The Cooldown: Week 8
Cover Photo via @springlions1 on Twitter.
Week eight kicked off the start of a few big rivalry games as larger districts began district play. We had some great rivalry games on the show such as Westfield/Spring and Dawson/Pearland. We recap week eight action and preview what to watch for in week nine.
Spring Stuns Westfield
I don’t know how much I should really spend time talking about the end of this one because I’m sure you’ve all seen in on Twitter already, but… Bishop Davenport, my goodness!!
Spring jumped out to a 21-7 lead that elicited no shortage of eyeball emojis from fans on Twitter. But Westfield came storming back in the second half to take the lead on a 47-yard field goal with under 30 seconds left. What happened next, as you can see above, made this one the game of the year in the state so far.
Bishop Davenport was excellent at quarterback for the Lions once again. The junior finished with 205 yards and three scores on 15-for-28 passing – including that beautiful game-winner to give Spring its first win against rival Westfield since 2011.
Next up for Spring is Aldine Eisenhower. With a district record of 2-0, five district contests left and wins against Westfield and DeKaney, it’s looking like Spring could run the table and win district 14-6A. For Westfield to continue its reign atop the district, Spring needs to lose two games against any of their remaining schedule – Eisenhower, Davis, Aldine, Nimitz and MacArthur. Westfield will play Aldine Nimitz next.
Dawson Wins Defensive Battle
This game was as much of a defensive battle as you’ll find.
Dawson finished with 215 total yards while Pearland finished with 240. A week ago, Tomball Memorial put up nearly double that combined amount by itself – 747 yards for the Wildcats against 455 combined in this one.
Dawson was able to hold on despite losing the turnover battle and being out-gained on offense. The Eagles got it done in the second half, scoring 14 points and holding Pearland scoreless. Blake Smith slammed the door shut with a short touchdown run to put Dawson up double-digits with two minutes left.
Jaden Stewart was the offensive hero for Dawson, finishing with 98 yards and a touchdown. Cameron Whitfield had two sacks, and Jordan Stewart and Jaden Carrethers-Kyles came up with big interceptions. For Pearland, it was running back Darius Hale leading the offense with 89 yards, and a trio of Oilers defenders picked off Dawson quarterback Colin Johnson.
This is an important win for Dawson because it gives the Eagles an early upper-hand in the district race – and also likely gives them a spot ahead of Pearland in terms of playoff pecking order. Dawson gets Alief Taylor next week while Pearland travels to Alief Elsik.
North Shore Blows Away 5A Power
I try not to talk about North Shore too much because they get more run in the press than anybody, but this one was impressive in a down week for games.
Manvel is among the best in 5A, everyone knows this. It was a late-scheduled game because each had cancellations happen, so this was a good measuring-stick-type game for each to see how they stacked up against another area powerhouse… as usual, North Shore didn’t disappoint.
Dematrius Davis and Shadrach Banks did their usual stuff. I couldn’t find stats for North Shore, but Davis accounted for five touchdowns while Banks had two – one of them being a pass from Davis. Those two are as unstoppable of a duo as you’ll see in the entire state – again, we already know this.
Manvel had some opportunities to keep this game closer than it was. Tightening things up should have the Mavs in position to make a run at state with an impressive squad. Gabriel Larry finished with 145 yards and two scores against one pick through the air and another 58 yards on the ground. Ty Harris was the Mavs leading rusher with 94 yards and he caught a 51-yard touchdown pass as well.
Next up for Manvel is the district opener against Angleton. The Mavs also play in a district with Foster and Hightower, making this perhaps the toughest district in 5A. North Shore gets its district opener as well against Beaumont West Brook.
Other Notable Games
Here are some other notable outcomes from week eight.
- Cy Park flexed offensive muscle in a 55-32 win against Cy Lakes
- Conroe continued its impressive start with a 47-7 win against Dulles
- Grand Oaks scores 50+ again in a 69-10 win against Austin
- Bridgeland survives Cy Woods 35-28
- Montgomery bounces back with a 38-13 victory against Oak Ridge
- Huntsville beats a good C.E. King squad 17-12 on a goal-line stand
- Cinco Ranch shocks Mayde Creek 21-17; snaps 14-game losing streak
- Hightower beats The Woodlands in a good one, 28-25
- Sealy shocked No. 5 Bellville, 31-28
- El Campo rolls against Brazosport, 35-14
What to Watch for: Week Nine
Here are the best games coming up this week. Games denoted by asterisks will be played on Thursday or Saturday. The top two games on the list are Thursday night games, and the bottom portion denoted by asterisks are Saturday games.
- *Bridgeland looks to stay perfect against Cy Ranch
- *Langham Creek and Cy Woods battle in matchup of playoff hopefuls
- Shadow Creek looks to beat Strake Jesuit in battle of 23-6A powers
- North Shore opens district play against West Brook
- Clear Springs and Clear Falls face off in big 24-6A showdown
- Humble and Atascocita face off, looking for a win after rocky starts to 2020
- Tompkins and Taylor look to prove who can challenge Katy for the 19-6A crown
- Klein Cain and Tomball Memorial showdown in a game that promises lots of points
- Klein Oak looks to challenge district powerhouse Klein Collins
- Angleton kicks off district play against Manvel
- Friendswood looks to snap winless start to 2020 against Beaumont United
- Bay City and El Campo fight to pick up a big district win
- Bellville looks to rebound against Brookshire Royal
- *Bellaire and Lamar face off in battle of 18-6A favorites
- *Cinco Ranch looks to continue momentum against Katy
- *Foster and Hightower kick off district play in battle of state powers