Football Friday Night Week 10: Schedule, Scores and Storylines

Week 10 marks the point when high school football starts to wind down in El Paso and playoff-talk starts to happen. Join 600 ESPN El Paso for a busy Friday slate of games, starting at 6:30 p.m. with our pregame show.

Beau Bagley and Paul MacKinnon will take our listeners through the week 10 schedule, featuring our 915 Tours Game of the Week, Bowie at Austin.

Reporter schedule:

Bowie (2-0, 7-1) at Austin (1-1, 3-5) Adrian Broaddus (GOTW)
Del Valle (3-0, 7-1) at Ysleta (2-1, 4-4) Joe Rodriguez
Parkland (1-2, 4-4) at Hanks (1-2, 5-3) Brandon Cohn
Franklin (3-3, 5-3) at Eastwood (6-0, 7-1) Steve Escajeda
Montwood (4-2, 4-4) at El Dorado (1-4, 1-7) JD Sursley
Andress (2-1, 3-5) at Burges (1-2, 1-7) Jeremy Carranco
El Paso (1-2, 3-5) at Chapin (2-1, 5-3) Zay Galindo
Irvin (0-2, 1-7) at San Elizario (0-3, 1-8) Ryan Vidales
Clint (1-2, 3-5) at Fabens (3-5, 0-3) Angel Torres
Horizon (0-3, 1-7) at Bel Air (2-1, 7-1) Bill Coon

Here are five things to look out for Football Friday Night week 10:

6A in action on Thursday

Coronado 42 - Socorro 7
Pebble Hills 31 - Eastlake 21

With a commanding win against Eastlake, Pebble Hills improved to 6-2 in the loaded 1-6A district and stamped their place in the Texas state playoffs.

Barring an unforeseen win by Franklin over the soon-to-be district champions Eastwood on Friday evening, the 1-6A playoff outlook should include the Troopers, Montwood Rams, Spartans and Americas Trailblazers.

The Cougars and Falcons, which both had nice starts to the season, look to be on the outside looking in with the playoffs approaching. Now, if the Falcons can somehow upset Eastwood next week; if the Cougars upset the Troopers this week; or, if the Rams somehow lose their next two games, things could get a bit crazy in this district. But for the first time in a while, the playoff picture in this district appears to be more clear.

Game of the week: Bowie at Austin

For seven years, Eric Pichardo has put together a solid program at Austin High School, producing district championship-contenders and helping eventual Division I college football players. And for seven straight seasons, his teams have beaten Bowie, a program that he coached at from 2009-17.

Austin (3-5) is playing to position itself as the second place team in District 1-4A Division I.

However, Bowie (7-1) is playing their best football in years. The Bears have won seven straight games and if they beat the Panthers, they could face Riverside next week for the district championship. At worst with a win, they'll secure the second place spot in the district.

Bowie is led by running backs Alan Mota (835 rushing) and Joe Rodriguez (524), while quarterback Abraham Carrasco (784 passing yards, 315 rushing) is their playmaker through the air. The Bears boast a talented receiver in Antonio Ontiveros, who totals five touchdown receptions for the team.

Austin prides itself on a strong run game themselves, led by tailback Ruben Bustillos (893 rushing). Quarterback Anakin Torres (827 passing) can be a playmaker in the passing game too.

This is a great game in Central El Paso! Ready for a back-and-forth matchup.

Prediction: Bowie 24 - Austin 21

Happy UIL snapshot day! What's next for realignment?

The University of Interscholastic League's (UIL) snapshot day is set for Friday, Oct. 27, which determines each member school to take a record of their enrollment and send them for biennial realignment purposes. These numbers are then totaled to determine classification and divisions for all schools across Texas.

Based on the most recent shakeup in realignment, which saw a formation of a nine-team 1-6A district, among other relevant moves, the 2024 announcement could impact several districts in El Paso.

Just guessing, the 1-6A district will likely feel the biggest impact. If two or three schools end up moving down to Class 5A, it would make the most sense. Similarly, Class 5A is always volatile among its Division I and Division II members.