Brownwood, Cisco, and Mason Are Ready to Pull Off Texas Sized Upsets Friday

SAN ANGELO, TX — The high school football action gets started early on Friday with some of the biggest names in the state kicking off at noon followed by the Brownwood Lions and Cisco Loboes at 1:30 and 2:00, respectively.  In total, their are three games this afternoon and evening where our area schools are going up against undefeated, and in two cases #1 ranked, opponents.  Here is a brief rundown of the matchups and whether or not they stand a chance (hint: they all do).  Once the games start, you can follow the link for live score updates.  

Brownwood 11-1 vs. Argyle 12-0 (Friday at 1:30, Waco's McLane Stadium)

The Brownwood Lions are 11-1 and on a three game win streak since their loss to 11-1 La Vega in early November.  Brownwood has outscored their opponents 139-63 in those three games and that includes last week's 37-35 escape against now 9-3 Alvarado.  Brownwood had a 34-7 lead over halfway through the third quarter before the Indians mounted a furious comeback and went up 35-34 with two minutes to play.  The Lions hit a 34 yard field goal with under a minute remaining and that would be the game. 

Brownwood will have to play a complete game to hold off the #1 ranked and undefeated Argyle Eagles.  Argyle's offense averages 55 points per game while their defense allows 25.  Their most impressive victory this season was handing Waco La Vega their only loss of the season.  Argyle outlasted 6-5 Stephenville, a rematch from the regular season, to win their area round game 63-49.  Expect this game to be high scoring.  Argyle has not proven they can slow down a good offense and Brownwood certainly has one.

Cisco 11-1 at Canadian 12-0 (Friday at 2:00, Vernon's Lion Stadium)

Cisco's impressive season is not ready to come to an end, not even against the undefeated and #1 ranked Canadian Wildcats.  Cisco has not lost since their week two 20-13 defeat against the now 12-0 Wall Hawks.  Cisco beat Spearman and Crane by 24 and 33 in the first two rounds, respectively, but the difficulty jumps way up as they travel to Vernon Friday. 

Canadian's most recent loss was in last year's state championship game, and they are eager to redeem themselves.  With three shutouts and an average margin of victory of 37 points, Canadian has dominated everyone they've played, including 10-2 and #10 ranked West Texas.  They are probably neck and neck with Wall for being Cisco's toughest game of the year, but if the Wall game is any indication, then they have as good a chance as any to pull of the upset.

Mason 10-2 at Holland 12-0 (Friday at 7:00, Buda's Shelton Stadium)

The Holland Hornets have run through their schedule at full speed with zero speed bumps.  Last year's area round playoff exit has motivated them to new heights and made them the front runner to make it out of Class 2A Division I's Region IV.  In order to do that, though, they will have to get through last year's champion, the Mason Punchers. 

Holland has already beaten the #2 ranked team in the class, Mart, in the regular season and won their first two playoff games by a combined 116 points.  Their first round game was against Mason's district rival Junction, who Mason beat 62-6 in mid-October.  When Holland played them, it was 73-14. 

This will be first year Head Coach Mike McLeod's biggest test in his young career and will be a significant hurdle en route to a championship repeat.  Cover1 will be in attendance for the game and will have a full recap when it finishes.