West Texas: Week 7 Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2023 West Texas high school football season enters Week 7 with several must-watch on the schedule. Here the top five games in each region:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PANHANDLE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game of the Week:</strong> <strong>Bushland (5-1) at Muleshoe (6-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bushland,the No. 2 team in the MaxPreps Amarillo poll, travels to Muleshoe to face the unbeaten Mules, ranked No. 6 in the MaxPreps Lubbock poll, in the District 3A-2 opener for both teams. Muleshoe QB [player_tooltip player_id='1131353' first='Nathan' last='Martens'] has thrown for 1,278 yards and he's supported by a solid ground game. Bushland is coming off a 63-28 victory over El paso Riverside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Childress at Canadian</strong>: Few teams in West Texas have been as dominant as Canadian, the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Amarillo poll. QB Camren Cavalier leads a high-powered offense. Childress has lost two of three games after an encouraging 2-0 start. RB Dareon Mathis is the Bobcats' main offensive threat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Panhandle at Highland Park</strong>: Undefeated Panhandle is off to an impressive 5-0 start while Highland Park is 4-1. Panhandle had a bye last week and they needed it after outlasting Wellington in OT the previous week. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Seminole at West Plains</strong>: Two high-powered offenses clash. Seminole has 1,058 yards in total offense its two games while White Plains, led by QB Reid Macon, has scored 41+ points in all five games this season. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Farwell at Stratford</strong>: Unbeaten Stratford has basically run over people with a balanced rushing attack. Farwell won its first fours and the Steers also love to run the ball. The clock will run quickly in this one. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>More Games To Watch:</strong> Hereford at Pampa; Wellington at Shamrock; Palo Duro at Lubbock; Randall at Dumas; Dalhart at River Road.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SOUTH PLAINS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game of the Week: Amarillo (3-3) at Lubbock-Cooper (3-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Amarillo has won its last two games following a 1-3 start, both lopsided victories over Tascosa and Caprock. Senior QB Will Flaming and RB Pius Vokes are a dynamic backfield combination. Lubbock-Cooper has bounced back from consecutive 35-34 losses to Frenship and Wylie with convincing wins over Wichita Falls Rider and Lubbock Coronado. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lubbock Monterey at Tascosa</strong> <strong>(Thur.)</strong>: It's strange to see Tascosa with a 1-5 record and No. 10 ranking in the MaxPreps Amarillo poll. But the Rebels have struggled to stop the run all season long. As a result, they need to start winning to make the playoffs. Monterey has fallen back a bit after opening the season with two wins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Colleyville Covenant Christian at Trinity Christian</strong>: Trinity Christian's defense hasn't allowed more than 14 points in any of the last four games. Covenant has scored 34+ points in each of its last three games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Abilene Wylie at Plainview</strong>: Plainview had a bye week following the close loss to rival Hereford on Sept. 22, so they're eager to get back onto the field. Wylie has won three straight games. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sunray at Lubbock Christian</strong>: Sunray is 5-1 thanks to a prolific passing attack led by QB Armando Lujan. Lubbock Christian is 5-0 and has pummeled its last three opponents. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>More Games To Watch:</strong> New Home at Seagraves; Lubbock Roosevelt at Stanton; Coahoma at Littlefield; Denver City at Brownfield; Idalou at Abernathy; Floydada at Sundown. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/FootballLCP/status/1708870705813790913?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/FootballLCP/status/1708870705813790913?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PERMIAN BASIN</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game of the Week: Wolfforth Frenship (5-0) at Midland Legacy (4-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's a Clash of the Titans in the district opener for both teams. Unbeaten Frenship is No. 1 in the MaxPreps Lubbock poll while Midland Legacy is No. 1 in the MaxPreps Permian Basin poll. Besides plenty of winning, the two teams share something else – outstanding QB play. Both Hudson Hutcheson (1,628 passing yards) and [player_tooltip player_id='119032' first='Marcos' last='Davila'] (1,369) are next level talents with Davila committed to Purdue. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Midland at San Angelo Central (Thur.)</strong>: Midland will run the ball and then run the ball some more (211 of 249 snaps have been running plays). So far, it's worked to perfection for the Bulldogs. SA Central is 1-4 but three of their losses have been by 8 points or less.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Odessa at Odessa Permian</strong>: It's the ‘Rumble at Ratliff,' one of the best game environments in Texas high school football. In fact, the Permian side of the stadium is sold out. Both teams are 3-2 but Odessa is ranked one spot higher than Permian in the MaxPreps Permian Basin poll. Let's rumble!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Monahans at Pecos</strong>: Monahans is ranked higher (No. 3) than either Odessa or Permian in the latest MaxPreps Permian Basin poll. Monahans enjoyed a bye last week after five convincing victories to open the season. The closest win was 21 points. Pecos looks to snap a two-game losing streak.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Midland Christian at Fort Worth All Saints</strong>: Midland Christian has won two straight after an 0-3 start. The Mustangs are balanced both running and catching the football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>More Games To Watch</strong>: Fort Stockton at Clint; Forsan at Reagan County; Crane at Alpine; Brownwood at Big Spring; Sterling City at McCamey; Lamesa at Kermit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/OdessaPermian/status/1706051544020386209?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/OdessaPermian/status/1706051544020386209?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/midlandhighfb/status/1709909195137450284?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/midlandhighfb/status/1709909195137450284?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FAR WEST TEXAS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game of the Week:</strong> <strong>Eastwood (4-1) at Americas (4-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Competition in District 6A-1 is well underway (see below) and both of these teams are off to great starts. They are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the MaxPreps El Paso poll. Eastwood is undefeated in district play (3-0). QB <strong>Evan Minjarez</strong> has already accounted for close to 1,900 yards with his arm and feet. Americas is getting better every week. Over the past three weeks, the Trailblazers have beaten Franklin, Eastlake and Pebble Hills. Impressive.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pebble Hills at Socorro</strong>: Pebble Hills lost some of its early season momentum with last week's one-point loss to Americas. They should get back on track against struggling Socorro.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eastlake at Montwood</strong>: If Eastwood-Americas is the GOTW, this matchup is No. 2. Montwood is undefeated in district play (3-0) while Eastlake has lost just one time. District 6A-1 is deep, and some very good football teams will be left out of the playoffs. Every win is precious.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Del Valle at Parkland</strong>: Running a balanced offense in terms of run-pass ratio, Del Valle is 5-1 and off to a 1-0 start in District 5A-1. Parkland snapped a two-game losing streak with last week's win over Ysleta.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Canutillo at Burges</strong>: Both teams open play in District 5A-2. Canutillo had a bye last week following an impressive 37-7 win over Parkland. Burges is 0-5 and its defense has struggled all season. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>More Games To Watch</strong>: El Dorado at EP Coronado; Bel Air at Ysleta; Jefferson at Chapin (Thur.); Mountain View at Fabens (Thur.); Horizon at Hanks; San Elizario at EP Austin; Andress at El Paso; Fort Stockton at Clint.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1033048,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-05-at-18-00-52-6A-Region-I-District-1-Football-Standings.png?w=711" alt="" class="wp-image-1033048" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->