Five Big Things in Texas High School Football

11/27/12

What are the Five Big Things this week? As usual, it is some pretty interesting stuff.

1. La Porte vs Katy – It really doesn't get any bigger than this!  In recent years this has become one of the state's best rivalries.  Because this game pits two of the Houston areas best fan bases against each other, Reliant Stadium should have some record attendance for Saturday's game.

While normally, I would just say, "Katy wins," there are reasons why La Porte could come out on top.  1- Anytime you have an emotional rivalry like this one, it is really anyone's game to lose. 2- While Katy is historically the most disciplined and machine-like team I have ever seen, there appears to be some kinks this year.  In all my years of following the Tigers, I have never seen as many holding calls as I did in their game against Langham Creek.  The "program" overcame these mistakes and won easily, but La Porte plays with more passion than LC and that is always a difference maker.   Regardless of whether La Porte's passion and fire win out or Katy's discipline and system do, this is a game not to be missed!

2. Galena Park North Shore hitting on all cylinders – Sure, we have seen it before out of North Shore as they have a history of putting great "regular season" teams on the field only to fall a couple of rounds into the playoffs.  Something seems different about their team this year.  While I don't see them taking the championship, I do think they have a great chance of getting there.  In the end, the Region I and II teams (Southlake Carroll, DeSoto, Allen etc.) seem too powerful for the Mustangs to go all the way.

3. Refugio looking better than ever – The Refugio Bobcats rolled through the regular season just as they did last year.  Last season however, they ran into a Cisco buzz saw in the state championship game and escaped with a 1 point win for the title.  This year, there doesn't seem to be anyone capable of hanging with them.  A lot of folks (myself included) suspected that their matchup against Rogers would at least provide a competitive game - it really didn't.  The last chance I see for Refugio to be tested is if they end up playing against East Bernard in the next round.  In leiu of that being "a game,"  it doesn't appear that the Bobcats will be challenged - even in the title game.

4. A year of turnover and change – It started with a record breaking turnover in head coaching positions statewide.  It continues with state championship teams.  At best, only 50% of last year's champions can repeat as of today.  By the end of this weekend, I expect that number to drop.  When Aledo and Austin Lake Travis were eliminated from the playoffs, 8 consecutive state titles left as well.  While there are a few teams looking likely to be back in the title hunt, most of the participants are gone.  What that means for fans of Texas high school football is that new chapters in "the greatest sport in the greatest state" book are being written.

Look for some new programs to step up and make believers out of us.  Look for the return of formerly great programs to step up and be recognized.  Look for amazing victories and bitter defeats...  you know what?  The more things change, the more they stay the same!  Gotta love it!

5. The fans continue to rock!  – Okay, so that was never in debate, but I just had to take a second to point out what a great community of fans Texas high school football has.  Ya'll are the players, students, teachers, coaches, parents, siblings, officials, relatives, business owners and sports writers that make this all possible.  As we have tried to focus more and more on the fans of Texas high school football, we get a front row seat at what makes the fans so great.  Whether ya'll are calling or texting in scores, commenting on the website, on facebook or twitter or any of the social media sites, you guys are making each and every week that much more exciting.

How cool is it that we have fans call in from Abernathy to Zapata and give shoutouts to their team?  How cool is it that a coach sends in a comment about a player or stat from the season?  How cool is it that the Brotherhood membership continues to grow?  How cool is it that whether we run into a fan at a stadium, a practice field or in line at the grocery store, we all have something that lights us up when we talk?

As usual this season is going by at lightning speed and I want to thank you for taking that ride with us and being a part of it all.

Chris Doelle