FOOTBALL FRIDAY COLUMN: Full moon bringing mostly wins to local teams

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Here's hoping your favorite local team can stay upright and not get knocked heels over head under the full moon and Friday night lights! || The Flash Today/JESSIE HORTON

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL LINEUP

(November 3, 2017)

Flash GOW: Coleman at Dublin, 7:30 p.m.
Stephenville at Snyder, 7:30 p.m.
Hico at Goldthwaite, 7:30 p.m.
De Leon at San Saba, 7:30 p.m.
FAITH at Austin NYOS, 7:30 p.m.
May at Lingleville, 7:30 p.m.

By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com

STEPHENVILLE (November 3, 2017) — Do you recognize that smell in the air as you get out and about for the first time this football Friday? It’s the smell of playoff implications, and this is about the time each fall that it’s so thick you can cut through it.

It smells especially thick over Dublin and Hico this morning, particularly Dublin. Bob Cervetto made a good point this week saying, “Last week we played for third place and we came real close to getting a win, so now we’re going to play for fourth place and see if we can pull it off.”


Brad Keith has covered Erath County sports through journalism and radio since 2000. His periodical columns have been a part of daily sports coverage since 2014 on TheFlashToday.com.

Well, as Cervetto likes to say, they have a chance.

Dublin hosting Coleman with the winner taking the fourth playoff spot from District 4-3A Division II (unless Dublin wins then Coleman beats Tolar, which is unlikely but possible, and would muddy the waters with a point spread deciding which teams are third and fourth which stays home in fifth) is our Flash Football Game of the Week, and it’s a matchup that may even favor my old hometown Lions.

One though before we go on; It’s a full moon, so watch for some weird stuff to happen out there tonight! And, as always, be safe on the road, football friends!

FLASH FOOTBALL GAME OF THE WEEK:
Coleman at Dublin
7:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium
The Harris ratings love Dublin because Cervetto set up such a difficult schedule. That strength metric has the Lions ranked 38th in 3A Division II, moving up 24 spots last week despite a loss.

I won’t even go back to why the Lions fell just short in that 30-28 heartbreaker at home against the Rattlers, but don’t worry, I’ve managed to get the puke off my shoes after feeling so bad for Coach and his boys.


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I think the Lions are going to go out and get them one tonight. Dublin had a close game against a quality opponent last week to separate itself from losses to Cisco and Eastland, still the cream of the crop in 3-4A Division II, as most expected they would be.

Dublin hung three touchdowns on the Loboes and at least kicked a 3-pointer over one bar and between two others at Eastland. Coleman didn’t score on either, being outscored 92-0. I understand three degrees of separation, but this is one degree, and the Lions actually played well offensively at times against the Loboes.

Heck, if they could have recovered more than one of the seven balls fumbled by Tolar, Dublin would be looking to lock up third tonight. But Cervetto will take fourth place, and he will make the most of it, just the way he did the previouls two times he guided Dublin to the post season, when his boys made history by winning bi-district games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history.

He then used one season to reload and now he’s got them primed to take a spot again. Make it three playoff trips in four years in Lion land. Dublin for the win, 31-19.


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Hico at Goldthwaite
7:30 p.m. at Eagle Field
You gotta love the old school dog fight these 2A titans can still put on even after all these years of creative thinking done by the great football minds of afar. They can stay put where they are at as far as Randy Thornton is concerned and not mess up his triple option with all that talk about zone reads and, gulp, passing the football.

And here’s the thing – All of Goldthwaite would agree with him, as the Eagles are as run-heavy a group as you’ll find except, well, a Thornton-coached Santo team of the last 10 years or his Hico club now. I mean, barring a lot of scoring, turnovers,

penalties or late drama with timeouts and tense play, this could be one of those two hour games where fans have time to listen to others finish on the radio on their way home.

Goldhtwaite appears to have  a little more horsepower behind its run game, but Hico seems to have more powerful breaks when it comes to stopping opponents. My car struggles to move when I hit both the gas and break, I mean it will, and so will Goldthwaite, but not well, and so I think defense wins this one. Make sense?

Seriously, I’ve got the Tigers, in this solid honorable-mention game of the week, and one that may very well end up closer than the one selected. Hico secures a top three finish in 10-2A Division I, but just by whisker, 21-20.

Stephenville at Snyder
7:30 p.m. at Tiger Stadium
Snyder did impress some folks, your truly  included, by limiting Abilene Wylie to four touchdowns last week, but the Tigers are still anemic offensively. They lost 27-7 and have yet to score more than 22 points in game all year. I just can’t see them holding Stephenville to that, so I have to say the Yellow Jackets roll, something like 34-7.


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De Leon at San Saba
7:30 p.m. at Rogan Field
The Bearcats are a locomotive right now. Kevin Yeager, Anthony Rangel, Chris Cox, Calvin Martin and company heading down to San Saba to take on the Armadillos? I saw this movie already. It played out in our yard one day. My dog, a 120 pound Anatolian Sheppard named Champ found him an Armadillo and… well… it didn’t end well for the Armadillo. Let’s just say, here comes the Bearcat freight train and another bug’s about to go splat. Bearcats treat the ‘Dillo’s the way Champ does, 56-6.

Stephenville FAITH @ Austin NYOS Charter
7:30 p.m. at NYOS Charter
NYOS stands for Not Your Ordinary School, but judging by their results on Maxpreps, I’d say they are your ordinary, average TAIAO team. That means there is nothing ordinary about the whooping Stephenvile FAITH will be putting on the Jaguars, unless of course you are a weekly follower of the Knights, in which case, such routes most certainly have become ordinary to you in recent seasons. I’m not putting a score on a six-man game but I’ll predict a late third quarter 45(+) point win by the six-time reigning state champs.

May at Lingeleville
7:30 p.m. at Lingleville
I want so badly to put “at Dennis Hughes Field” every time I list Lingleville playing at home, but that’s another column for another day. Today won’t be as fun for the Cardinals’ as last Friday, when they soared past Gordon for the first time in school history. This is without a doubt the most improved team in our area from the beginning of the season to now, but May is the real deal, has been for a few consecutive seasons now, and the establishment, unfortunately is probably going to prevail, as much as I’d love to get text messages from Flash Publisher Jessie Horton telling me a revolt is taking place. Go Cardinals, and if you’r at the game early on, wave hi to Jessie. She’ll be the one with the big camera flash.

Enjoy your Football Friday fans…. hard to believe we’ve almost put another regular season behind us. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.


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