HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAMES TO WATCH
TRAVIS VS. RIDGE POINT 6:30 p.m. today, Mercer Stadium
Area 6A No. 7 Travis has passed every test so far, picking up wins over arearanked teams Hightower, Foster and Elkins, and a 53-49 win over Spring, and it appears to be the best team coach Trey Sissom has assembled in his five years at the helm. But a major hurdle remains between the Tigers (6-0, 3-0 20-6A) and their first district title since 2010 – when Fort Bend ISD’s teams were divided into zones and Zone B Travis beat Zone A Elkins for the 23-5A championship. That hurdle is fivetime reigning district champ Ridge Point. The Panthers (5-1, 3-0) currently sit at No. 11 in the media poll but they’re playing top-10 defense in district, allowing only seven points through three 20-6A games. Their only loss is 38-7 to No. 2 North Shore, but they also survived a 42-41 shootout with Dekaney before opening district. RB Marcus Wright leads Ridge Point’s attack with 568 yards and seven TDs on 82 carries. The Tigers, who are averaging 48.2 points per game, are paced by QB Eric Rodriguez (1,639 yards, 19 TDs passing; four rushing TDs) and WR Parker Washington (38-659, nine TDs receiving).
FRIENDSWOOD VS. SHADOW CREEK 7 p.m. Friday, Freedom Field
Is area 5A No. 5 Friendswood (6-0, 3-0 10-5A-1) for real? With opponents’ combined record at only 11-26, the Mustangs’ strength of schedule isn’t stellar, and they’ve only beaten one team currently sporting a winning record, but that victory, last week’s 34-32 triumph over arearanked Foster, seems to indicate they are a legitimate contender. They’re 6-0 for the first time since starting 8-0 and making the state semis in 2010. Last year, they opened 5-0, then lost to Foster – foreshadowing four losses in their final five games. But this year, they cleared the first hurdle between them and their first district title in nine years. But the second hurdle is significant. Shadow Creek is the area’s topranked 5A team for the fourth consecutive week, and the competition – with a slightly better 12-23 combined mark – hasn’t been close, with the Sharks (6-0, 3-0) outscoring opponents 301-41.
ATASCOCITA VS. DOBIE 7 p.m. Friday, Pasadena ISD Stadium
Dobie (6-0, 4-0 22-6A) is enjoying its best start in 20 years. The last time it was 6-0, in 1999, it ended up doubling that mark before losing 30-0 to Katy in the third round of the playoffs to finish 12-1. The Longhorns’ impressive defense – they blanked Kingwood 14-0 last week – and standout RB Dontavian Crosby (77-648, nine TDs rushing) are the catalysts, propelling them from unranked the first four weeks all the way up to No.
13 in this week’s 6A poll. But, as with Friendswood, the ’Horns face their stiffest challenge of the season this week. At No. 6, Atascocita (5-1, 4-0) still is hovering just outside the 6A top five following its Week 2 loss to Katy, but it’s in another stratosphere compared with its district competition, even going back to its last district meeting with North Shore two years ago. The back-to-back undefeated district champs currently are riding a 23-game district winning streak in which they’ve outscored their opponents 1,344 to 213 – with eight 70-point games and one 82-point game in last month’s 82-0 win over Sam Rayburn.
DICKINSON VS. CLEAR SPRINGS 7 p.m. Friday, Challenger Columbia Stadium
Area 6A No. 4 Dickinson (6-1, 3-0 24-6A) has had plenty of great offensive players in the last eight years, and the 2018 defense was surprisingly stingy, but coach John Snelson may have his most complete group this year, and that’s saying a lot for a program with double-digit wins three of the last five seasons. Compared with their first six wins last year, the Gators’ scoring is up (307259) and opponents’ scoring is down (63-75), leading to a greater margin of victory (38.7-32.7). The only difference this year is they do have a loss mixed in after replacing Pasadena Memorial – Snelson’s old stomping ground – with state No. 3 Allen, but that 38-24 setback is likely to do more good than harm in Week 12 and beyond. But the true measure for how far Dickinson has come in the regular season is this week’s showdown with Clear Springs (3-3, 2-0), which wildly ended its undefeated run last year. The Chargers are unranked, but they once again boast one of the toughest nondistrict schedules in the state, and it paid off last year with an undefeated district title.
LAMAR VS. BELLAIRE
1 p.m. Saturday, Butler Stadium
Lamar (2-3, 2-0 18-6A) may have a losing record midway through the season, which is an odd enough sight, but there’s one thing it hasn’t lost – its decadelong district winning streak. Westside already tried to snap it and failed, and so did Heights last week as the Texans recorded their 63rd consecutive district victory in a streak that stretches all the way to Oct. 9, 2009, and includes nine straight undefeated district titles. Next up to take on the challenge of toppling the Texans is Bellaire (4-2, 3-0), which, by record, currently is the best team in 18-6A – and the most likely team left on Lamar’s district schedule to do it. If ever there was a year when it could happen, this year, when Lamar started 0-3, is the one, but the Cardinals haven’t clipped Lamar since 1981 – nearly 40 years ago – so it’s difficult to say for sure a year like that exists.