(McAllen, Texas)-Four Class 6A football teams will be kicking off this week in the University Interscholastic League Area playoffs. Here are the match-ups with predictions.
Class 6A DI
26-6A Austin Lake Travis 6-4 vs 27-6A Cibolo Steele 11-0
SA Brennan 10-1 vs 32-6A Los Fresnos 7-4
Winners meets in Regional Finals
26-6A Austin Westlake 11-0 vs 27-6A New Braunfels 8-3
29-6A SA Taft 8-3 vs 32-6A San Benito 10-1
Winners meet in Regional Finals
Right now, Los Fresnos head coach David Cantu has one advantage over San Antonio Brennan Bears on Thursday night. The Falcons will be playing at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium. Last year, the Bears defeated the Falcons 63-10 in the area round. Could this be a surprising moment?
San Antonio Taft is unpredictable. They ended their regular season with two losses before knocking off Laredo United 49-14 in the first round of the playoffs. As for San Benito? The Greyhounds match up very evenly, if not better against the Raiders. HSSM Predictions: From Bear Claws to Running Hounds.
Class 6A DII
25-6A Vandegrift 10-1 vs 27-6A Converse Judson 5-6
29-6A SA Harlan 9-2 vs 32-6A Weslaco 8-3
Winners meets in Regional Finals
26-6A Dripping Springs 10-1 vs 28-6A SA Brandeis 9-2
29-6A SA Warren 8-3 vs 32-6A Harlingen 11-0
Winners meets in Regional Finals
If Weslaco HS head football coach Roy Stroman would had known that he would have been playing nine playoff teams this and still post an impressive 8-3 overall record, he probably would have smiled and said, “Really?” Now, the Panthers will meet San Antonio Harlan on Saturday at Buccaneer Stadium on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Its simple. Stop SA Harlan QB Noah Farris (2,313 yards passing) and RB Jacob Gonzales (1,380 yards rushing). Seniors WRs Izaiah Manchester (660 yards receiving) and 6’1 Micky Duesing (498 yards) will both test Weslaco DBs Gavin Silva (6INTs), along with six other players that have recorded interceptions for a total of 14 this season. The Panthers along the way have 11 QB sacks this season. LB Devin Fuentes leads the Panthers with 110 tackles.
Harlingen will be traveling Farris Stadium in San Antonio on Friday to meet SA Warren. This will be the Cardinals first test against a high-power passing unit led by junior quarterback Antonio Meza (6’0 3,114 yards passing 42 TDs). His favorite targets? Senior 6’3 Darian Holmes (1,149 yards 16 TDs) and Elijah Realzola (6’0 816 yards). The Cardinals will control the ball behind the likes of RB Izaiah Bell and QB Randy Morales. The Cards have outscored its opponents 478-146.
HSSM Predictions: Cards will shuffle Warren by 10 and the Panthers defense will prove to be too much for Harlan. Panthers by 19. (HSSMImages/DeLeon)