Football Friday Night: Week Nine

We have entered the final week of regular season high school football.  With that only a few playoff spots remain to be contested and we might have multiple districts with shared district champions after last week's action and this week's possible outcomes.

In District 1-5A, Coronado and El Dorado are atop the district and will remain that way if both teams win their Week Ten matchups.  As of now, Montwood and Franklin have the other two spots for the postseason, but that could all change if Eastwood defeats Montwood on Thursday night.  If El Dorado also holds off Franklin, then we have a three-way tie for the final spot with a coin flip to decide the final two entrants.

Chapin is the outright champion of District 1-4A with a 7-0 record and a bye this week.  While Chapin rests up and gets ready for Bi-District action, the rest of the district gets ready for a triple-header at Sun Bowl Stadium on Saturday.  At 4-2, Bowie seems poised to enter the postseason in the third slot, but Jefferson could change that with their huge rivalry game.  Irvin needs to defeat Andress to stay in the conversation or be on the outside looking in.  El Paso, at 2-4, technically isn't eliminated but needs to win and get a lot of help to have a chance.

District 2-4A has all four playoff spots locked up, but could have three of those teams sharing the championship.  Canutillo remains unbeaten in district play, but if they lose to Del Valle on Friday and Eastlake takes care of business with Parkland we could have a three-headed champion in this district. Parkland locked up the final playoff spot this past week by defeating Hanks.

In District 3-3A, Clint stands atop the district but Fabens could change all that.  Clint visits Fabens and Pecos takes on Fort Stockton.  If both Fabens and Pecos wins, we could have three teams sharing the district title.  Either way, Clint, Fabens, Pecos, and Fort Stockton are all guaranteed playoff spots.

Now to the Week Nine action.  On Thursday night, Eastlake overcame a 14-13 deficit to take a 28-21 halftime lead.  Then Eastlake put up 30 third quarter points to run away from Horizon 58-28.

In our N3L Optics Game of the Week, Montwood at Coronado lived up to all the hype. Montwood took the early 14-7 lead, but Coronado answered back to take a 17-14 lead.  Montwood answered again to tie the game at 17-17, before Coronado scored again to take the late lead at 24-17.  Montwood drove the ball and scored a touchdown with less than a minute left in the game.  Montwood Coach Chuck Veliz then decided to go for a two-point conversion and the win.  Unfortunately for the Rams, the two-point attempt failed and the Thunderbirds took home at least a share of the District 1-5A title with the 24-23 victory.

Franklin and Eastwood found themselves in an offensive shootout, trading scores for the first three quarters.  Franklin, however, dominated the final quarter and ran away, 55-31.

Andress and El Paso also found themselves in an offensive shootout.  El Paso jumped out to a surprising 27-10 lead before Andress scored 16 unanswered points to get within one point.  El Paso added to their lead at 34-26, before Andress scored 20 unanswered points to jump out 46-34. El Paso scored yet again to get within 46-41 before Andress  scored another 16 unanswered points to pull away, 62-41.

In other action, Clint clinched at least a share of the District 3-3A title with a huge 27-14 victory over Pecos.  El Dorado stayed tied with Coronado at the top of 1-5A with a 51-29 win over Americas.  Parkland clinched the final playoff spot in 2-4A with a 49-21 thumping of Hanks. Chapin shutout Irvin 35-0.  Bowie came back from a 13-7 deficit to score 37 unanswered points to win 44-13.  Canutillo shockingly struggled against a game Ysleta before sealing the 21-9 victory.  Jefferson dominated Austin 54-7.  Fort Stockton sealed the final 3-3A playoff spot, beating Mountain View 56-21.  John Paul II shut out Cathedral 48-0.  Bel Air got their first district win by defeating Socorro 23-7.  Riverside trampled San Elizario 47-7.

Our Greater El Paso Football Showcase Offensive Player of the Week goes to LeDerrick Wilson from El Dorado High School.  The senior running back had 239 rushing yards on 17 carries, 110 yards on five receptions, and scored six touchdowns in El Dorado's 51-29 victory over Americas High School.

Our One Source Federal Credit Union Defensive Player/Team of the Week goes to Parkland High School sophomore linebacker, Chris Johnson.  Johnson was responsible for two sacks and two fumble recoveries, one of which he returned 82 yards for a touchdown.  He was a huge piece in Parkland's 49-21 defeat of Hanks.

This is how our district standings look going into the final week of the season (c- district champion, p- clinched playoff spot, s- clinched at least share of district title):

1-5A

Coronado 5-1 s

El Dorado 5-1 s

Franklin 4-2

Montwood 4-2

Eastwood 3-3

Americas 2-4

Bel Air 1-5

Socorro 0-6

1-4A

Chapin 7-0 c

Andress 5-1 p

Bowie 4-2

Irvin 3-3

Jefferson 3-3

El Paso 2-4

Burges 1-6

Austin 0-6

2-4A

Canutillo 7-0 s

Del Valle 6-1 p

Eastlake 6-1 p

Parkland 4-3 p

Hanks 3-4

Horizon 2-5

Riverside 2-5

Ysleta 2-5

San Elizario 0-8

3-3A

Clint 4-0 s

Fabens 3-1 p

Pecos 3-1 p

Fort Stockton 2-2 p

Anthony 0-4

Mountain View 0-4

The final week of the regular season looks like this:

Thursday, November 7

Eastwood vs Montwood @ SAC (1-5A)

El Dorado vs Franklin @ Coronado (1-5A)

Friday, November 8

Del Valle @ Canutillo (2-4A)

Clint @ Fabens (3-3A)

Coronado @ Bel Air (1-5A)

Socorro vs Americas @ SAC (1-5A)

Eastlake @ Parkland (2-4A)

Hanks @ Riverside (2-4A)

Ysleta @ Horizon (2-4A)

Anthony @ Mountain View (3-3A)

Tornillo vs Cathedral @ Burges

Saturday, November 9 (All games at Sun Bowl Stadium)

Irvin vs Andress, 10 am (1-4A)

Jefferson vs Bowie, following first game (1-4A)

El Paso vs Austin, following second game (1-4A)