Five Big Things in #txhsfb: 09/02/14 by Chris Doelle

By Chris Doelle
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Updated: September 2, 2014

Texas high school football breaking news

Five Big Things in Texas High School Football

Its that time again… time for my Five BIG Things! These are the things that stood out for me recently as it relates to Texas high school football. As usual, they are not listed in order of importance – just as they come to me.

1. Three #1 teams fall! - The first thing you have to understand is that week one losses are not that important in my book. Most these teams are facing their first real competition and are still trying to figure out who is in what position. Longview losing to Lufkin wouldn't even register to me had it not been such a demolition 44-14!! Class 3A's Hallettsville's 31-30 loss to West Columbia wasn't even that big of a deal as West Columbia is Class 4A. In that vein, Class 3A's Newton loss to #7 4A DII Tatum 39-7 is another one that shouldn't shake confidence in the Eagles.

So yes, three #1 teams did lose, but just as twitter goes crazy with UPSET ALERT every time a good team is down by 1 point in the first quarter... worrying about these losses might be a waste of time. (Although Longview does concern me.)

2. Is Manvel that good or Spring Westfield not so much? – Yes, we expected Manvel to take this win. What we didn't expect was the domination. Manvel even eased up on the throttle before the finish line or the score could have been much worse than the 35-10 drubbing. You tell me... is Manvel that good?

3. Cedar Hill still proving themselves! – Both Mike and I thought this game would be a lot closer. The sheer volume of DI prospects on Dallas South Oak Cliff's roster made us respect them more as a team. The Longhorns of Cedar Hill have been in this situation before... namely during their state championship game against Katy. Just as then, the Longhorns let their on-field performance do the talking. The 56-34 victory serves notice to the state that they intend to go all the way once again.

4. Todd Dodge gets what he needed - All Coach Todd Dodge needed out of the matchup against his former Southlake Carroll Dragons was a close game... and he got it. The Dragons took the victory 17-14, but that really didn't matter. So much of success at this level is football is mental and Austin Westlake now believes they can hang with anyone in the state. Just one field goal stood between Westlake beating the #5 team in the state. You can bet that the Chaparrals will expect to win every remaining game this regular season.

5. Houston Showdown! - After Manvel dropped Spring Westfield (#2 BIG thing above) the stage is set for another big game for the Mavericks. This week Manvel takes on Galena Park North Shore and although our rankings are not finalized for the week, it looks like they could both be Top 10 teams. This game will let us know who is in top form early in the season and who needs to hit it harder at practice.

by Chris Doelle