The Rockets have been alternating Blade Alvarado and Eric Lira at quarterback.
Harlandale, No. 22 in the TexasHSFootball.com statewide Class 4A rankings, has the district’s best quarterback in Ramon. He confidently uses several receivers and back Nick Martinez gives the Indians a consistent ground game.
Kennedy’s best chance might be for its opportunistic defense to create turnovers, but Ramon has only thrown one interception this year to go with 12 touchdowns.
These teams have played since 1964, but very sporadically. In recent years, they’ve seldom been in the same district. Harlandale has won the last four games against Kennedy and leads the series 14-2-1. Kennedy hasn’t won in the series since 1984. 2012 score: Harlandale 35, Kennedy 7.
McCollum (3-2, 1-1) at Uvalde (3-2, 2-0), 7 p.m.
Ball control should be the name of the game, and McCollum demonstrated in its 36-35 win over Memorial last Friday that it’s ready and willing to play.
Uvalde also had something to prove last weekend. The Coyotes showed that they were able to throw when the situation called for it in a 45-14 win at Southside. They also had the look of a legitimate title contender in District 29-4A.
The Cowboys defeated Memorial with an impressive, sustained drive. To assemble long drives against Uvalde, they’ll have to do a better job of mixing passes in with their running attack. Sophomore back Mike Ramirez had all three receptions for McCollum.
On the plus side, both Ramirez and junior quarterback Ralph Vidal rushed for more than 100 yards for the first time.
Defensively, the Cowboys shut down Memorial’s running attack in the second half, limiting the Minutemen to 112 rushing yards. That should be good preparation for Uvalde.
The ground game still is the Coyotes’ bread and butter, even though Uvalde quarterback Jerry Almaraz is capable of mixing in passes when needed. They have big capability, scoring three times on plays of 50 or more yards (two runs, one pass) against Southside.
Uvalde totaled 522 yards and scored 32 points in the first half, but the Cardinals’ patchwork defense limited the Coyotes to 13 points after halftime. Defensively, they limited Southside to 233 yards and Kennedy to 121 in their previous game.
Getting on the board early could be a key factor for McCollum, especially so because Uvalde can be a tough place to play. 2012 score: McCollum 52, Uvalde 14.
Southside (0-5, 0-2) at Medina Valley (3-2, 1-1), 7 p.m.
Both teams have seen their share of injuries, so the outcome of Friday’s game may depend on who’s healthiest.
Medina Valley is coming off a 34-26 win over Kennedy last Friday, but the Rockets actually outgained the Panthers 318-315 in total yards. Medina Valley used Bradley Griggs as its featured back. The Panthers lost leading rusher Nathan Stein a week earlier in a 33-14 loss to Harlandale.
Panthers quarterback David Olvera took to the air a little more often and had good results, completing 11 of 19 throws for 165 yards. Both Griggs and Devin Ogden had more than 100 reception yards.
That will be a concern for a Southside secondary that had four new starters against Uvalde because of injuries.
The Cardinals also had a non-injury-related wrinkle against the Coyotes. Senior Jake Ramos moved from reciver to quarterback to make his first start at that position.
Ramos threw for 144 yards, completing 11 of 20 passes. The change means that Southside will have both Timmy Rodriguez and Johnny Trevino carrying the ball, sometimes at the same time. Look for the Cardinals’ offense to be more effective Friday, with another week to work out the new dynamics.
Limiting turnovers will be a key for the Cardinals. 2012 score: Medina Valley 41, Southside 29.
Southwest (2-3, 0-0) at South San (2-3, 0-0), 7:30 p.m.
South San will be champing at the bit Friday, taking a two-game winning streak into the District 28-5A opener for the first time in recent memory.
The Bobcats defeated Burbank 20-7 Sept. 20 and came from behind to win 31-27 over Central Catholic 31-27 Sept. 27.
A couple of key offensive developments have helped South San get those wins, while giving it a more balanced attack.
Senior back Christian Morales has developed into a force. He rushed for 228 yards against Central Catholic.
Senior Darren Tinajero made his first start at quarterback for the Bobcats against Central Catholic. Tinajero completed eight of nine passes for 61 yards, including a 15-yard pass to senior Thomas Fonseca for the winning touchdown with just 26 seconds remaining.
The Buttons led South San 17-10 early in the third quarter Sept. 27, but the Bobcats scored three of the last four touchdowns for an impressive win.
Defensively, South San allowed just 48 yards against Burbank and 211 against Central Catholic.
Southwest, like the Bobcats, were idle last week. The Dragons undoubtedly used that time to make adjustments to an offense that didn’t quite jell during non-district season, despite showing some flourishes,
The Dragons have a two-game losing streak, albeit against two strong teams, since beating Lee 31-7 on Sept. 13. Brennan shut out Southwest 48-0 and New Braunfels Canyon won 36-7 in the next two weks.
Against Lee, the Dragons were turnover-free and limited the Volunteers to 136 total yards while gaining 328. Brian Donnell rushed for 153 yards and quarterback Bowen Crisp threw for 73.
The Dragons only allowed Brennan’s potent offense 211 total yards, but they gained just 93. Canyon mustered 316 yards, but Southwest finished with 102.
Re-asserting the running attack behind Donnell and Reilly Riggs will be important for the Dragons Friday. More important will be continued improvement in the passing game to give the backs more room to run.
Southwest leads the series 10-3. The Dragons have an eight-game winning streak. South San hasn’t won since seizing an overtime win in 1996. 2012 score: Southwest 49, South San 2.
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