In 6A, the Bi-District round of Region 1 offers a lot of intriguing matchups. One of those matchups will take place Thursday night at the SAC in El Paso when the Midland Bulldogs travel to take on the El Paso El Dorado Aztecs. Both teams are coming off impressive 8-2 regular seasons and will look to take a good first step in the state playoffs.
Midland High brings a lot of offense to the table and it all starts with their senior quarterback Jackson Anuszkiewicz. The signal caller finished the regular season with 25 touchdown passes on the year and will have a number of receivers to sling it to, including leaders Jalen Childress and McLane Mannix. The Bulldogs also have a reliable running back in Ricky Hubert, who ran for 15 touchdowns this year.
The one area of concern for Midland may be holding on to the ball. Anuszkiewicz threw 12 picks on the year, and one interception and fumble could be a game-changer if the game is close. What does help Midland is that they force a lot of turnovers on defense.
On the other side of the ball, El Dorado brings an explosive offense that played a major role in clinching a share of a second straight District 1-6A championship. Quarterback Cedarious Barfield runs the show and he is fully healthy after suffering an ankle injury midway through the year. He’s a true dual threat, accounting for 49 touchdowns on the year and racking up over 4,000 yards of total offense. Like Anuszkiewicz, he’ll have plenty of help from his receivers, including Jorge Hernandez and Tyquez Hampton. Keep an eye out for Cameron Hill and Corey McCoy, as each of them has provided some big plays for the Aztec offense.
There are two questions surrounding the Aztecs leading into this game. Can the Aztecs find another running threat outside of Barfield that can keep the Bulldogs defense at bay? Second, can the defense make enough stops to give their offense a chance to pull away when the game is close?
Either way, you’re looking at a very intriguing bi-district matchup in 1-6A. Given what we know about the offenses and the fact that there have been a lot of shootouts at the SAC this year, all signs indicate we might have another one coming on Thursday night. With playoff football, you never quite know and that adds to the intrigue of this matchup.
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