For many area teams, week five is one last game to prepare for district competition. For a few of those teams, non-district play ends with a bang.
Henrietta (4-0) vs. Childress (4-0) (9/29) Bearcat Stadium
Henrietta returns home after back-to-back road games, both hard fought wins. Last week the Bearcats trailed Boyd by one at the half, but a dominant third quarter put the game away, leading to a 48-35 win. Childress has played solid football to start the season as well, edging out a tough Wellington bunch and topping a decent 4A Iowa Park squad.
The Bobcats offense has been powerful thus far, scoring an average of 33.5 points per game. Henrietta’s defense may need further tuning against this offense (having allowed an average of 29.75 points per game), and can’t have another game like their week three contest against Bowie.
Last Result: Childress 37, Henrietta 0 (2016)
Pottsboro (3-1) vs. Aubrey (3-1) (9/29) Jim Henderson Memorial Stadium
Both teams have the same records as last season, having defeated and lost to the same teams. However with some scores being much more different than last season, some clues may be provided on how this contest can go. Pottsboro’s contest against Paris North Lamar last week went down to the wire with the Cardinals edging out a 14-11 win, much different than last season’s 45-28 win.
For the most part however, both teams are fairly similar to this point in 2016; with familiarity of the competition evident in this matchup, whichever team can get additional backup from the younger players should have the advantage.
Last Result: Pottsboro 49, Aubrey 20 (2016)
Bells (4-0) vs. Valley View (3-1) (9/29) Panther Stadium
6-2A DI competition kicks off this week with these two teams and Collinsville diving in head first to a three-way race to the district title. Bells returned a stacked team (20 total starters) and a quality coach in Scott Ponder, who won a state title with Petrolia in 2002 and coached successful Wichita Falls Rider teams, now in his fourth year guiding the Panthers. Last week’s 48-20 win against Honey Grove moved Bells to 4-0, the same as last season, but so far with a more potent offense; the Panthers have now tallied 50.25 point per game in four games.
Valley View has also improved from last season, in both overall record and offensive output; with both teams offenses seeing improvement, this contest will come down to the improved defense. Bells has the early advantage here, having allowed seven points per game prior to this contest, compared to Valley View’s 38.75 points allowed.
Last Result: Valley View 42, Bells 8 (2016)
Seymour (4-0) vs. Munday (2-2) (9/29) Fair Park Stadium
Seymour has torn through non-district play, topping their first four opponents by the combined score of 125-27. The Panthers moved to 4-0 after dispatching Petrolia 34-6; an improvement on last season’s two point nailbiter.
And speaking of improvements, Munday is heating up; after starting out with losses to Hawley and Stamford, the Moguls evened their record with a shutout over Bronte and last week’s 14-6 win over a quality Windthorst team. Munday is heating up at just the right moment, but can Seymour continue their already improved 2017 campaign?
Last Result: Munday 48, Seymour 7 (2016)
Crowell (4-0) @ Happy (3-0) (9/29) Cowboy Corral Stadium
Crowell defeated some tough teams en route to their 4-0 record, but will now run head first into the six-man gauntlet, beginning with a road contest against a powerful Happy squad. Crowell’s offense has averaged 63 points per game so far, including last week’s 70-20 win over Lubbock All Saints; the second time the Wildcats scored 70 points or more this season.
The Happy offense on the other hand has been even more powerful in one less game, scoring a whopping average of 88.6 points in their three outings. The Cowboys have also shown they’re not afraid to go toe-to-toe with six-man’s best, starting off the season with a 96-74 shootout win over Richland Springs, followed up with an 84-56 win over Turkey Valley.
Last Result: Happy 106, Crowell 60 (2016)
Ladonia Fannindel (3-1) @ Leverett’s Chapel (3-1) (9/29) Lion Stadium
Fannindel created quite the buzz with last week’s contest against Campbell: Though the Falcons ended up on the wrong side of the contest, they played a key part in the highest scoring six-man game of all time, with Campbell taking a 125-122 win. The Indians trailed 72-38 at one point, but rallied to win in a game shortened due to an injury in the fourth. The Falcons boast one of the more explosive offenses six-man has seen in a while, having now scored 100 or more points in three of their four outings.
Fannindel will be the second UIL team Leverett’s Chapel faced in 2017, boasting a 3-1 record against mostly private schools with a 34-32 win over Fruitvale in week two.
Last Result: Leverett’s Chapel 55, Ladonia Fannindel 46 (2016)
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