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Can the Highlanders be stopped?

Texas High School Football's Hottest Team Can Only Beat Itself

I tweeted this weekend about the fact that The Woodlands has not only taken home the Texas 7v7 Crown this summer but in back-to-back weeks knocked off both of the defending Class 6A State Champions.  Can you say "The Woodlands playing at AT&T!"?

And before you think this is a bandwagon comment, let me refer you back to our preseason preview of The Woodlands.  I clearly stated, "If they can stay healthy through to the Semifinals, I could see them knocking off Allen and facing Austin Westlake in the title game." The only question was whether they could hang with the teams in their super tough schedule.

They've proven they can hang with the best and frankly, this season is the most wide open I have seen Class 6A in nearly a decade.  Each week the next heir apparent is knocked off by someone a little lower down the polls and then the following week they bounce right back. The winner in Class 6A will be determined by who is peaking at the right time.

I have always believed that the best route to a state title is...

  • Play a tough schedule (pre-district if you district is weak)
  • Be tested in one of the final regular season weeks (either a loss or close victory)
  • Peak around the 5th and 6th week of the playoffs

Simple strategy, right?  If the Highlanders (or anyone) wants to take home the championship trophy, they better not peak too early or they will join the legion of great teams who watched football the final week.

I spoke with Head Coach Mark Schmid about what it will take to avoid a letup.  He responded, "We have played well, but not on a consistent basis over the last several weeks. There is a ton of room for improvement in all three phases of the game and there is a lot of football left on our schedule. We talk all the time about demanding excellence of ourselves in practice and on Friday nights. Constant improvement is our focus. We know that our schedule can only be played one game at a time and that the most important game is the next one."

by Chris Doelle

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