Week 7 Concho Valley HS Football Preview

SAN ANGELO, TX — We are now officially past the halfway mark in the season and teams are fighting each other for fast approaching playoff spots.  Read on to see how each area team stands this week and how they stack up against their opponent. There are many intra-district clashes and stellar athletes to keep fans of all teams entertained this weekend. 

SA Central 3-3 vs. Abilene 2-4 (San Angelo Stadium, Friday at 7:00)

The near century old rivalry returns to San Angelo on Friday night in what should be a great contest.  Central is coming off a loss to Euless Trinity last week that put them at 3-3, while Abilene earned its first district win of the season against LD Bell in a 13-0 slugfest.  Abilene’s offense has some wrinkles that will make things tough for Central’s defense. They often use multiple quarterbacks and the occasional wildcat to give their best athletes the ball.  Coach Davis has seen this offense more than a few times, so he should know how to game plan for it. 

Lake View 3-3 vs. Hereford 3-3 (San Angelo Stadium, Saturday at 2:00)

The Chiefs and Whitefaces are both 3-3 and coming off one-point losses on Friday.  Lake View led for most of the game against Brownfield but were outscored 14-10 in the second half and fell just short.  Hereford, similarly, was up at halftime on Andrews before being outscored 13-9 afterwards. Andrews got the win 27-26.  

Hereford will be a great challenge for a Lake View team that has not won since September 12.  Its other two losses were to 4th ranked Greenwood and 5th ranked Estacado. This is Lake View’s last game before a bye week.

Wall 5-0 vs. Clyde 4-1 (Hawk Stadium, Friday at 7:30)

Since losing to De Leon 7-6 in its season opener, Clyde has reeled off four straight wins with an average margin of victory of 47 seven points.  Merkel was the only team during that span that was not shut out (Clyde won 53-14).  The Clyde defense has only allowed 20 points combined through five games.  That shouldn’t be a problem for the undefeated Wall Hawks, though. They have experience winning low scoring, defensive battles. Against Cisco and Midland Christian, Wall’s defense was able to shut both teams down in the second half, and its offense found enough success to win.  It won’t be surprising if that is how this one ends, too.

Ballinger 3-2 vs. Bangs 3-2 (Bearcat Stadium, Friday at 7:30)

Ballinger has dropped its last two, the most recent of which was a seven point loss at Anson.  In that game, quarterback Edgar Nunez was replaced by junior Tyler Vaughn early in the second half after Anson jumped out to a 27-7 lead at the break.  Vaughn and a strong effort from the defense helped the Bearcats crawl back, but they fell short losing 27-20.  

Bangs, on the other hand, is coming off a 46-16 beating of Grape Creek.  The Dragons had three backs with over 75 yards, two of which had over 100, in that game.  

Grape Creek 1-4 vs. TLCA 0-5 (Eagle Stadium, Friday at 7:30)

The battle of the eagles might be each teams’ best chance at a victory for the rest of the season.  Both teams lost a district game last week, Grape Creek to Bangs and TLCA to Coleman. The Coleman Bluecats are the only common opponent between them.  In that game, Grape Creek allowed 424 total yards and mustered up only 153 of its own. TLCA had similar luck allowing 470 and gaining 168. 

Sonora 2-3 at Blanco 2-3 (Panther Stadium, Friday at 7:30)

Running back Wilson Johnson has been forced to be the Broncos’ workhorse on offense since Brock Aschenbeck went down with an injury.  Against Burnet last week, the senior ran for 234 yards and two scores on 22 carries. The whole team including Wilson accounted for 308.  Sonora has lost three in a row, and will have to spread the ball around more if they want to stop that streak. Blanco will be an interesting matchup for them.  Its last two games, both losses, were low scoring, competitive battles. They allowed 24 points and scored 7 in those two games combined. 

Mason 3-2 at Brackett 3-2 (Tiger Stadium, Friday at 7:30)

Both teams have had two weeks to prepare for what is their first 14-2A matchup of the season.  In its most recent game, Mason beat Comanche 28-7 to improve to 3-2. Brackett also reached that record two weeks ago by demolishing Rocksprings at home 64-0.  Stylistically, these teams run completely different offenses. Mason will hit you with option runs out of the wing T and a rare pass, while Brackett has a left-handed gunslinger named Logan Fisher to spread the ball around on offense.  The Puncher defense will have to have a big night containing them to give its offense a shot.

Christoval 6-0 at Rocksprings 3-3 (Angora Field, Friday at 7:30)

The Cougars kept things rolling against Roscoe Collegiate last week.  QB Wilcox accounted for 376 of their 452 yards. Sophomore running back Josh Fava added 66 yards and a score on the ground, as well.  On the other side of the matchup, Rocksprings has been outscored 124-0 the past two weeks. Its defense has not been able to stop anyone, and that likely won’t change against Christoval.

Miles 5-1 at Menard 1-4 (Findlay Field, Friday at 7:30)

Miles struggled on both sides of the ball against a very talented Cross Plains team last week.  The offense failed to put drives together consistently and often punted after three plays. These short drives kept the defense on the field for most of the first half and allowed Cross Plains to wear them down.  Miles’ quarterback Davian Martinez and the offense were held to only 139 yards of total offense. Menard will give them a great opportunity to improve to 6-1. The Yellowjackets have lost their last three including a 50-6 loss to #2 ranked Albany.  Menard also played Cross Plains in week one. The Buffaloes won that game 34-7. 

Water Valley 4-2 at Sterling City 6-0 (Eagle Stadium, Friday at 7:30)

Sterling City is undefeated and #8 in the 1A/Six-Man Division I rankings.  The last time the Wildcats faced a ranked opponent was three weeks ago against Ira.  They lost that game 52-0.

Water Valley will have to put a lot of points on the board to hang with Sterling City.  The Eagles will score and score often, so it will have to be a shootout if Water Valley wants a chance.  Be on the lookout for Sterling City running back Cross Knittel. He is a great athlete running the ball, but Coach Trey Sisco likes to pitch it to him in the backfield and give him the option to throw it downfield or take off and run.  Slowing him down will be essential.  

*Eldorado (5-1) is on bye.