Top 5 Football Games to Watch in West Texas This Week

SAN ANGELO, TX — Here are our top five football games to watch in West Texas and the Concho Valley in Week 5:

Midland Greenwood (3-1) at Wall (4-0)

The No. 3-ranked Wall Hawks should see one of their toughest tests of the season when the Midland Greenwood Rangers come to town Friday. It’s a matchup of last year’s Class 3A Division II state champion in Wall against a 4A D-II state quarterfinalist last year in Greenwood. Both teams moved up a classification this season.

Wall hasn’t been challenged since a season-opening 42-35 win over Canyon West Plains. Since then, the Hawks have been dominant in wins over La Joya (55-14), Jim Ned (49-13) and Ozona (51-6) to push their winning streak to 20. Quarterback Gunner King has been everything Wall fans could have hoped for and more in his first season running the offense, throwing for 1,286 yards and 16 touchdowns on 72-of-100 passing with only one interception. He has a stable of wideouts in Jager Thompson (18 catches, 367 yards, 2 TDs), Hudson Surber (16-289, 5 TDs) and Evan Boehle (12-236, 5 TDs), along with a big-play running game from Gunner Garza (59 carries, 393 yards, 6 TDs; 8 catches, 178 yards, TD).

Greenwood began this season ranked No. 15 in the state, and the Rangers have mostly backed that up. They have wins over Jim Ned (39-12), Lubbock-Cooper (25-15) and Wichita Falls Legacy (43-42), though they were overwhelmed in a 56-25 loss to Lubbock-Cooper Liberty, which is ranked No. 5 in the state in 4A D-II. Greenwood has won 26 of its last 30 games, so this is a quality program. Expect Wall to have to work a little for this one.

The pick: Wall 42, Greenwood 24

Ingram Moore (4-0) at Mason (4-0)

This is the first meeting between these teams in 15 years, and it looks like a good one as both Hill Country programs head into this matchup with undefeated records. Mason is ranked No. 2 in the state in 2A D-I, while Ingram Moore isn’t in the Top 10 but was ranked No. 17 in 3A D-I heading into the season.

Mason has looked very much like a state-title contender with three wins by 46 points or more, including 62-8 over Junction last week. A 46-44 win over defending state champion Hamilton has been the only resistance the Punchers have seen so far. With weapons all over the field like quarterback Ryder Balmos, running back Slade Buell and wide receivers Kingston Garza and Luke Tharp, Mason is averaging 58 points per game. With the exception of the Hamilton shootout, the Punchers have otherwise allowed an average of 9.3 points.

Ingram Moore hasn’t been tested yet either as the Warriors have won every contest by 21 points or more. They haven’t seen the most difficult slate of opponents, but they’ve taken care of business in wins over Hondo (35-14), Brady (41-0), Comfort (34-6) and Bandera (44-14). This program returned eight starters on both sides of the ball from a team that won two playoff games last year. Ingram Moore is no pushover, but it’s hard to see them stopping Mason right now. 

The pick: Mason 38, Ingram Moore 21

Ballinger (3-1) at Reagan County (2-2)

This is a Week 5 game that could have a big impact in determining the playoff participants six weeks from now in District 4-2A D-I. Both of these teams appear to have a real shot at challenging for one of the four playoff spots in what looks like a wide-open race that begins Friday.

Ballinger is riding a wave of momentum after its 40-35 win over Brady last week in which the Bearcats overcame a 14-point deficit in the second quarter, then rallied again in the fourth. Quarterback Wyatt Clemens has been one of the area’s best passers and threw for 300 yards and six TDs against Brady. His top target, Hunter Kresta, is a big-play threat who had eight catches for 186 yards and four TDs last week, along with a late interception that helped seal the win. 

Reagan County took a step back last week with a 38-22 loss to undefeated McCamey, but the Owls had back-to-back wins before that over Miles (45-43 in double overtime) and Grape Creek (34-8). Like Ballinger, they returned most of their starters from a three-win team a season ago, and they’re hungry to return to the playoffs. This should be a competitive game in Big Lake.

The pick: Ballinger 28, Reagan County 27

Water Valley (4-0) at Westbrook (2-2)

The Water Valley Wildcats’ nondistrict gauntlet continues when they travel to play Westbrook. Water Valley is ranked No. 6 in the state in 1A D-I by sixmanfootball.com, and that has been earned with wins over Rankin, Sands and Klondike — all of whom were ranked 11th or higher. Now Water Valley gets a Westbrook team ranked No. 14.

Water Valley’s Branson Lacy is putting together a spectacular season as he has already compiled over 2,000 yards of offense in four games. He has 87 carries for 1,203 yards and 25 TDs, and he has thrown for 808 yards and 11 TDs on 46-of-60 passing (a 77% completion rate). As long as he’s on the field, you have to like Water Valley’s chances against any team in the state.

Westbrook is one of the premier six-man programs in the state with a record of 66-15 since 2020, which includes state titles in 2021 and ‘22. They’re led by QB Landon Rodriguez, who has thrown for 627 yards and 11 TDs on 28-of-50 passing. Zaden Pena has 40 carries for 280 yards and five TDs. Westbrook has wins over Whitharral (58-8) and Sterling City (59-26) but has lost back-to-back games against Rankin (59-52) and Whiteface (70-24). This looks like another game for Water Valley that could go the distance.

The pick: Water Valley 74, Westbrook 54

Rocksprings (3-1) at Cherokee (4-0)

This is a matchup between an up-and-coming six-man program in Rocksprings against an established Cherokee team that has posted six straight winning seasons and has the tradition of three state titles back in the 1970s. Texas Football has this 1A D-II game as No. 1 Cherokee vs. No. 10 Rocksprings, while sixmanfootball.com has Cherokee at No. 9 and Rocksprings at No. 17.

Rocksprings is in only its second season of six-man football, but the Angoras went 5-5 last year and quickly turned heads this season with a 66-46 loss to Rankin, a state finalist from last year. Rocksprings hasn’t lost since with three straight wins by 40 points or more over Blanket, Knippa and Nueces Canyon. 

Cherokee entered this season with a lot of hype after being given the No. 1 ranking by Texas Football. The Indians have mostly cruised to runaway wins, though they were unable to 45 Iredell in a 76-50 victory. Rocksprings might present the biggest challenge Cherokee has seen so far, but the Indians’ experience could make the difference. 

The pick: Cherokee 68, Rocksprings 58

San Angelo Glance

Belton (3-1) at San Angelo Central (2-2)

The Central Bobcats host a Belton team they’ve had no trouble with the last two years with a pair of wins by a combined 60 points. This season should be different. Belton returned 15 starters and is off to a 3-1 start. The Tigers also have one of the best receivers around in Gavin Ross, who has already hauled in 38 passes for 559 yards and seven TDs. Belton has a balanced attack with 816 rushing yards and 782 passing yards, so Central can’t just focus on slowing down Ross. Belton’s defense has allowed only 15.3 points per game. The Bobcats are coming off a 42-7 win over El Paso Montwood that got Central back on track after back-to-back losses following its 28-23 win over state-ranked Abilene High to begin the year. Central has some offensive weapons of its own with Zey Johnson, who has already rushed for 532 yards, and Gavin Johnson, who had five catches for 98 yards and three TDs last week. This could be an entertaining game at San Angelo Stadium.

The pick: Central 31, Belton 28

San Angelo Lake View (3-1) at Big Spring (0-4)

These two teams put on an absolute offensive show last year. When the dust settled, Lake View emerged with a 76-49 win. Don’t expect quite as many fireworks this time. Lake View’s defense has improved from last year and is allowing only 20 points per game. The Chiefs’ offense is as dangerous as ever, however, and is averaging nearly 38 points. Lake View is coming off a 35-24 win over Pecos. Chris Alvizo threw for 321 yards and four TDs, while Andrew Young had four catches for 103 yards and two TDs. Conner Williams was again a beast on the defensive line and returned an interception 60 yards for a score. Big Spring is still searching for its first win, but the Steers haven’t been completely overmatched. They’ve lost twice by eight points to Ysleta and Andrews, while losing by 21 to Sweetwater and Lubbock Estacado. QB Javon Jackson has thrown for 669 yards and seven TDs with four INTs. He has a 307-yard rusher in the backfield in Colin Mikels, and he has four receivers with over 100 yards. We’ll see some scoring, but not at the same level as last year.

The pick: Lake View 42, Big Spring 28

TLCA San Angelo (2-2) at Merkel (2-2)

The TLCA Eagles will try to bounce back from last week’s 50-14 loss to Sonora when they travel to Merkel. TLCA was riding high after back-to-back wins following a 23-game losing streak, but the Eagles weren’t able to contain Sonora’s high-powered offense. Merkel won’t be an easy game either as the Badgers are averaging 40 points per game. They have wins over Colorado City (53-27) and Odessa Compass (47-30), and their losses were respectable against Early (35-26) and Hawley (35-34). TLCA may not be able to win this game, but the Eagles don’t want to let their hard-earned momentum start to slip away with another bad loss.

The pick: Merkel 42, TLCA 21

Other Week 5 Games

Bangs at Grape Creek

Forsan at Ozona

Colorado City at Sonora

Coleman at Eldorado

Big Spring Pathway at San Saba

Miles at Stamford

Winters at Goldthwaite

Harper at Junction

Robert Lee at Garden City

Sterling City at Rankin

Bronte at Rotan

Blackwell at Highland

Paint Rock at Menard

Brookesmith at Santa Anna

Eden at Gustine

Irion County at Rising Star

Veribest vs. Knox City (at Abilene Christian)

Olfen at Three Way

Ranger at Panther Creek

Mullin at Lohn

Richland Springs vs. Houston Emery-Weiner (at Rockdale)

Blanket at Rochelle