1) No. 3 Euless Trinity stunned in Texas’ first round
No one saw this one coming. Texas power Euless Trinity, ranked No. 3 in the USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 and considered one of a select few squads with a bona fide outside shot at a national title, fell in the first round of the playoffs when South Grand Prairie kicker Jose Cruz drilled a game-winning 32-year-old field goal for a 24-21 win.
Trinity entered the game a perfect 10-0, including a season-opening upset of then-No. 1 De La Salle of California. Yet none of that was enough to hold off a hard-charging South Grand Prairie, which entered the game 6-4 including three consecutive losses. Yet two of those losses came against other contending foes — DeSoto and Cedar Hill — making the Warriors a deceptively tried and tested foe. Add in a reliable placekicker, and it was enough to end a potential national title charge for the Trojans.
2) No. 14 South Panola’s season stifled by Madison Central’s defense
It’s not that South Panola didn’t have the chances to stay alive, but it just wasn’t the Tigers’ night. Madison Central’s stout defense stuffed South Panola on the goal line just before halftime, then killed off the Tigers’ final drive with an interception in a 14-8 victory. That’s not to mention the blocked extra point. And then, just like that, it was over.
The Tigers weren’t the first Super 25 squad to be bounced out of the playoffs early, but their loss may have been the most dramatic yet, following on the heels of Bingham in Utah and Saline in Michigan. The Tigers have a good nine months to figure out exactly what went wrong, and it might take that long to move past the final act of a previously undefeated 2015 season.
3) Katy has the greatest defense in football
The Katy Tigers are the 1986 Bears.
Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration … or maybe it’s not. The Tigers have allowed just 18 points in 11 games, and none in their prior five, including Friday’s playoff-opening 77-0 whitewash of Westside. That’s an average of less than a safety allowed per game. It’s insane. It also completely inverts all traditional logic in high school football, where clever offensive schemes and tactics give offense the edge. Not in Katy this year, where a strong finish in the state playoffs could cement the team’s status as one of the best football defenses in high school history, if not football history writ large.
Content Source:usatodayhss.com
