Big Country Game of the Week: Abilene High, Wylie play big district football games at home
As the calendar flips over to October and the temperatures begin to fall, we get into some meaningful football games.
They don’t get much bigger in the regular season than they do when Abilene High and Abilene Wylie take the field Friday.
AHS takes on Lubbock-Cooper in a game that might decide the District 2-5A Division I title, while Wylie battles Wichita Falls Rider in a game that likely will determine the District 2-5A Division II crown.
The two winners Friday night will certainly be in the driver’s seat for not only their respective league titles, but a playoff berth as well.
Lubbock-Cooper at Abilene High
7 p.m. Friday, Shotwell Stadium
Abilene High (5-2 overall, 3-0 district) has reeled off three consecutive victories, outscoring opponents 156-34 in that span, including a 55-0 win over Amarillo Caprock last week in Amarillo.
AHS has plenty of weapons on offense, and the defense is disruptive and opportunistic.
Lubbock-Cooper (4-2, 2-0) is averaging 38 points a game, while allowing 13.8 a contest. The Pirates, who have losses to Wolfforth Frenship (35-34 in overtime) and Abilene Wylie (35-34), has since crushed its opponents — Wichita Falls Rider 34-7, Lubbock Coronado 35-2 and Amarillo High 49-19.
Lubbock-Cooper won the first meeting between the two programs 11-8 last year in Woodrow, but this is an Eagle team much better offensively than it was a year ago.
The pick: AHS 38, Lubbock-Cooper 35
Wichita Falls Rider at Abilene Wylie
7 p.m. Friday, Hugh Sandifer Stadium
Rider (4-2, 1-0) isn’t quite as athletic or balanced offensively as it has been in the past, but the Raiders can pound the ball on the ground and play solid defense.
Running backs Kenji Johnson (92-632 8 TDs) and Elijah Jackson (61-331 9 TDs) are hard to stop, while Jed Castles (52-91-5—611 7 TDs) leads a passing game that will keep defenses honest.
Wylie (4-2, 1-0) is playing like a crosstown version of Abilene High. The Bulldogs, finally healthy, have a solid QB in Bear Meng (65-110-3—1,039 13 TDs), and he has two dangerous receivers in Derrick Evans (21-512 6 TDs) and Braden Regala (18-215 2 TDs in two games).
RB Malachi Daniels (110-563 5 TDs) is coming off his best game of the season, running for 185 yards and a TD on 20 carries in a 36-34 win at Plainview. Meng (55-184 3 TDs on the season) also is a threat to run.
Collin Bruning (16 tackles) leads a defense that’s come a long way since the beginning of the season. The Bulldogs are opportunistic and disruptive, just like their Eagle counterparts on the north side of town.
Since beating Lubbock-Cooper and Stephenville (41-32) to start the current four-game win streak, Wylie is playing well and brimming with confidence.
The pick: Wylie 35, Rider 28
Abilene Cooper at Amarillo Palo Duro
7 p.m. Friday
Abilene Cooper (1-5, 0-1) has lost three consecutive games, including a 42-21 decision to Rider last week in Abilene.
Palo Duro (3-3, 1-0) has won two straight, beating Canyon Randall 45-27 and Lubbock High 58-24.
Cooper must likely win two of its next three games — PD, Plainview and Lubbock High — to keep its streak of 16 consecutive postseason appearances alive, while the Dons, a 3-8 playoff team a year ago, would be sitting pretty with a win.
The pick: Cooper 30, Palo Duro 24
Jim Ned at Clyde
7 p.m. Friday
Clyde (6-0, 1-0) made quite the statement with a 60-36 road victory over unbeaten Vernon in the District 3-3A D-I opener last week — that after the Bulldogs dismantled Sweetwater 41-7 their previous game at the Mustang Bowl.
QB Blake Carr (1,270 yards, 17 TDs passing, 1,015 14 TDs rushing) is a monster, and he’s got a solid supporting cast.
Jim Ned (5-1, 1-0) has been battling injuries, but RB Brayden Shipman (103-654 7 TDs in five games) leads a program that hasn’t lost a district game since a 29-14 decision to Eastland in the 2019 regular-season finale.
Ironically, Eastland has the lone win over Jim Ned (21-19) this season in a non-district game before the Tuscola crew bounced back to win its 16th consecutive district game 34-6 over Bowie last week.
The pick: Clyde 30, Jim Ned 28
Stamford at Cisco
7 p.m. Friday
Stamford (5-0, 2-0), re-energized with the return of Wayne Hutchinson as head coach this year, is playing like it was before he left for Lubbock Monterey following the 2013 season after winning two consecutive state titles.
But Cisco (3-4, 3-0), which has played a brutal non-district schedule, will offer the Bulldogs their toughest test yet this season in the District 4-2A D-I game.
This isn’t a loaded Loboes team like in the past, but they’re still pretty good, as a three-game win streak will attest, and winning at Chesley Field is no easy task.
The pick: Stamford 26, Cisco 21
Big Country Power Rankings
Class 3A/4A
1. Clyde (6-0) – Beat Vernon 60-36; Up next: Jim Ned
2. Stephenville (4-2) – Bye; Up next: Life Waxahachie
3. Brownwood (6-1) – Beat Big Spring 56-7; Up next: San Angelo Lake View
4. Jim Ned (5-1) – Beat Bowie 34-6; Up next: at Clyde
5. Merkel (5-1) – Beat Dublin 47-21; Up next: Eastland
Class 2A
1. Albany (6-0) – Beat Miles 41-0; Up next: at Cross Plains
2. Stamford (5-0) – Bye; Up next: at Cisco
3. Hawley (4-2) – Beat Colorado City 57-0; Up next: Winters (Thursday)
4. Roscoe (5-1) – Beat Cross Plains 57-21; Up next: TLCA-Abilene
5. Coleman (4-2) – Lost to Tolar 43-0; Up next: Hamilton
Class 1A
1. Benjamin (6-0) – Beat Paducah 51-6; Up next: at Harrold (Oct. 20)
2. Gordon (6-0) – Beat Gorman 61-0; Up next: Bryson
3. Knox City (7-0) – Beat Forestburg 60-6; Up next: at Vernon Northside (Oct. 20)
4. Jayton (7-0) – Beat Aspermont 48-0; Up next: at Guthrie
5. Westbrook (5-1) – Beat Highland 46-0; Up next: at Roby
WEEK 8 SCHEDULE
Thursday's Games
CLASS 2A
*Winters at Hawley, 7 p.m.
CLASS 1A
*Blanket at Gustine, 7:30 p.m.
Buckholts at Priddy, 7:30 p.m.
*Zephyr at Mullin, 7:30 p.m.
*Jayton at Guthrie, 7:30 p.m.
Friday's Games
CLASS 5A
*Lubbock-Cooper at Abilene High, 7 p.m.
*Abilene Cooper at Amarillo Palo Duro, 7 p.m.
*Wichita Falls Rider at Abilene Wylie, 7 p.m.
CLASS 4A
*San Angelo Lake View at Brownwood, 7 p.m.
*Snyder at Graham, 7 p.m.
*Sweetwater at Midland Greenwood, 7 p.m.
*Stephenville at Waxahachie Life, 7:30 p.m.
CLASS 3A
*Brady at Early, 7 p.m.
*Breckenridge at Vernon, 7 p.m.
*Dublin at Millsap, 7 p.m.
*Eastland at Merkel, 7 p.m.
*Idalou at Coahoma, 7 p.m.
*Jacksboro at Comanche, 7 p.m.
*Jim Ned at Clyde, 7 p.m.
*Wall at Ballinger, 7 p.m.
CLASS 2A
*Albany at Cross Plains, 7 p.m.
*Archer City at Haskell, 7 p.m.
*Hamilton at Coleman, 7 p.m.
*Hamlin at Miles, 7 p.m.
*Olney at Anson, 7 p.m.
*San Saba at Bangs, 7 p.m.
*Stamford at Cisco, 7 p.m.
*TLCA-Abilene at Roscoe, 7 p.m.
*Tolar at De Leon, 7 p.m.
CLASS 1A
*Irving The Highlands at Abilene Christian High, 7 p.m.
*Afton Patton Springs at Aspermont, 7:30 p.m.
*Brookesmith at Lohn, 7:30 p.m.
*Bryson at Gordon, 7:30 p.m.
*Gorman at Perrin-Whitt, 7:30 p.m.
*Ira at Highland, 7:30 p.m.
Keene at Throckmorton, 7:30 p.m.
*Lingleville at Baird, 7:30 p.m.
*Lometa at May, 7:30 p.m.
*Lueders-Avoca at Rule, 7:30 p.m.
Ranger at Dallas CHANT, 7:30 p.m.
*Rotan at Hermleigh, 7:30 p.m.
*Santa Anna at Jonesboro, 7:30 p.m.
*Veribest at Robert Lee, 7:30 p.m.
*Westbrook at Roby, 7:30 p.m.
*Woodson at Paint Creek, 7:30 p.m.
*District game
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene High, Wylie draw big district football contests this week
