The best little showdown in Texas could be taking place in College Station on Friday. In a battle of Tigers, defending state champion and undefeated Bremond (13-0) will have its toughest test of the year against undefeated Tenaha (13-0).
The Class 2A Division II state quarterfinal will kick off at 7 p.m. at College Station High School’s Cougar Stadium. Maybe A&M Consolidated’s Tigerland Stadium would’ve been a little too much Tigers.
Bremond roars into the game with all-everything quarterback Rashauud Paul, who has Bremond with the state’s longest active winning streak at 44 games. Paul has guided the two-time defending state champs at quarterback with his 287 yards per game. The Texas A&M commit has thrown for nearly 6,000 yards in his career.
Waiting on the other side will be a tenacious Tenaha defense. Tenaha hasn’t allowed a point in the playoffs, outscoring its first three opponents with a combined 202-0 score.
For Tenaha, it all starts up front with a huge defensive line with Hunter Wagstaff, TK Gardner (6-3, 335), Chase Lily (6-0, 258) and Jaurmez Brock (6-3, 262).
At one point in Tenaha’s 44-0 win over Iola in the regional round, Iola had 10 yards of total offense – late in the fourth quarter. Iola gained just 32 yards the entire game. Tenaha also forced five three-and-outs to start the second half and they forced 12 Iola punts.
But the biggest test will be to see if they can stop Paul, or even slow down the potent Bremond offense that lights up defenses like nearby Santa’s Wonderland in College Station lights up State Highway 6.
The winner looks to have a clear path to the state final in two weeks to meet the other team in the state that claims it’s the best – Iraan.