DETAILS: Week 8 of Texas High School Football Could Separate the Good Teams from the Top Tier Teams

SAN ANGELO CENTRAL (4-2, 1-0) VS ODESSA (3-3, 0-1)

This week, the Bobcats take on the Odessa Bronchos in their second game of district play. Last week, Central won 28-25 over the Midland Bulldogs while the Bronchos got beat by the Permian Panthers 38-7.

Watch for Central quarterback Tyler Hill to go off as it seems he is unstoppable throwing for 1,044 yards, nine touchdowns, two interceptions and rushing for 847 yards and 11 touchdowns. Tyree Brawley, Aiden Barron, and Javion Robinson follow Hill’s rushing performance up with 617 yards and eight touchdowns.

Through the air, Jacob English returned for the fold and now has 15 receptions for 242 yards and four scores while Ben Imler has 13 receptions for 179 yards and three touchdowns. Keevon Rice, Tyler Walker, and Jacob Gallegos combined for 411 yards and two scores.

Darius Floyd has been a machine with 89 total tackles, seven of those for loss, three sacks, and a fumble recovery. Luke Gould still leads the Bobcats in interceptions and James Burney and Andrew Gonzalez have two sacks a piece. Overall, Central has 12 sacks, five interceptions, and five fumble recoveries.

Odessa quarterback Jaylien Jones is having a great season and has gone 100-157 for 1,445 yards, 14 touchdowns, and three interceptions. Running backs Mark Marichalar and Jorge Valdez keep defenses honest with 387 yards and three scores combined.

Where Central can get into a bad spot is against Ivan Carreon who has 738 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s averaging 123 yard a game so far this season. Kielen Green, Brendyn Thompson, and Blane Mendoza are the other pass catchers the Bobcats need to watch out for.

Defensively, the Bronchos only have two interceptions, four sacks, and 13 quarterback hurries. Wiki De Leon has 51 tackles at linebacker for Odessa.

This could be a shootout unless the Bobcat defense clamps down on these Broncho receivers.

COVER1 PICKS:

• James- Central
• Matt- Central
• Joe- Central
• Yantis- Central
• Chadwick- Central
• Isaiah- Odessa
• Jake- Central
• Ernesto- Central

PERMIAN (6-0, 1-0) VS MIDLAND LEGACY (2-4, 0-1)

Permian will look to remain perfect against a down Midland Legacy team. Against Frenship last week, Legacy was at a loss when the Tigers went up 42-7 before halftime. The Rebels did outscore Frenship 27-7 in the second half, but it was too little too late. The Panthers have hung around some very good teams this season and come out on top to remain undefeated.

Permian has over 1,200 yards on the ground this season and Justice Lara leds the way with 436 yards and nine touchdowns while quarterback Rodney Hall Jr. follows up with 269 yards and two scores. Tabarie Jones can do some damage as well with 227 yards and a touchdown.

Jaquan Richardson is the go-to guy out wide with 425 yards and four touchdowns. Behind him is Jones with 173 yards and one score. Mojo has 848 yards receiving this year so their not a one-dimensional as you would think.

On the defensive side of things, Permian has gotten after it with 63 tackles for loss, 32 quarterback hurries, 14 sacks, nine interceptions, 20 passes defended, and eight fumble recoveries. Desmond Hill and Parker Haynes account for half of Permian’s sacks alone and Deonte Bass has four of their interceptions.

The record might not reflect the team when it comes to Midland Legacy as Frenship put on a show last Friday. Rebel quarterback Marcos Davila has gone 105-179 for 1,637 yards, 21 touchdowns, and four interceptions which are not bad numbers by any means.

Zeke Luna has been the bell cow back with 102 carries for 590 yards and five scores and Madden Milloy and Tommy Johnson III combined have 310 yards but only one score. Deonte Sonnier and Aiden Serrano have 514 and 405 yards respectively. Those two have 13 of Davila’s 21 touchdowns alone.

The Legacy defense doesn’t have the numbers of Permian, but they do have five interceptions, five sacks, 13 passes defended, and 18 quarterback hurries. Mario Serrano and Jamar Roberson have 110 tackles combined.

COVER1 PICKS:

• James- Permian
• Matt-Permian
• Joe- Legacy
• Yantis- Permian
• Chadwick- Legacy
• Isaiah- Legacy
• Jake- Permian
• Ernesto- Permian

CHRISTOVAL (3-3, 1-0) VS OZONA (2-4, 0-1)

After going into their bye week on a two-game losing streak, the Cougars got back on track against the Anthony Wildcats to get back in the win column. Running back Ketcher Joiner went off for 220 yards and a couple of touchdowns against the Wildcats. Ozona went the opposite and were riding high on a two-game winning streak into their bye then got beat by Sonora in their first district matchup.

Lion quarterback Hudson Fowler had a rough night against the Broncos going 2-13 for 54 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions. Ozona even had trouble getting things going on the ground as they had 80 yards total. One bad game doesn’t define Ozona as they’ve been tested all season and they can count on the Cougars being another tough game.

The Cougars run behind an experienced offensive line and have a punishing back in Joiner. He’s got 823 yards on 114 carries with six touchdown this season. Manuel Riojas is a distant second with 30 carries for 176 yards but has three scores. Cayden Carpenter cuts in and has 104 yards and two touchdowns rushing this year. He’s also the Cougars receiving threat with 18 catches for 259 yards and a couple of scores.

Quarterback Kyle Loehman was injured in week 2 against the Grape Creek Eagles and has returned to throw 14-20 for 100 yards and one interception. When you can run the way Christoval does, why change anything?

The Cougars have good numbers on defense with seven sacks, 18 quarterback hurries, two interceptions, 21 passes defended, seven fumble recoveries, and six caused fumbles. Nicolai Nelson leads the team in sacks while Jayce Williams and Carpenter combine for 81 tackles.

As for Ozona, Fowler usually is putting up good numbers and even had a perfect game against Miles. He’s gone 35-79 for 786 yards, 11 touchdowns, and eight interceptions on the year. Backs Logan Fay and Dusty Smith lead the Lions in rushing yards with 534 combined and two scores. Logan Thompson has 195 yards and three touchdowns and Rigo Treto chips in 195 yards and two scores.

Matthew Daniels and Max Everett are the big two out wide with 347 and 234 respectively and a combined eight touchdowns. Smith sees his share of targets and has 141 yards and four touchdowns.

The Lions could stand to get to the quarterback as they’ve only got two sacks so far this season, but they do have four interceptions, five fumble recoveries, and four caused fumbles. Daniels leads the team in total tackles with 42.

COVER1 PICKS:

• James- Christoval
• Matt- Ozona
• Joe-Ozona
• Yantis- Christoval
• Chadwick- Ozona
• Isaiah- Christoval
• Jake- Ozona
• Ernesto- Christoval

GRAPE CREEK (0-6, 0-1) VS SAN ANGELO TLCA (2-4, 0-1)

These two teams are fighting with Ballinger for the fourth-place spot in 3A-D2 Region 1. Wall, Early, and Brady are 6-1, 3-3 ,3-3 respectively so this game could have a big influence on the playoffs. Grape Creek is fighting for their first win this season and TLCA is looking to get their first district win.

Grape Creek and TLCA have a common opponent in Ozona. The Lions beat Grape Creek 34-2 and lost to TLCA 42-36. Both of those games occurred towards the beginning of the season.

TLCA has scored 21 points per game but have given up 32 points while Grape Creek has only scored 5.3 points per game and have given up just under 40 points a game.

COVER1 PICKS:

• James- San Angelo TLCA
• Matt- San Angelo TLCA
• Joe- Grape Creek
• Yantis- Grape Creek
• Chadwick- Grape Creek
• Isaiah- San Angelo TLCA
• Jake- Grape Creek
• Ernesto-Grape Creek

MILES (4-2, 0-1) VS HAMLIN (5-1, 1-0)

The Miles Bulldogs are coming off a loss to the Albany Lions and are looking to get back on track against Hamlin this week. The Bulldogs have dropped two in a row but have a very good quarterback in Hayven Book who has gone 81-134 for 1,314 yards, 22 touchdowns, and two interceptions.

Miles has been impressive through the air as Cooper and Carson Ellison combined for 45 catches for 644 yards and 11 touchdowns. Jaylen Torres follows those two with 228 yards and three scores. Devin Medina and Dylan Garza are big play threats when out wide with seven receptions for 151 yards, a 21-yard average, and three scores. The rushing attack goes through Medina, Tanner Wood, and Book who have a combined 685 yards and 11 scores.

Jaxon Petillo and Holton Wilson lead the team in tackles with 52 and 43 respectively. Auden Torres and Medina have two sacks a piece and Carson Ellison has three of Miles’ six interceptions. The big number is the 10 fumbles the Bulldogs have recovered.

Hamlin does not have updated stats but in three games this season, quarterback Swenson Benavides went for 310 yards on the ground with two touchdowns. Clayton Rister and Colten Spalding combined had 346 yards and two scores. Through the air, Ian Gruben had both of Benavides’s touchdowns.

COVER1 PICKS:

• James- Miles
• Matt- Hamlin
• Joe- Miles
• Yantis- Miles
• Chadwick- Miles
• Isaiah- Hamlin
• Jake- Miles
• Ernesto- Miles

OVERALL PICKS:

• James- 23-12
• Yantis- 21-14
• Joe- 20-15
• Jake- 20-15
• Isaiah- 18-17
• Matt- 18-17
• Chadwick- 18-17
• Ernesto- 16-19

COVER1 Picks are brought to you by Thieman Investments. Tune into COVER1 for exclusive interviews, score updates, highlights, and more at around 4:00, 8:00, and 10:00 p.m. only on San Angelo LIVE!