Arlington Martin @ Cedar Hill

    Two of the top rushing offenses in DFW meet in a game that will make or break the playoff hopes of the defending Division 2 state champions Cedar Hill.  The Longhorns haven’t held leads well this year, and it hurt them again last week in a 34-31 loss to Arlington.  Martin lost big to cross-town rival Bowie, 49-21.  So, both teams enter this game with points to prove.  Martin is fighting for playoff position and, as mentioned above, Cedar Hill is essentially playing single elimination games.  This is a playoff game for the Longhorns.

    Senior QB James Hamilton spearheads the Cedar Hill attack, and has played very well for the most part this year.  He is a three-year letterman.  The Longhorns have talent comparable to last year, but just haven’t been able to put everything together.  The defense has been porous.  The Longhorns should bring a burning desire with them out of the locker room given what’s at stake.  The main order of business will be keeping Martin from controlling the clock consistently with their running game so the Longhorn offense can provide the winning margin on the scoreboard.

    Martin has a well-oiled option attack that should really test the Cedar Hill defense.  Martin’s best friend in a game like this is a moving clock when they’re on offense.  If Martin’s defense is on the field for an extended about of time, Cedar Hill will score a lot of points.

   As mentioned above, because of the setback against Arlington, Cedar Hill has their backs firmly planted against the wall.  We think the Longhorns will come out fighting to keep their post-season dreams alive, but they’ll need help from Arlington even with a win.  Arlington must lost one of their last two games or Cedar Hill will miss out on a head-to-head tie break.  OUR PICK- CEDAR HILL

Pasadena Memorial @ #11 North Shore

    Last year, Pasadena Memorial played North Shore to a 3-3 tie into the third quarter before the Mustangs eventually pulled away and claimed a 20-3 win.  It was one of North Shore’s closest brushes with a district defeat since their last loss in 2001 (Baytown Lee).  Both of these teams are cruising right now with undefeated records, and district championship aspirations. 

    Pasadena Memorial is not ranked because they haven’t played anyone comparable to a top 25 team yet.  They did start the year against Brazoswood, but that game was called as a 7-7 tie.  Both teams agreed to not count the result, so Memorial is 6-0 and not 7-0 like North Shore. 

    Pasadena Memorial crushed Pasadena 44-0 last week and North Shore pounced on Dobie 38-0.  In addition to pitching shutouts last week, they are also outscoring opponents by an identical average of 33 points per game.  North Shore’s put up slightly better offensive numbers while Pasadena Memorial has been stout on defense.  Memorial runs a ball control offense, and North Shore’s attack also centers around the run but is very balanced.  Senior QB Jeremiah McGinty is having a first team all-district caliber season and he has an arsenal of players around him who make the offense go. 

    It will be very interesting to see if we have a repeat of last year’s close game and also if the defenses control the game as they did a year ago.  If Memorial plays impressively against North Shore, we will know they’ve really got a good team.  We are going with North Shore because of their balance on offense and their strength against the run on defense.  OUR PICK- NORTH SHORE

#2 Southlake Carroll @ Grapevine

    Grapevine is the last 5-5A team to scare Carroll in district play.  Grapevine came within five points of Carroll in 2005, 26-21.  These two communities are only a stone’s throw away from one another and sometimes weird things happen when two rivals hook up.  This game will be televised live on Fox Sports Net this Thursday night (6 pm kick).

    Both of these teams were challenged last week.  Grapevine beat Richland 31-16.  Richland came off a heartbreaking loss to Keller the week before that all but erased their playoff hopes.  Carroll needed a little extra time to pull away from Keller in a 43-16 game.  Carroll (7-1) and Grapevine (6-2) both have 5-0 district records.

    This game is highly likely to feature many points.  Carroll averages 48 points a game and Grapevine is around 35 per.  Key players for each are out with injuries, so that factor probably evens out.  The focal point of this match-up is likely the quarterback battle between senior Matt Harbin of Grapevine and senior Riley Dodge of Southlake Carroll. 

    We are picking our #2 team in this game, and it’ll be interesting to see if Grapevine can get after the Dragons and stay in the game longer than the first two quarters.  The Dragons are usually on cruise control by the 3^rd quarter. Of course, the Dragons get the edge in a TV match-up.  They are used to playing in front of the cameras.  OUR PICK-  SOUTHLAKE CARROLL