Five Thoughts From Week 10 Of The Texas High School Football Season

The Texas high school football regular season is nearing its end. Plenty of teams throughout the state ended their seasons with games on Thursday night. Here are some quick thoughts from those games.

1. Rockwall is in — When I made a stop at Conroe Oak Ridge a few weeks ago, I was talking to one of the assistant coaches about tight playoff races. And he brought up Rockwall. The coach said: ‘For some reason, I think they are going to find a way.’ Rockwall did just that on Thursday night as it erased a 10-point second half deficit and topped North Mesquite, 48-37. The Yellowjackets will be the No. 2 seed in DI and will face off against The Woodlands in the opening round of the playoffs. Rockwall has now made the postseason in five straight years. This year was a little extra special considering Rockwall began district play with a 1-3 record — two of those losses coming by one point — before rattling off three straight victories to close out the season.

2. John Tyler is out — As crazy as it sounds, John Tyler will not be heading to the playoffs this season. John Tyler needed North Mesquite to beat Rockwall in order to get in and obviously that did not happen. Losing guys like Houston signee Bryson Smith and one-time Texas commit Damion Miller in the offseason hurt, but John Tyler was still expected to contend for a district title. It was a disappointing year for Cujo Nation. On the bright side, head coach Ricklan Holmes is one of the best in East Texas and will surely put the team through a tough offseason. The Lions also have some intriguing underclassman talent, including SMU offensive line commit Chance Billington and rising wide receiver Ke’Andre Street.

Courtesy East Texas Sports Network

3. Texas-sized showdown — In one of the state’s biggest games, it was Cibolo Steele that came out on top as it took down Schertz Clemens, 14-13, in a colossal District 27-6A matchup. Down 13-7, Cibolo Steele put together a 14-play, 60-yard drive that was capped off by a 1-yard touchdown plunge by senior running back Brenden Brady. Schertz Clemens had an opportunity to try to steal the game late, but Texas safety commit Caden Sterns notched the game-sealing interception with 1:01 remaining. Cibolo Steele will be the district’s No. 2 seed in 6A DII. Meanwhile, Schertz Clemens will be the No. 2 seed in 6A DI and will face San Antonio O’Connor in the opening round of the playoffs.

4. Drought is over — San Marcos captured its first district title in 14 years as the Rattlers knocked off Austin Bowie in a wild 31-26 victory. San Marcos entered the half down 16-10 as the offense struggled to get anything going. However, San Marcos was ignited by a 101-yard kick return for a touchdown by junior Jamon Johnson to open the second half. San Marcos then scored two more touchdowns before the 9-minute mark of the third quarter to take a 31-16 lead. This is a perfect example of how things can change in an instant when it comes to Texas high school football. San Marcos will be 14-6A’s top seed in 6A DII.

Photo courtesy Texas Redzone Report

5. All grit — Haltom converted on four fourth-downs on three scoring drives as it knocked off Keller Central, 28-17, to secure its first winning season since 2000 and its third playoff appearance in school history. Haltom will be the No. 2 seed in 3-6A DI and will meet Arlington Lamar in the first round of the playoffs. Down 17-16 with 9:50 to go in the game, this scrappy Haltom team showed a ton of heart as it drove 61 yards and scored on an Imiee Cooksey touchdown reception. Halton put the icing on the cake late in the game as Zacc Smith scampered for a 57-yard touchdown with 1:50 to go on a fourth-and-two. Haltom has all the momentum in the world and could be a team to watch in the postseason.

Brought to you by: