09/16/19

The Cooldown: Week Three

Cover Photo via @FBISDAthletics on Twitter

North Shore continued its season of headlines in an impressive way and Fort Bend Travis pulled off a stunning comeback to avoid an upset. However, the biggest news comes out of the DFW area this week. Check out all that and more in this weeks’ edition of The Cooldown.

1. North Shore Stays on Track

Coming off a nice 38-7 win against a usually good Ridge Point squad, North Shore was tested once again. While Ridge Point is a fine team, they aren’t quite on the same level as North Shore in the Houston area.

One team that makes the shortlist of teams in the state who have the talent to put up a fight against the Mustangs is Spring Westfield, and a fight is exactly what North Shore got.

North Shore ultimately came away with a 24-21 win in the battle of the Mustangs, but not before having to come back from down eight points with less than two minutes left. Westfield boasts one of the state’s best defenses, and it showed on Friday.

Westfield fumbled while trying to run out the clock which gave North Shore a shot to score. They did, and tied the game with a two-point conversion before kicking a field goal as time expired to win the game.

It was the second week in a row that North Shore was without star running back Zach Evans, and his return date is unknown. Shadrach Banks has also missed all three games this season due to injury. The good news is that a tough non-district schedule is now over and North Shore can move on to an easier district schedule. As long as Evans and Banks are 100 percent ready for the playoffs, I wouldn’t worry too much if I was North Shore.

2. Travis Rallies Against Spring

Fresh off an impressive 49-35 win against Foster, the Tigers traveled to play Spring. Travis took some punches early, trailing 14-0 after one quarter. Spring started the second half with a pair of scores and Travis looked to be in trouble.

Then the fourth quarter happened. Travis outscored Spring 22-7 in the final frame for a thrilling 53-49 come-from-behind win. Every district game is more than winnable from the Tigers and they could enter the playoffs undefeated.

They’ll have to take on a good Ridge Point team, who was picked to win the district by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. But as of right now, I would like Travis in that game. They could be a problem come playoff time.

3. Highland Park Loses at Home

Yes, Highland Park is located in the heart of Dallas and yes, I do realize that this here blog covers Houston area teams. But this is pertinent and important to the Houston area. The loss is the first time the Scots have lost at home to a Texas high school since 1998 (!!) and snapped a 33-game win streak, the state’s longest. The streak was snapped by Frisco Lone Star on Friday night as the Scots fell, 30-19.

The loss doesn’t necessarily mean the Scots won’t make it back to AT&T Stadium the weekend before Christmas just like uh (checks notes) the last three years. But it shows a sign of hope. Highland Park has won the last three 5A Division I State Championships and the only game of those three that was close was the thriller against Manvel in 2017.

There are plenty of good teams in District 10 5A Division I in Houston that could take it to the Scots in December. Shadow Creek brought back several key pieces from last season’s state runner-up team and it seems as if the Sharks have a Division I recruit at every position on defense. That’s not to mention that DCTF didn’t even pick Shadow Creek to win its district – that would be Foster.

Highland Park has plenty of competition in 5A Division I. The Scots loss shows that they are, in fact, human. I know district play hasn’t even started yet but… let the games begin.

In case you missed this weeks' edition of the fifth quarter, you can check it out below. The fifth quarter is our weekly wrap-up show where we talk about some of the top games in the area.