Picks
Mineola – III
Yoakum – I
Advantage
Mineola, three votes to one
Reasoning
I don’t think anyone expected these two teams to come out of 3A Division I.
Mineola flew under the radar in a region that included Farmersville and Pottsboro. Yoakum had four (!) losses heading into the playoffs, and had to contend with a region that included Hallettsville and Goliad. In the semifinals, a resurgent Wall team awaited Mineola, and powerhouse Malakoff awaited Yoakum.
Yoakum defeated Malakoff in dramatic fashion, and Mineola dispatched Wall easily. In many ways, no one expected these two teams to be here. However, here they are, and we’ll all have a state champion that few outside of the two teams’ respective hometowns picked to make it this far.
Yoakum started off the season heavily in the struggle, posting a 2-4 record before rattling off 9 straight wins. Now, they weren’t exactly losses against terrible teams, but the losses seemed to signal that Yoakum couldn’t find a way to finish, or win close games. Now, few are doubting the Bulldogs as they roll into AT&T Stadium.
Mineola had a similar start to Yoakum – the Yellowjackets lost their opening two games, and haven’t lost since. The Mineola defense is largely responsible for the team’s resurgence, the unit gave up 41 points in each of their two losses, but rallied early in the season to give the ‘Jackets a fighting chance in each of their games.
In a battle of teams that were left for dead and then came roaring back to life, we like Mineola. Yoakum has the close game experience, but we feel like Mineola is just playing way too hot right now to be contended with.
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