Football season has heated up across El Paso, as teams are now in the midst of district action.

    • Montwood (4-2, 1-0) at Pebble Hills (4-2, 1-0) Sarah Farms Game of the Week Brandon Cohn
    • Del Valle (3-3, 1-0) at Eastwood (1-5, 0-1) Steve Escajeda
    • Canutillo (5-1, 1-0) at Riverside (4-2, 1-0) Jeremy Carranco
    • Ysleta (3-3, 0-1) at Parkland (6-0, 1-0) Jaime Chavez
    • Austin (5-2, 2-1) at Bowie (4-1, 2-0) Beau Bagley
    • Burges (5-1, 2-0) at El Paso (0-6, 0-3) Ray Adauto
    • Andress (4-2, 1-1) at Jefferson (2-4, 1-2) Joey Pennisi
    • El Dorado (0-6, 0-1) at Bel Air (3-3, 0-1) Joe Rodriguez
    • Horizon (2-4, 0-1) at Hanks (3-2, 0-1) Isaiah Ramirez

 

Five Points for Football Friday Night:

Matchup to watch: Montwood vs. Pebble Hills

 

Could this week be that we find the next team out of 1-6A that could challenge Americas for the district title? Considering how good Americas is on both sides of the ball, that would probably be a tough feat to accomplish.

But Montwood-Pebble Hills could give us some insight on who could be the eventual second or third place team in 1-6A. Montwood features their star running back Chris Ramos and has been on a tear since their huge win over Odessa High. Pebble Hills has an array of weapons offensively, starting with their quarterback Sebastian Ochoa, along with receivers Elijah Davis and Anthony Donacio.

Last night: Franklin 28 - Coronado 14 by Danny Lopez 

The Westside Bowl went underway on Thursday, with Franklin and Coronado slugging it out for bragging rights and the Westside Bowl trophy. Franklin would prevail with a final score of 28-14.

The first half of the game was a tall-tale of penalties and missed opportunities. Franklin surprisingly struggled on offense with turnovers by senior quarterback Danny Walther. He threw four interceptions through the duration of the game, while completing 4-of-14 passes for 47 yards.

Coronado would not go down without a fight, as senior cornerback Dallas Slaughter intercepted Walther, giving the ball back to Coronado’s offense. This put the game back within a score late in the fourth quarter as the Cougars were attempting to melt the clock. Coronado would not capitalize on the turnover, as they would fail to convert on a fourth down play which ultimately halted their chances of any comeback.

Cougars senior running back Erwin Sutton rushed for 171 yards and scored two touchdowns. Erwin put the game out of reach with a 73-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Franklin Cougars improve to 6-1 while Coronado dropped to 1-6. Franklin faces Montwood next week on Thursday, while Coronado takes on Socorro.

Overall this game did not disappoint despite the failed attempts to score in the endzone for both teams early in the first quarter. Coronado had an impressive secondary performance, nabbing four interceptions. Franklin has to find a way to get started on the offense quicker as they were lackluster in the first quarter not being able to move the ball down the field.

Hot storyline to watch: Parkland is last of the unbeatens

 

The unbeaten Parkland Matadors look like they are going to cruise to another district title under their sharp gunslinger Gabe Herrera. Last week, they handled Hanks 56-41 and they have Ysleta, Horizon and Riverside for their next three games.

It's way too early but if Canutillo can remain perfect in the district and maybe get their tailback Carlos Amato back, the Nov. 8 matchup between the Eagles and Matadors could be one of the best games this year.

Biggest thing to look for: Can Austin continue success against Bowie? 

 

The ground-and-pound offense that Austin possesses makes them an interesting dark horse team in 2-5A, especially with their last game against Burges (Nov. 8), but can they remain perfect until then? The Panthers average 311.4 rushing yards per game, led by Isaiah Witterstauter (975 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns) and Will Rodriguez (805 rushing yards, eight touchdowns).

Bowie, on the other hand, has been up and down this year. They looked their strongest against Ysleta (45-7) but finished shakily against Irvin (26-14). Should be interesting to see which team can pull it off tonight.

Peep ahead to next week: Franklin vs. Montwood

It was a grimy game for the Cougars against Coronado in the Westside Bowl. Is this Franklin team finally letting injuries catch up to them? The Cougars will have to turn the corner this week if they hope to pull off any sort of key wins in 1-6A down the line. We will truly see which Cougars team we get next week.

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