The Cooldown: Week 10
Somehow, we’ve reached the final week of the regular season. About half of the teams in the state hang the pads up for the final time in 2024 come Sunday.
Before we look ahead to the teams that are on the bubble of making the playoffs heading into week 11, let’s recap week 10, celebrate some teams who’s seasons might not be continuing, and name a POTW.
Ridge Point wins another district championship
Let’s start off by saying, Coach Rick LaFavers knows the appropriate way to celebrate five-straight district championships.
I’d dance like that too if I coached my team to five consecutive district titles at the 6A level in the state with the most football talent. While Coach LaFavers’ dance moves were made possible through AI technology, there was nothing AI about Ridge Point’s 35-20 win against a really good Hightower squad on Thursday night.
The Panthers dismantled Hightower through the air and on the ground. Quarterback Austin Carlisle finished 20-of-27 passing for 233 yards and a touchdown, and he added seven carries for 70 yards and another score on the ground.
Elon Conley added 18 attempts for 104 yards and two touchdowns to the rushing attack. Dane Jones led the receivers with eight catches for 151 yards, while Robert Haynes caught the lone Carlisle touchdown pass.
This Ridge Point team is very senior-laden of offense, which bodes well for a potential playoff run. The Panthers have lost to a who’s who of contenders in the playoffs in recent years – teams such as North Shore, Atascocita and Lamar – but this team could be the team to break through.
Of course, a matchup with Atascocita or North Shore is likely to happen at some point, and those two would be the favorite in that hypothetical matchup. Still, Ridge Point has the offensive firepower and experience to move the needle and potentially score a playoff upset. Wins against Bridgeland and Hightower this season are proof of concept.
Meanwhile, Hightower will take on Elkins next week in a game that could be huge for the standings. Hightower is really good and should be the favorite in this game. However, if Elkins wins, each would be 5-2 in district play. Travis would also be 5-2 in district play if the Tigers beat a Clements team that is 1-8 and hasn’t won a district game. That would a crazy tiebreaker to sort out. Those four teams are solidified as the playoff teams in 21-6A, so at a minimum, nobody is getting left out in the cold based on what happens next week.
Manvel makes a statement against Dawson
I wrote about this game in last weeks’ preview section, saying “I think these teams are pretty equally matched, so it should be one of the better games of week nine.” Clearly, I was wrong.
Manvel obliterated Dawson, 48-7. The Mavs dominated the line of scrimmage, holding Dawson to 42 rushing yards on 28 carries while running for more than seven yards-per-carry themselves. The win makes a playoff berth for Manvel likely, however there would be a three-way tie for 3-4-5 in the district if Dobie beats Manvel this week, with each team having round robin wins against each other. I’m not sure what the tiebreaker would be in that situation, but Manvel will be favored against Dobie anyway.
Cam Renfro had an efficient night, throwing for 273 yards and three touchdowns while completing nearly 70% of his passes. Renfro was also the leading rusher for the Mavs, running 13 times for 115 yards and two more scores. Kenneth Malone Hayes tacked on 87 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Renfro spread the ball around to a trio of his wide receivers. Antoine Wilder led the way with five catches for 108 yards and a touchdown, while Xaiden Brown grabbed two passes foe 72 yards and a touchdown and Joshua Irvin tacked on three catches for 71 yards and a touchdown.
I believed Dawson would present a bigger challenge than Dobie, but I might be wrong about that. All of a sudden, the game against Dobie looms large. Of course, Manvel will be favored, but someone is going to get left out of the playoffs with a 5-3 district record if Dobie wins this game. Dobie is definitely out with a loss, so the Horns will be fighting for their playoff lives. That should make this one of the most intriguing games of week 11.
Memorial clinches a playoff spot
Houston Memorial’s roller coaster season has been one of my favorite stories of the year. Memorial started 0-4, scoring a combined 14 points in those games, but have now secured a playoff spot with a game still left on the schedule. The Mustangs can finish third in district 17-6A with a win against Stratford in the season finale. Who could’ve seen this coming?
Memorial reserved its playoff spot with a 24-14 win against Jersey Village. Austin Alpe powered the Mustangs to the win as the teams’ leading passer and leading rusher. Alpe finished 6-of-21 passing for an explosive 120 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Not incredibly efficient, but racking up 120 yards on just six completions will certainly move the ball down the field. Alpe also ran the ball six times for 72 yards and two scores. Carson Wall was the leading receiver with four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.
It might be a tough task for Memorial to beat Stratford, but a playoff appearance after the way the season started is more than impressive for the Mustangs, a testament to culture and leadership for not giving up on the season after the offensive struggles to start the year.
At 2-4 in district play, Jersey Village is now eliminated. A win likely would have secured a playoff spot for the Falcons, but instead they’ll look to go out on a high note against Cy Creek and regroup heading into 2025. Jersey Village has produced talent over the years, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Falcons back in the playoff race next season.
Player of the Week
Let’s talk about another team that has turned its season around after a rough non-district slate. La Porte opened the season 0-3, and has won every game since then. A big part of that has been the emergence of my player-of-the-week – a player that nobody likely expected big time production from given his age.
Sean Simon powered La Porte to a 35-28 upset win against previously unbeaten Angleton with a monster 351-yard, four-touchdown performance, and he did it on just 23 carries. That’s more than 15 yards-per-carry and his 351 rushing yards against Angleton is a school record.
Here’s the catch – Simon is only a freshman. He’s now got three more years, plus the rest of this season, to try and break his own school record for rushing yards in a game. Sean Simon is my player-of-the-week!
What to Watch for
Cy Woods (8-1, 5-1) at Bridgeland (8-1, 6-0) – Thursday
Cy Woods is enjoying its best season in school history, and the ramifications of the season finale are big. With a win, the Wildcats would share a district title with Bridgeland, and, depending on tiebreakers, would be the district champs. A loss could drop the Wildcats into a two or three-way tie for second with Cy Ranch (whom Cy Woods lost to) and Cy Springs (whom Cy Woods beat). That means, depending on tiebreakers, Cy Woods could finish anywhere from first to fourth in the district, even though the Wildcats are 8-1 so far. Bridgeland, of course, can win another district championship, and it can finish no worse than second. District 16-6A has been incredibly competitive all year and I’m excited to see the finish.
Katy Paetow (7-2, 6-1) at Katy Jordan (8-1, 6-1) – Thursday
Katy ISD’s two newest schools to join class 6A are now in a battle to see who is the best non-Katy High team in the district. Katy, famously, has won the district every year since 2009 except for 2020 when it lost to Tompkins (and still won the state championship). Paetow leans on a strong defense and a capable offense, while Jordan employs an explosive offense and a capable defense. This whole game will be good-on-good. I’m excited to see who comes out on top. The math is very simple too: winner finishes second in 19-6A, loser finishes third.
Deer Park (8-1, 6-0) at Dickinson (6-3, 5-1) – Friday
Deer Park has been one of the biggest surprises of the season. The Deer have stacked four consecutive seasons of at least eight wins, but they dominated a subpar district in those years. In realignment, Deer Park was paired in 23-6A with Clear Creek ISD and Dickinson for the first time, and they’ve proved in year one their success in their former district was no joke. A win will give Deer Park an outright district championship and a third-straight nine-win regular season. A loss will drop the Deer into a three-way tie for first with Dickinson and Clear Springs. The implications don’t get bigger than this.
North Shore (9-0, 6-0) at Summer Creek (8-1, 5-1) – Friday
Speaking of big implications and a potential upset that could cause a three-way tie for first, that’s the opportunity Summer Creek has on Friday. Unlike its neighbors in 23-6A, the triumvirate representing 24-6A took the most predictable path to this point. Between North Shore, Summer Creek and Atascocita, there may not be a better set of three teams in a district anywhere else in the state, regardless of level. The most predictable outcome is that these three teams would finish the season with no losses except to each other, and that’s exactly where we are with a week left. It feels like North Shore will get the job done – because it’s North Shore and that’s just what the Mustangs have done for the past seven years – but you never know. I can’t wait to see if Summer Creek can put up the same sort of fight Atascocita did.