December 17, 2024 • 19 mins
From Class 6A to 6-man, Greg Tepper and Craig Way have you covered! They preview all of the Texas High School Football State Championships this week!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
A couple of quick things on the text line. When
(00:02):
I was talking about all the Bowl games that had
been a part of the broadcast, both as the analyst
in the late nineties to early two thousands and then
play by place and so too. Our man CB said,
I remember when Christmas Day was the only Blue Gray game,
that was the only game was on there. He said,
I know, lifetime long worn. James Brown won the MVP
of the Blue Gray Game he played in. Yeah, and
(00:24):
then it became pretty popular on Christmas Day, the Aloha
Bowl before it was the Hawaii Bowl there, and then
there was that, and then then the NFL kind of
got involved with that, so now you know, yeah, yeah,
Christmas games. And somebody else said old CB said that
ninety five Sugar Bowl game you mentioned is remembered for
(00:46):
the Ron McKelvey news breaking before the game, the roster imposter. Yeah,
it's just amazing you think about all these days, twenty
six year old dude going by Ron mcalvy's real name
was Ron Weaver. And then somebody else said, what's the
worst Bowl you've had to call or been to, not
necessarily score, but experience. And I'm going to tell you
(01:07):
I learned a lesson from this. I kind of had
developed that mindset by the time I got around two
thousand and eight, two thousand and nine, whatever, that I
was really worn out on the Holiday Bowl. He said,
A Holiday bowls San Diego was pretty cool. Eh, this
time of year, the Holiday Bowl is kind of damp
and rainy. Plus back in those days it was played
at Qualcomm Stadium, which was an awful place to call
(01:31):
a football game.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
An awful place to call a football game.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
And because you're way back from it, because it's a
baseball thing, and it was just bad, not good. But
I learned from twenty ten never take bowl games for granted.
When Texas and go, I said, I'll be good with
any bowl game from Allen and I have been.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Our man.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Greg Tepper, managing editor at Dave Campbell Texas Football Magazine,
has been around his share of postseason bowl games. Did
you ever go to a bowl game when you were
a student at Missouri?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
I did.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
I went to probably the best season in Missoo history
in two thousand and seven. They played in me two
thousand and eight Cotton Bowl against Arkansas and UH and
dominated Arkansas.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
That was Darren.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
McFadden and Felix Jones. But the running back who stole
the show that day was Tony Temple who set the
uh who set the Cotton Bowl rushing record in that game.
And I was there, and I was I had enjoyed
my New Year's Eve a little bit too much, so
I remember some of it, but I was there. There's
(02:39):
photographic evidence of me there, So uh, it was a
it was a good time.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
And yeah, it was.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Chase Daniel out there slinging it for for Miszoo's Chase Daniel,
Jeremy Macklin, Chase Kaufman, and Martin Rucker. I was a
fun team. That was a really fun team. That was
seven Zoo team.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, yeah, it was. It was a good team, all right.
First of all, keep it on the college front. How
about the news you guys had been put up there
about uh John k being promoted at Rice from linebackers
coach to defensive CORNA. We know, you know what, and
I'm sure some of the coaches didn't know what their
fate was going to be after the coaching change was
(03:13):
made with Mike Bluegren uh not being retained and Scott
Abell coming in. But how about John k being promoted
defensive coordinator.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Uh, it's fabulous. I think it's a fabulous move. And
I think that what's interesting is that, you know, whenever
a guy makes that lead from high school to college, uh,
you know, as an assistant, there's usually no guarantee of
whether or not it's going.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
To work there.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
There have been there have been really highly successful high
school football coaches who jump to the college drinks it
just doesn't work out for them.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
That's okay.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
They're just wired different ways, so you never really know.
But I think that we got word pretty early on
in in John K's time there at Rice that Okay,
this is going to be his forever home here, Like
he's a college guy. Now, he gets it, he fits here,
and he's got the ball knowledge to make it ask
And I think that that's what you've seen here and
(04:02):
he has gained that kind of respect. I think what
you are in what you're going to see here is
the he is on a fast track to being a
college head coach. Maybe maybe not at the FBS level
right away, and maybe they're stopped somewhere at SCS or
something like that, but I think he is on that
fast track. He is following that that kind of trajectory
(04:24):
of going from a position coach to then you know,
even when there's not the results right to going to
defensive coordinator. If things worked out for an under Scott
Abel and uh, you know, the way they play offense,
it actually might behoove them to have a pretty good
defense as a result, then then he may he's going
to start getting some looks. And certainly his his resume
in the high school ranks, uh stands up ins almost
(04:46):
anybody else's. But but we had gotten word about a
year into John k time there at Rice that yeah,
he's a college guy. Now he's he's not heading back
to high school anytime sooner. And I think that that
Scott Abel recognized that whenever he took over there at Rice.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Are you going over to the Toyota Stadium for the
Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl to night between Memphis and West Virginia.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
I won't be.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Going over to the Toyota Stadium for the Scooters Coffee
Frisco Bowl of Texas Extravaganza, and and and you.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Know I will be heading over there.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Tonight is actually as you as you well know, tonight
is the last night before the state championship start, and
so tonight I need to make sure my kids remember
what I look like for the next five days because
I'm going to be there, but I'll be paying attention
to what's going on over there in Frisco.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, well, I noticed on Twitter you showed how you
were laying out all your clothes for.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
The next several days.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
That's a chore there, it is because here's the thing,
and this is what people don't understand. Okay, uh, you
have to wait until the teams are decided all in
the games, and then you have to figure out exactly
what colors those guys are, and you have to avoid
those colors because like, for example, you know you and
I are going to be on the call tomorrow for
tomorrow night for Munster and Shiner fat really excited. I
(06:05):
can't show up in a red tie for Munster. I
can't show up in a purple tie for for for Shiner.
I've got to be smart about these things, and luckily
I have a highly trained, extremely savvy fashion consultant and
and stylists who also is my wife that helps me
pick out my outfit.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Yeah, that's a good thing. Now there's another way to
look at that chap. Like, for example, I have Richmond
Randall and South ok Cliff on Friday night. Well, they
both have black in their uniforms. I'm gonna wear my
black suit Friday night.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Listen.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
That's that's fine. I think that's okay. They're both man, That's.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
The thing hit me.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
If it's a if it's as if it's green versus green,
I think you're okay to wear a green tie. The
issue is going to be if it's green versus blue,
and you show up in a green tie, then suddenly
the blue team is going to think that you're you're
in the tank for for for them.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Yeah, it's a good point. It's good.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Let's talk about some of these games. Uh, we'll start
off with and we've kind of done a little bit
of the breakdown on that anyway. But I don't know
if breakdown is going to be the proper phraseology.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Maybe it will be for the two six man games.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Tomorrow, because I can't remember two state championship games in
the same classification that have perhaps as disparate a viewpoint
on who is probably gonna win and who's probably gonna
lose is what we have in these two games.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
It's really interesting, and it's for different reasons. Okay, So
the one A Division two game, Jaydon is a pretty
clear favorite in that game, and that's because they are
playing one of the most unlikely state finalists we've seen
a long time, Oakwood five lost. Oakwood, a team that
was two and five in the middle of the season,
is a title game because they just got white hot
(07:47):
at the right time and they found They've won on
the margins in two real upset wins in the regional
final over Irodale and then in the state semifinal in
what what I think was a real gobsmacker against Oglesby,
but they've found a way through. They're into their first
ever eleven mans or six man state championship under a lump.
JJ Johnson the head coach. I know they're fired up
(08:08):
down there in Oakwood, but Jaden enters that game is
pretty clear favorite, I think simply because of the Cinderella
nature of Oakwood. And then in the one A Division
one game with white Face, a first time state finalist,
undefeated taking on Gordon. You know, this is the only
match of von Beaton's in the state championship games going
on tomorrow at two o'clock and Gordon is a pretty
clear favorite in that one. Even though White Faces the
(08:30):
pret aren't good team, They're not an accidental three fourteen
and oh they're a good ball club. It's that Gordon
has looked like perhaps an historically excellent ball club, and
I think that is the thing that sets them apart.
Their defense is allowing something like six points per game,
which is six man football is beyond beyond belief. It
(08:53):
is absolutely remarkable what they've done. So you do have
clear favorites in the six man games, but I think
that they're for different reasons.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yeah, would you put Oaquid in the category of say,
what was it a few years ago bowling against Gunner
of first time or teams that were in the state
championship and you wonder how.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Did they get here?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I mean, I go all the way back, gosh, I mean,
I can think back to some way on back in
the day where you were just kind of uless. Trinity
in ninety two is five and five going to the playoffs.
They reached the final against a juggernaut and Judson who
beat them fifty two to nothing.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Things like that is like one of these things is
not like the others.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
They're definitely in that category. I think that that is
really a lot of what they've been able to do
is they've gotten hot at the right time. They won
the right games by Finn Margins, they pulled some upsets
playing and simple, and I think you've had a couple
of those you mentioned, you know, I think bowling is
an excellent example. Then, of course Vernon Jackson Lee in
the way, do you remember actually another team that had
gonna played Paul Pewett when they moved in the title game.
(09:57):
That was pretty unlikely whenever they kind of rash the party.
But it has been a minute since we had a
true like what are you doing here? Type team in
the state championship game. But I would say certainly Oakwood
would qualify. It's interesting if you were to in one
(10:17):
a Division two, Jayden might be the number one team,
But I think that when you take a where oak
Wood would be, that might be like fourteenth or fifteenth.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Right right, Okay, all right, So you mentioned to a
division one, which you and I are calling tomorrow, and
I that could be a real banger. I if we
resist the temptation to refer to Munster versus Shiner simply
as our colleague Aaron Hartigan.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Calls it the beer cheese Bowl.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
If we resist that temptation and we just get down
to how big this game is. It's a pretty dog
one important game and a great matchup.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Oh, it's a spectacular matchup. I think it's one of
the best matchups of the weekend. And you take a
look at what these teams have done well. They actually
that think matchup really well with one another. You're gonna
have Cason Carney at the control of what has been
a high powered monster attack. They have been rolling right now.
The junior quarterback has stepped up in a huge way.
They have a number of weapons on the outside, but
(11:15):
he is really the straw that series of drink. And
then for Shiner folks, the split back verer is back. Okay,
in the Year of Our Lord twenty twenty four, we
got a team running the split back veer in a
state championship game. There's gonna be some There's gonna be
some knowing nods and some Arry smiles across the state
whenever they see the Comanche lineup. They run it really well.
(11:37):
Carson shooting their quarterback's been terrific. They got a sophomore
running back in Quincy Jones and more importantly, their defense,
very very really physical ball club. And what I love
about small school. These are two teams that when I
talk with coaches about it, they say, man, they are
really really physical, both of them. They really lay the lumber.
And then you go and you look at their rosters
and for example, Shiner average is one hundred and sixty
(11:58):
eight pounds in this game. So it's gonna be it's
gonna be physical, but maybe in a different kind of way.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Yeah, yeah, I know that.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
If folks talk the Verer died with Highland Park in
the late nineties, think again, it's it's come back. Okay,
Uh to a d one Gnado and Stamford.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
How about that one?
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Another spectacular game and another kind of kind of strength
on strength matchup. You know, Ganado was our preseason number
one team, uh, and they've lived up to the hype.
Josh Irvin, all of thirty years old, will lead Gnado
into the state championship game for the first time ever.
They are so fired up there and they've got a
really great shot here because of quarterback Bryce Ollman and
(12:35):
sophomore running back Logan Burris and a defense I think
is peaking at the right time. But they will have
to get past one of the most unstoppable teams in
all of two A in the Stanford Bulldogs, because Wayne
Hutchinson back in the back in the saddle there, and
they have got a guy in Caston Vega who is
a two way a running back and linebacker. He is
(12:56):
going to take your breath away. I'm really excited for
a whole state to really get a look at that
young man because I think he's really special.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
All right, Can Woodville stay on the field with Gunner
and three A D two?
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yes? And I'm telling on you all. Okay, this is
the one. I'm not calling an upset, but I'm telling
you that Woodville profiles as the type of team that
tends to give Gunner trouble in state championship games. Highly
athletic teams win a lot of speed on the outside,
and they've got it. Quarterback Luke Bavin has been terrific.
He's got a terrific story too as well. I want
(13:26):
to say that his mom is like a like a
champion volleyball player from Brazil. It's amazing. And then but
they've got a tad On Hunter at the running back spot.
I don't think they're you know, I think Gunner's your
favorite to win the three pet but I don't think
that this is some sort of walkover. I think Woodville's
got a great shot in this game.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
I said at the start of the year the two
most fascinating classifications to me were three A Division one
and five A Division two. And I'm tickled that they
get to call both of those finals and you and
I get to work Columbus Malakoff, which I'm just saying
right now, I think quite well could wind up being
the best game of all of them.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Let's start with this. It's the best quarterback matchup of
the weekend. In Mike Jones for Malakoff taking on Adam
Shovel for Columbus. That game is fantastic. I'm in the
point to my friend Matt Stepp, I said, this is
a you know, when you when you put together a
wrestling card, a professional wrestling card. Of course, the World
Heavyweight Championship goes on last, but you need a really
big match in the middle to keep people excited. This
(14:22):
is the Intercontinental Championship, is what this is. Okay, this
is Shawn Michaels versus Brett Hart. This is a fantastic
kind of midway point of the State championship games.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Probably the first time anybody's ever compared Columbus to Sewn Michaels.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
But anyway, YEA for.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
AD two, the Carthage is Carthage's Carthage is Carthage.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
But can Levega hang with him?
Speaker 3 (14:44):
I think they can, And I'll tell you that you
know Scott Sarratt Fantasy nine and zero State Championship Games,
but Don Hyde is a ball coaching jack and a
defensive wizard that is a terrific chess match. There can
the Lavega defense fine stops on Carthage. And if you
have not seen Waco la Vega Sophtoball quarterback Courtney Parr,
I think he's a real breakout star in this game.
(15:06):
But I think the karth is probably your favorite to
win number ten under scouts are out for eighty one.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
I'm excited to get this one because I look at
the contrast. Kilgore has all of this great athleticism and
good coaching and Solana is just a machine, which I
think is sets up for something.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Good playmakers playing a simple bo Bentley, the superstar quarterback
for Solana, he's in box office. And then Jadie Sanders,
the Michigan signee for kill Gore, is a guy who
can take in the distance every single snap. He needs
a lot of fun to watch. And I think this
is going to be a home run hitting contest back
and forth. How does the Salina offensive line, which have
(15:45):
been so good, deal with that rage and red seven
for the Kilgore Bulldog That is a big matchup in
this one.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I was talking to my wife today when I got
off the conference call with Brian Randall, the head coach
of Richmond Randall today and she asked me about this
game in five a D two between Richmond Randall and
South O'cliffe and I said, it will be hard hitting,
it will be fast, and I said, and it will
be mean.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Do you see that that way?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yeah, these two teams are going to take tire irons
to each other for forty eight minutes. It's going to
be physical. And this is the Randall defense as the
only UIL team to not allow more than fourteen points
in the game this season. They will go up against
the South O'cliffe offense that I think has found some
balance with quarterback Carter Kapeki. The question for me in
this one is a a pedigree disparity Randall's and there
(16:34):
Randall didn't exist the first time Southcliffe made a state
championship in twenty twenty one. And then on the other side,
can the Randal offensive line, which has been a bit
of a trouble spot, can they hold up against a
ferocious front seven.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
For South Oacliff's, Smithson Valley and Highland Park. What did
you say the other night on this five eight one game.
If you like blocking and tackling, you like this game.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Yeah, this is just real fundamental football, Like these are
teams that are just good at the little thing. They
don't beat themself, and of course they're exceptionally well coached.
Randy Allen versus Larry Hill, it's number two versus number nine.
As far as the winningest coaches in Texas high school
football history, they've got to combine seven hundred and sixty
four wins behind between them. So there's a great chess
match here at the nanco for me is quarterback Buck Randall,
(17:17):
the sophomore for Highland Park.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
So that's a very un Highland Park type name. I
just have to say that, you know all right. And
finally in six A, I've got Drew Sanders coming on
next hour. His Vandergrift team, I know, is raised an
eyebrow er two, you know when they blistered Steel and
then coming back from down fourteen early in down ten
late and a half to beat a really good Summer
(17:39):
Creek team. And they play this South Lake Carroll team
that refuses to go away even as they continue to
lose running backs.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
I think two teams of destiny, right, I mean these
are two, and I think a really underrated quarterback matchup.
Miles Talo Decky, the quarterback for Vandergrift has been nails
down the stretch, and then Angelo Renda for South Lake
Carrol has stepped up in a big way because they
are on running back number three. The other game within
the game here is that offensive line for Vandergriff, which
has been so good for them, up against a really
(18:07):
athletic front for Southla Carroll led by Jack Van Dorsalier.
That is a real money matchup in the second the
penultimate game of the season, all right.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
And then finally you have the six A D one.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Jerry Forrest and Pigskin Preps computer either sees it disclosure
a chicken down. It says it's a pickham game between
west Lake and North Crowley.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Do you see it similarly?
Speaker 3 (18:31):
I do. I think there's I think there's a notion
that that North Crowley has got too much weaponry. And
certainly they are beloaded to Chris Jefferson, Quinton Gibson, Cornelius Warren,
Daniel Bray, all the playmakers they got. But my thing
is in a tonnel weapons in North Shore and call
(18:52):
an Elliott Schopper. What a player for Westlake? Can Reese?
Why is the quarterback coming off his best game of
the Chaparrelle Kenny come up with an even better game
he can than. I think Wesley's gonna win the title.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Okay, by the way, I'll leave you with this, Texter said,
reminded us that Shawn Michaels actually played football for the
Randolph Rohawks.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
It all comes back to high school football.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Hey, I'll see you up there tomorrow. I appreciate the
time today, looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Well, all right, that's Greg Chaffer managing get Her at
Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine. He'll join me on the
call tomorrow night for Shiner and Munster I've got the
two six man games prior to that with Granger Hunters.
He'll join me on that and then there'll be other
games throughout the week. Well here from Quinn. You were
coming up on Sports Radio AM thirteen under the Zone.
A couple of quick things on the text line. When
(00:02):
I was talking about all the Bowl games that had
been a part of the broadcast, both as the analyst
in the late nineties to early two thousands and then
play by place and so too. Our man CB said,
I remember when Christmas Day was the only Blue Gray game,
that was the only game was on there. He said,
I know, lifetime long worn. James Brown won the MVP
of the Blue Gray Game he played in. Yeah, and
(00:24):
then it became pretty popular on Christmas Day, the Aloha
Bowl before it was the Hawaii Bowl there, and then
there was that, and then then the NFL kind of
got involved with that, so now you know, yeah, yeah,
Christmas games. And somebody else said old CB said that
ninety five Sugar Bowl game you mentioned is remembered for
(00:46):
the Ron McKelvey news breaking before the game, the roster imposter. Yeah,
it's just amazing you think about all these days, twenty
six year old dude going by Ron mcalvy's real name
was Ron Weaver. And then somebody else said, what's the
worst Bowl you've had to call or been to, not
necessarily score, but experience. And I'm going to tell you
(01:07):
I learned a lesson from this. I kind of had
developed that mindset by the time I got around two
thousand and eight, two thousand and nine, whatever, that I
was really worn out on the Holiday Bowl. He said,
A Holiday bowls San Diego was pretty cool. Eh, this
time of year, the Holiday Bowl is kind of damp
and rainy. Plus back in those days it was played
at Qualcomm Stadium, which was an awful place to call
(01:31):
a football game.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
An awful place to call a football game.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
And because you're way back from it, because it's a
baseball thing, and it was just bad, not good. But
I learned from twenty ten never take bowl games for granted.
When Texas and go, I said, I'll be good with
any bowl game from Allen and I have been.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Our man.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Greg Tepper, managing editor at Dave Campbell Texas Football Magazine,
has been around his share of postseason bowl games. Did
you ever go to a bowl game when you were
a student at Missouri?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
I did.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
I went to probably the best season in Missoo history
in two thousand and seven. They played in me two
thousand and eight Cotton Bowl against Arkansas and UH and
dominated Arkansas.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
That was Darren.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
McFadden and Felix Jones. But the running back who stole
the show that day was Tony Temple who set the
uh who set the Cotton Bowl rushing record in that game.
And I was there, and I was I had enjoyed
my New Year's Eve a little bit too much, so
I remember some of it, but I was there. There's
(02:39):
photographic evidence of me there, So uh, it was a
it was a good time.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
And yeah, it was.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Chase Daniel out there slinging it for for Miszoo's Chase Daniel,
Jeremy Macklin, Chase Kaufman, and Martin Rucker. I was a
fun team. That was a really fun team. That was
seven Zoo team.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, yeah, it was. It was a good team, all right.
First of all, keep it on the college front. How
about the news you guys had been put up there
about uh John k being promoted at Rice from linebackers
coach to defensive CORNA. We know, you know what, and
I'm sure some of the coaches didn't know what their
fate was going to be after the coaching change was
(03:13):
made with Mike Bluegren uh not being retained and Scott
Abell coming in. But how about John k being promoted
defensive coordinator.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Uh, it's fabulous. I think it's a fabulous move. And
I think that what's interesting is that, you know, whenever
a guy makes that lead from high school to college, uh,
you know, as an assistant, there's usually no guarantee of
whether or not it's going.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
To work there.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
There have been there have been really highly successful high
school football coaches who jump to the college drinks it
just doesn't work out for them.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
That's okay.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
They're just wired different ways, so you never really know.
But I think that we got word pretty early on
in in John K's time there at Rice that Okay,
this is going to be his forever home here, Like
he's a college guy. Now, he gets it, he fits here,
and he's got the ball knowledge to make it ask
And I think that that's what you've seen here and
(04:02):
he has gained that kind of respect. I think what
you are in what you're going to see here is
the he is on a fast track to being a
college head coach. Maybe maybe not at the FBS level
right away, and maybe they're stopped somewhere at SCS or
something like that, but I think he is on that
fast track. He is following that that kind of trajectory
(04:24):
of going from a position coach to then you know,
even when there's not the results right to going to
defensive coordinator. If things worked out for an under Scott
Abel and uh, you know, the way they play offense,
it actually might behoove them to have a pretty good
defense as a result, then then he may he's going
to start getting some looks. And certainly his his resume
in the high school ranks, uh stands up ins almost
(04:46):
anybody else's. But but we had gotten word about a
year into John k time there at Rice that yeah,
he's a college guy. Now he's he's not heading back
to high school anytime sooner. And I think that that
Scott Abel recognized that whenever he took over there at Rice.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Are you going over to the Toyota Stadium for the
Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl to night between Memphis and West Virginia.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
I won't be.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Going over to the Toyota Stadium for the Scooters Coffee
Frisco Bowl of Texas Extravaganza, and and and you.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Know I will be heading over there.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Tonight is actually as you as you well know, tonight
is the last night before the state championship start, and
so tonight I need to make sure my kids remember
what I look like for the next five days because
I'm going to be there, but I'll be paying attention
to what's going on over there in Frisco.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, well, I noticed on Twitter you showed how you
were laying out all your clothes for.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
The next several days.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
That's a chore there, it is because here's the thing,
and this is what people don't understand. Okay, uh, you
have to wait until the teams are decided all in
the games, and then you have to figure out exactly
what colors those guys are, and you have to avoid
those colors because like, for example, you know you and
I are going to be on the call tomorrow for
tomorrow night for Munster and Shiner fat really excited. I
(06:05):
can't show up in a red tie for Munster. I
can't show up in a purple tie for for for Shiner.
I've got to be smart about these things, and luckily
I have a highly trained, extremely savvy fashion consultant and
and stylists who also is my wife that helps me
pick out my outfit.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Yeah, that's a good thing. Now there's another way to
look at that chap. Like, for example, I have Richmond
Randall and South ok Cliff on Friday night. Well, they
both have black in their uniforms. I'm gonna wear my
black suit Friday night.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Listen.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
That's that's fine. I think that's okay. They're both man, That's.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
The thing hit me.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
If it's a if it's as if it's green versus green,
I think you're okay to wear a green tie. The
issue is going to be if it's green versus blue,
and you show up in a green tie, then suddenly
the blue team is going to think that you're you're
in the tank for for for them.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Yeah, it's a good point. It's good.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Let's talk about some of these games. Uh, we'll start
off with and we've kind of done a little bit
of the breakdown on that anyway. But I don't know
if breakdown is going to be the proper phraseology.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Maybe it will be for the two six man games.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Tomorrow, because I can't remember two state championship games in
the same classification that have perhaps as disparate a viewpoint
on who is probably gonna win and who's probably gonna
lose is what we have in these two games.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
It's really interesting, and it's for different reasons. Okay, So
the one A Division two game, Jaydon is a pretty
clear favorite in that game, and that's because they are
playing one of the most unlikely state finalists we've seen
a long time, Oakwood five lost. Oakwood, a team that
was two and five in the middle of the season,
is a title game because they just got white hot
(07:47):
at the right time and they found They've won on
the margins in two real upset wins in the regional
final over Irodale and then in the state semifinal in
what what I think was a real gobsmacker against Oglesby,
but they've found a way through. They're into their first
ever eleven mans or six man state championship under a lump.
JJ Johnson the head coach. I know they're fired up
(08:08):
down there in Oakwood, but Jaden enters that game is
pretty clear favorite, I think simply because of the Cinderella
nature of Oakwood. And then in the one A Division
one game with white Face, a first time state finalist,
undefeated taking on Gordon. You know, this is the only
match of von Beaton's in the state championship games going
on tomorrow at two o'clock and Gordon is a pretty
clear favorite in that one. Even though White Faces the
(08:30):
pret aren't good team, They're not an accidental three fourteen
and oh they're a good ball club. It's that Gordon
has looked like perhaps an historically excellent ball club, and
I think that is the thing that sets them apart.
Their defense is allowing something like six points per game,
which is six man football is beyond beyond belief. It
(08:53):
is absolutely remarkable what they've done. So you do have
clear favorites in the six man games, but I think
that they're for different reasons.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yeah, would you put Oaquid in the category of say,
what was it a few years ago bowling against Gunner
of first time or teams that were in the state
championship and you wonder how.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Did they get here?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I mean, I go all the way back, gosh, I mean,
I can think back to some way on back in
the day where you were just kind of uless. Trinity
in ninety two is five and five going to the playoffs.
They reached the final against a juggernaut and Judson who
beat them fifty two to nothing.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Things like that is like one of these things is
not like the others.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
They're definitely in that category. I think that that is
really a lot of what they've been able to do
is they've gotten hot at the right time. They won
the right games by Finn Margins, they pulled some upsets
playing and simple, and I think you've had a couple
of those you mentioned, you know, I think bowling is
an excellent example. Then, of course Vernon Jackson Lee in
the way, do you remember actually another team that had
gonna played Paul Pewett when they moved in the title game.
(09:57):
That was pretty unlikely whenever they kind of rash the party.
But it has been a minute since we had a
true like what are you doing here? Type team in
the state championship game. But I would say certainly Oakwood
would qualify. It's interesting if you were to in one
(10:17):
a Division two, Jayden might be the number one team,
But I think that when you take a where oak
Wood would be, that might be like fourteenth or fifteenth.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Right right, Okay, all right, So you mentioned to a
division one, which you and I are calling tomorrow, and
I that could be a real banger. I if we
resist the temptation to refer to Munster versus Shiner simply
as our colleague Aaron Hartigan.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Calls it the beer cheese Bowl.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
If we resist that temptation and we just get down
to how big this game is. It's a pretty dog
one important game and a great matchup.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Oh, it's a spectacular matchup. I think it's one of
the best matchups of the weekend. And you take a
look at what these teams have done well. They actually
that think matchup really well with one another. You're gonna
have Cason Carney at the control of what has been
a high powered monster attack. They have been rolling right now.
The junior quarterback has stepped up in a huge way.
They have a number of weapons on the outside, but
(11:15):
he is really the straw that series of drink. And
then for Shiner folks, the split back verer is back. Okay,
in the Year of Our Lord twenty twenty four, we
got a team running the split back veer in a
state championship game. There's gonna be some There's gonna be
some knowing nods and some Arry smiles across the state
whenever they see the Comanche lineup. They run it really well.
(11:37):
Carson shooting their quarterback's been terrific. They got a sophomore
running back in Quincy Jones and more importantly, their defense,
very very really physical ball club. And what I love
about small school. These are two teams that when I
talk with coaches about it, they say, man, they are
really really physical, both of them. They really lay the lumber.
And then you go and you look at their rosters
and for example, Shiner average is one hundred and sixty
(11:58):
eight pounds in this game. So it's gonna be it's
gonna be physical, but maybe in a different kind of way.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Yeah, yeah, I know that.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
If folks talk the Verer died with Highland Park in
the late nineties, think again, it's it's come back. Okay,
Uh to a d one Gnado and Stamford.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
How about that one?
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Another spectacular game and another kind of kind of strength
on strength matchup. You know, Ganado was our preseason number
one team, uh, and they've lived up to the hype.
Josh Irvin, all of thirty years old, will lead Gnado
into the state championship game for the first time ever.
They are so fired up there and they've got a
really great shot here because of quarterback Bryce Ollman and
(12:35):
sophomore running back Logan Burris and a defense I think
is peaking at the right time. But they will have
to get past one of the most unstoppable teams in
all of two A in the Stanford Bulldogs, because Wayne
Hutchinson back in the back in the saddle there, and
they have got a guy in Caston Vega who is
a two way a running back and linebacker. He is
(12:56):
going to take your breath away. I'm really excited for
a whole state to really get a look at that
young man because I think he's really special.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
All right, Can Woodville stay on the field with Gunner
and three A D two?
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yes? And I'm telling on you all. Okay, this is
the one. I'm not calling an upset, but I'm telling
you that Woodville profiles as the type of team that
tends to give Gunner trouble in state championship games. Highly
athletic teams win a lot of speed on the outside,
and they've got it. Quarterback Luke Bavin has been terrific.
He's got a terrific story too as well. I want
(13:26):
to say that his mom is like a like a
champion volleyball player from Brazil. It's amazing. And then but
they've got a tad On Hunter at the running back spot.
I don't think they're you know, I think Gunner's your
favorite to win the three pet but I don't think
that this is some sort of walkover. I think Woodville's
got a great shot in this game.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
I said at the start of the year the two
most fascinating classifications to me were three A Division one
and five A Division two. And I'm tickled that they
get to call both of those finals and you and
I get to work Columbus Malakoff, which I'm just saying
right now, I think quite well could wind up being
the best game of all of them.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Let's start with this. It's the best quarterback matchup of
the weekend. In Mike Jones for Malakoff taking on Adam
Shovel for Columbus. That game is fantastic. I'm in the
point to my friend Matt Stepp, I said, this is
a you know, when you when you put together a
wrestling card, a professional wrestling card. Of course, the World
Heavyweight Championship goes on last, but you need a really
big match in the middle to keep people excited. This
(14:22):
is the Intercontinental Championship, is what this is. Okay, this
is Shawn Michaels versus Brett Hart. This is a fantastic
kind of midway point of the State championship games.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Probably the first time anybody's ever compared Columbus to Sewn Michaels.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
But anyway, YEA for.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
AD two, the Carthage is Carthage's Carthage is Carthage.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
But can Levega hang with him?
Speaker 3 (14:44):
I think they can, And I'll tell you that you
know Scott Sarratt Fantasy nine and zero State Championship Games,
but Don Hyde is a ball coaching jack and a
defensive wizard that is a terrific chess match. There can
the Lavega defense fine stops on Carthage. And if you
have not seen Waco la Vega Sophtoball quarterback Courtney Parr,
I think he's a real breakout star in this game.
(15:06):
But I think the karth is probably your favorite to
win number ten under scouts are out for eighty one.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
I'm excited to get this one because I look at
the contrast. Kilgore has all of this great athleticism and
good coaching and Solana is just a machine, which I
think is sets up for something.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Good playmakers playing a simple bo Bentley, the superstar quarterback
for Solana, he's in box office. And then Jadie Sanders,
the Michigan signee for kill Gore, is a guy who
can take in the distance every single snap. He needs
a lot of fun to watch. And I think this
is going to be a home run hitting contest back
and forth. How does the Salina offensive line, which have
(15:45):
been so good, deal with that rage and red seven
for the Kilgore Bulldog That is a big matchup in
this one.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I was talking to my wife today when I got
off the conference call with Brian Randall, the head coach
of Richmond Randall today and she asked me about this
game in five a D two between Richmond Randall and
South O'cliffe and I said, it will be hard hitting,
it will be fast, and I said, and it will
be mean.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Do you see that that way?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yeah, these two teams are going to take tire irons
to each other for forty eight minutes. It's going to
be physical. And this is the Randall defense as the
only UIL team to not allow more than fourteen points
in the game this season. They will go up against
the South O'cliffe offense that I think has found some
balance with quarterback Carter Kapeki. The question for me in
this one is a a pedigree disparity Randall's and there
(16:34):
Randall didn't exist the first time Southcliffe made a state
championship in twenty twenty one. And then on the other side,
can the Randal offensive line, which has been a bit
of a trouble spot, can they hold up against a
ferocious front seven.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
For South Oacliff's, Smithson Valley and Highland Park. What did
you say the other night on this five eight one game.
If you like blocking and tackling, you like this game.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Yeah, this is just real fundamental football, Like these are
teams that are just good at the little thing. They
don't beat themself, and of course they're exceptionally well coached.
Randy Allen versus Larry Hill, it's number two versus number nine.
As far as the winningest coaches in Texas high school
football history, they've got to combine seven hundred and sixty
four wins behind between them. So there's a great chess
match here at the nanco for me is quarterback Buck Randall,
(17:17):
the sophomore for Highland Park.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
So that's a very un Highland Park type name. I
just have to say that, you know all right. And
finally in six A, I've got Drew Sanders coming on
next hour. His Vandergrift team, I know, is raised an
eyebrow er two, you know when they blistered Steel and
then coming back from down fourteen early in down ten
late and a half to beat a really good Summer
(17:39):
Creek team. And they play this South Lake Carroll team
that refuses to go away even as they continue to
lose running backs.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
I think two teams of destiny, right, I mean these
are two, and I think a really underrated quarterback matchup.
Miles Talo Decky, the quarterback for Vandergrift has been nails
down the stretch, and then Angelo Renda for South Lake
Carrol has stepped up in a big way because they
are on running back number three. The other game within
the game here is that offensive line for Vandergriff, which
has been so good for them, up against a really
(18:07):
athletic front for Southla Carroll led by Jack Van Dorsalier.
That is a real money matchup in the second the
penultimate game of the season, all right.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
And then finally you have the six A D one.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Jerry Forrest and Pigskin Preps computer either sees it disclosure
a chicken down. It says it's a pickham game between
west Lake and North Crowley.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Do you see it similarly?
Speaker 3 (18:31):
I do. I think there's I think there's a notion
that that North Crowley has got too much weaponry. And
certainly they are beloaded to Chris Jefferson, Quinton Gibson, Cornelius Warren,
Daniel Bray, all the playmakers they got. But my thing
is in a tonnel weapons in North Shore and call
(18:52):
an Elliott Schopper. What a player for Westlake? Can Reese?
Why is the quarterback coming off his best game of
the Chaparrelle Kenny come up with an even better game
he can than. I think Wesley's gonna win the title.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Okay, by the way, I'll leave you with this, Texter said,
reminded us that Shawn Michaels actually played football for the
Randolph Rohawks.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
It all comes back to high school football.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Hey, I'll see you up there tomorrow. I appreciate the
time today, looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Well, all right, that's Greg Chaffer managing get Her at
Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine. He'll join me on the
call tomorrow night for Shiner and Munster I've got the
two six man games prior to that with Granger Hunters.
He'll join me on that and then there'll be other
games throughout the week. Well here from Quinn. You were
coming up on Sports Radio AM thirteen under the Zone.
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