It's hard to believe, but we've reached the penultimate week of the Texas high school football season.
More than 80 Houston-area teams embarked on the playoffs in early November. Three remain alive.
North Shore, Summer Creek and Bellville will provide the local flavor this week in the state semifinals. They'll be fighting against elite competition for the right to play for state championships at AT&T Stadium.
North Shore is used to being on this stage. The Mustangs (14-0) have reached the state semifinals every year since 2018. They will face a familiar opponent this week against Austin Westlake (14-0) in the Class 6A Division I bracket. North Shore advanced to Jerry World with a 49-35 victory against the Chaparrals last season.
This round of the playoffs is completely uncharted territory for Summer Creek. The Bulldogs (13-1) have made all kinds of history this year under coach Kenny Harrison. They have already set a program record for single-season wins and will try to add to that total against Cibolo Steele (13-1) in the Class 6A Division II bracket.
It's been a decade-plus wait for the Bellville faithful. But the Brahmas (14-0) are finally back in the state semifinals for the first time since 2012. Next on the docket is Wimberley (14-0). If the team continues its pattern of postseason dominance, Bellville will make its first state championship game appearance since 1977.
There are plenty of other intriguing matchups around the state. Check out the full schedule here.
Three weekend takeaways
Cleaning things up: North Shore is talented enough to overcome mistakes and still emerge victorious. But, of course, head coach Willie Gaston would prefer to avoid such blunders. Saturday's 34-28 triumph against Atascocita in the Region III championship game was a perfect example. The Mustangs committed 11 penalties for 115 yards, a stat line Gaston described as uncharacteristic. The team will surely need to improve in that area this week against Westlake. The Chaps have looked strong in the playoffs and are coming off an impressive 21-14 win against Lake Travis.
Bulldogs battle back: Harrison said it best — Summer Creek needed a game like this: "The one thing I told our guys is we want to be in a game like this in order to compete for a state championship. We have to go through some adversity." They certainly did that during a 35-31 victory against Hightower on Saturday, rallying from an 11-point deficit with less than seven minutes remaining. It was an excellent display of the Bulldogs' mettle and will surely give them confidence as they move forward against Steele this week. Speaking of confidence, how good has running back Lloyd Avant been for Summer Creek? He's got nearly 600 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in the playoffs.
Sheer dominance: There's no better way to describe what Bellville has accomplished this season. The stats alone are staggering. The Brahmas have outscored their opponents 758-76 this season. They are allowing just 5.9 points per game and scoring 54.1. The defense has recorded seven shutouts. Their closest game of the season came this past Friday in a 31-7 victory against Jasper. Bellville's three-headed monster of D.D. Murray, Sam Hranicky and Corrian Hood has combined to rush for 5,125 yards and 79 touchdowns. The biggest challenge of the season still lies ahead against a tough Wimberley squad. But, man, the Brahmas are looking as strong as any team in the state right now.
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