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We are in the process of putting together a Playoff Central thread that will include our coverage area teams, opponents, date, time and place and what team they would face the next round. We will do this for each round of the playoffs like what we already are doing with our Weekly schedule and Scoreboard. This will likely be posted Monday. We will also continue to do game threads for each of our coverage area games. Please be patient while we put this together. Thanks

I grew up in a football first household. Indians, Cowboys and Oilers.. In that order. My first year of School at Ridgewood was an election year. We had to choose what party we were. I chose Independent so I could wear a purple I on my shirt all day. Basically I thought it was Indian! I used to ride my bike to school, steal a random Port Arthur News off a driveway to go over district stats for the weeks game. The 8os were rough for PNG. We could only beat Nederland it seemed like! My freshman year at PNG I had English first period, first Friday of football I got sent to the office for reading the paper! I needed my stats and info, and I always made sure I had my “I beat Bob West” pics sent in on time. And yes I beat him several times and had proof! I have been lucky enough to see 3 PNG state championship games. As well as 3 quarterfinal games. Not bad for a school that uses home grown talent. Small towns and Friday night lights are always and will always be the best times of your life. Times have changed, I used to get on this site religiously, even won the pick ems one year. Was even a pollster. What I will say is this. Even with the times changing, SETX HS Football is the funnest and most die hard in the state of Texas. This board shows the enthusiasm and the desire from so many. It’s what’s makes SETX what it is. So congrats to all the playoff teams. Much luck in the playoffs. And to my Nederland fans, it’s been rough since Uncle Larry left, but I can’t say it upsets me…… Once little brother, always little brother. And to my Indians. Once again, we are district champs, and hopeful to make a playoff push! So this morning I decided I would dedicate a post to Bob West. He covered sports in the area better than anyone… Tom Halliburton as well. So with a no nonsense post, and I’m known for not being a rah rah… Times have changed, but one thing hasn’t. PNG is still on top of the mountain. Old school is for hardware, new school plays for participant ribbons….. Happy Saturday folks!! I’m still bleeding purple till my last breathe!! I won’t bore you will all of it.. 4 time state champs……. PNG….. Enough Said!!

Finished 6-4 and made the playoffs for the first time in school history. Hope they hold on to this coach for as long as they possibly can [Hidden Content]

We have this same convo every year...Thur Rd 1 is always a bunch of blowouts because all the huge mismatches are played Thur to get it over with...we over-react because its the first day of the playoffs...then Fri happens we get some great games, a few more blowouts and we all forget about it

Nor on your list and not SETX but North Shore will be making it's 31st consecutive playoff appearance Thursday night. 94'-26'

We operate like a small town. The circle of news only runs in about 5,000 of that. The other 30 are just here and don’t care 😂

I wasn't going to comment but after reading some of these before and after game comment s I'm going to weigh in. Big Ned won the game and good luck going forward. You don't hear anyone from Dayton crying or complaining about the game. I think Ned is ranked 23rd and Dayton 60ish in the State and all of the Big boys had Ned pre-picked with a relative easy win. ( only one fan in the pickems choose Dayton- one) So to get on here and say Ned was flat ,uninspired and let Dayton get a 20 point lead in the first quarter is a little disingenuous not to give Dayton their accolades. The real reason for the anomaly - you got punched in the face and underestimated a team that was alot better than you thought. Let's be honest saying things like we finally finished a game - ?when Dayton had 50 yards of penalties ( and this was all on Dayton being stupid) in their last two drives-odds on Dayton probably would of won. After being in the cellar for years Dayton is climbing out and getting more formidable every season so don't sleep on us.

My son plays Inside LB so if they give up 30 he’s grounded lol

You guys are missing the point with all these be tough and play better and real world comments. Those comments insinuate that the Warren kids didn’t play hard or quit. You are insulting them. These kids, most of them are 14 and 15, played both ways all night against a superior opponent. This not a real varsity caliber team. I hate that and it needs to get better or the school does need to consider what the purpose of the program is. Despite the state of the program, there was no quit in them and that is honorable. They tried to the bitter end. I take zero from the Hardin players. If you are on the field you go 100%. They are talented and Winners. The Warren kids wouldn't have been given any false sense of the world if Hardin had just ran clock and gotten subs in earlier etc. Hardin would still have dominated them. And that’s ok. Some of you are the ones focused on a game, not real life. Sports reveal character. I for one, do not have the ego to think mercy and sportsmanship are unmanly qualities. Real Men are capable of acting contrary to our base instinct and desires.

Nederland defense is like a box of chocolates, never know what you're gonna get.

6A/5A 1. Atascocita 2. Beaumont West Brook 3. North Shore 4. Humble 5. Beaumont United 6. Baytown Sterling 7. Goose Creek Memorial 8. Summer Creek 9. CE King 10. Port Neches-Groves Others Considered: Barbers Hill, Kingwood, Kingwood Park, West Fork, Nederland 4A/3A 1. Onalaska 2. Hardin-Jefferson 3. Orangefield 4. Huntington 5. Trinity 6. Diboll 7. East Chambers 8. Huffman 9. Silsbee 10. Bridge City Others Considered: Livingston, Central Heights, Pineywoods CA, Warren, Vidor, West Orange-Stark 2A/1A/Private 1. San Augustine 2. Brookeland 3. Chireno 4. Big Sandy 5. Chester 6. Beaumont Legacy 7. Hemphill 8. Sabine Pass 9. Shelbyville 10. Evadale Others Considered: Beaumont Kelly, Spurger, Hull-Daisetta, West Hardin, Woden

Lufkin is ran by idiots and entitled parents. Literally seen a parent celebrating the coaching change on FB. His kid was literally one of the ones ejected against LaPorte. Lost count of the number of drops he had on the season too. Like this whole situation over spilled because of the personal fouls by Lufkin from that game. Earlier in the year they dont like the way the OC talks to the kids but after last week they want the coaches to rip the kids off the field by the face mask. Good riddance with this current SR class and their parents. If you're getting your head bashed in by 40 as freshmen its probably not going to change when you're SRs. They blame everyone but themselves for their kids being bad a football and then acting like punks because their kid is a sore loser. Abseck had the program going in the right direction..The new coach Will have a lot of pieces and talent to work with in the 9th and 10th grade classes. Oh well this is my rant. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

Great win for Lamar!! Cards axed em

Congratulations @prepballfan for winning the regular season contest. This was the first time we've had so many perfect scores since I've been keeping track. 10 in total We still have 6 more weeks to go to crown the playoff and overall winners.

Disagree strongly. He had all night to do it. Do it in the first half against kids who haven’t played both ways all night against a superior opponent. The game was never in doubt. He put his starters back in up 50 when Warren was on the goal line trying to score. You want to throw the ball with your backup QB don’t do it with 2 minutes on the game clock. His team may be full of winners but they didn’t learn sportsmanship from him last night.

Maybe Nederland plays like they did vs. Crawford and gets a road win @ Huntsville? These are 14-18 year old kids. Focus on what they did well. Down 20-7 and they keep competing for a road win. Find the positive. #10, #8, the defense getting a stop of 4th down to seal the win. This team could give you a bucket of gold and you would complain about the bucket.

Some of you adult men should be ashamed of yourselves. These are teenagers and they have fought to get back into this game. Embarrassing.

Looking at scores from across the state but even just our coverage area, there were way too many blowouts in these first rounds. Of our 9 coverage area games last night, only one was competitive. (#3 seed Palestine Westwood beat #2 Anahuac 41-27). All the other games were complete blowouts. (well maybe not SA/UG as it was 33-7 but SA led the whole game and UG only scored with a minute left in game) 6 of the 9 games teams scored 60+. 4 scored 70+. The average margin of victory in the 9 games was 50 points. Take out the Anahuac/WW game and it's 54 points. Six of the nine games last night were #1 vs. #4. (technically the DP/NS game wasn't but NS is the #1 DI seed). All of those games were not competitive. Those scores: 62-14, 70-0, 70-0, 33-7, 75-14, 68-19. My point (and one that I have had all along) is the playoffs are too watered down. I never liked a 4th team being added to playoffs. Particularly when that 4th team comes from a district with just 4, 5, or 6 teams. I just don't think as a whole, you get a quality team going that far down in a district. Yes I know there are outliers. (have been some 4 seeds make it deep in playoffs) But the vast majority get their butt whipped (like last night) in the 1st round. Call me old school, but I liked it when it was just 2 teams. Rant over.

Participation in playing the game is very different than qualifying for a playoff system.

A 24 team college playoff was just created. We are not going back.

I'm ok with 3 teams. It gives the district champion a well deserved bye.

I was just thinking the same thing. Brock won 77 - 7. This was not a run up the score game. Brock had 8 possessions on offense. 6 of the 8 were one play drives for TD. One 5 play drive td in first half and 7 play drive for td in second half. Returned two punts and one interception for TDs. Clock only stopped in second half for the change of quarter. 63 points on 10 offensive plays in the first half.

I think that whoever has the highest score will win.

The only "glaring" omissions in these picks for me: 19-5A Baytown Sterling not making playoffs (return several from last years playoff team) 21-3A Diboll (who is state ranked) not making playoffs (Diboll basically returns everyone from last years team) 22-3A Warren missing the playoffs 24-2A Hemphill not making playoffs Also, I think you can throw a blanket over these five teams in 18-4A: Bridge City, Jasper, Silsbee, Vidor and WO-S. My picks would be: 1. Silsbee 2. WO-S 3. Bridge City 4. Vidor

Big loss for Lufkin in my opinion, but there was no parting with his OC who was the issue with the district. Abseck complicity to not control his OC interactions, player discipline and laments with administrative people was the main downfall. Abseck did a lot of good getting the Lufkin program back on track, especially at the sub-varsity levels. He implemented other facilities improvements and was instrumental in helping to pass the bond for the Lufkin new stadium. Hard to figure the connection he has with his OC, because the two come across as polar opposites. I liked Abseck but keeping the OC around did not help this outcome. This OC scenario will replicate itself wherever he lands, the old saying "it's hard to change a leopards spots". No need to say more. I do wish Carl Abseck all the best success in the future.

19 consecutive for Silsbee.

winner will win 96 to 89 in a toss up.

I am a Fairfield alumni, We (Tarkington) played East Chambers, these teams are extremely similar. This might truly be a pickem game. If someone can "break serve" so to speak and get a couple defensive stops the pressure is going to mount greatly on the other team. Might be one of the best first round games in the state.

Location matters… It should be obvious that murder or any crime can happen anywhere. Certainly a horrific crime can happen anywhere at any time. But…. The odds or frequency are sometimes heavily skewed to some locations. The Mid-County cities of Nederland, Port Neches and Groves have a population of about 50,000 people. Beaumont is about 2.3 times the size of Mid-County. According to FBI statistics, in the last 5 years Mid-County has had 6 murders. Going by size and on a 1 to 1 ratio, Beaumont should have had 14 murders in the same time period of 5 years. Beaumont has had 79 murders in that time frame and a person has an almost 600% more likely chance of being a victim of a murder in Beaumont. So in comparison to size, Beaumont has had an additional 65 more murders than would have occurred in Mid-County in 5 years. That doesn’t mean that the people in Beaumont are bad because 113,000 people in Beaumont didn’t commit a murder last year. Some people have a difficult time with the fact that some areas have a much higher rate of violent crime and the average person has a much higher percentage of being a victim in those areas. Statements like, “crime can happen anywhere” are 100% correct. It’s also a fact that some areas have a many times higher likelihood of it happening.

Bi-district playoffs offer multitude of fan options By Tom Halliburton Playoff matchups of all varieties begin this Thursday and Friday for Golden Triangle-area high school football squads. Unlike most recent years, the great portion of the area district’s playoff seeds actually were determined before the final regular-season Friday night. By virtue of its head-to-head victory over Port Arthur Memorial, La Porte assured itself of the top spot in 9-5A Division I. Port Neches-Groves accomplished the same commanding position in 10-5A Division II by reaching the final regular game with wins over its three nearest challengers. The 3A Division I league completed its regular games on Thursday night as Orangefield wrapped up an undefeated 10-3A-I schedule. Orangefield’s neighbors at West Orange-Stark entered the final night with the No. 1 seed secure due to its 38-30 victory over nearest challenger Silsbee three weeks ago. One other area championship was settled Thursday night in the Pineland area as West Sabine nipped Colmesneil 26-24 to determine the highest seed in 12-2A-II. Therefore only two No. 1 seeds remained undetermined on the final night. Little Cypress-Mauriceville and Newton had to capture wins Friday and they did. The Battlin’ Bears shared the 9-4A-I lead with Vidor but LC-M owned a 41-7 over the Pirates on the opening week of district play. Newton needed to defeat Woodville to keep the top spot in 12-3A-II. The Eagles claimed the tiebreaker advantage over Hardin and New Waverly as each of the three teams had one district loss. Eagles senior running back K.J. Porter surpassed Anthony Byerly's school career rushing record during Newton's victory Based on overall season records, two of the marquee matchups for nearby teams involve East Chambers vs. Fairfield (both 8-2) in 3A-I and Hamshire-Fannett vs. Athens in 4A-II. Here’s how the seeding positions resulted for the area’s playoff qualifiers and the bi-district matchups: District 9-5A-I 1. La Porte (8-2, 8-0) vs. Houston Northbrook (6-4, 5-3) on Thursday in La Porte’s Bulldog Stadium at 7:30 p.m. 2. Port Arthur Memorial (9-1, 7-1) vs. Houston Waltrip (7-3, 6-2) on Friday in Port Arthur’s Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. 3. Baytown Goose Creek (6-4, 4-4) vs. Houston Milby (7-3, 6-2) on Thursday in Houston’s Barnett Stadium at 7 p.m. 4. Beaumont United (6-4, 4-4) vs. Houston Madison (8-2, 8-0) on Friday in Houston’s Butler Stadium at 7 p.m. District 10-5A-II 1. Port Neches-Groves (7-3, 6-0) vs. New Caney West Fork (6-4, 4-3) on Friday in Port Neches’ Indian Stadium at 7 p.m. 2. Texas City (8-2, 5-1) vs. Montgomery Lake Creek (8-2, 5-2) on Friday in Texas City’s Stingaree Stadium at 7 p.m. 3. Nederland (6-4, 4-2) vs. Huntsville (7-3, 6-1) on Friday in Huntsville’s Hornet Stadium at 7 p.m. 4. Dayton (3-7, 3-3) vs. Montgomery (10-0, 7-0) on Friday in Montgomery ISD Stadium at 7 p.m. District 9-4A-I 1. Little Cypress-Mauriceville (8-2, 5-1) vs. Houston Austin (3-7, 2-3) on Friday in Beaumont’s Doggett Family Stadium at 7:30 p.m. 2. Vidor (7-3, 5-1) vs. Houston Sterling (5-5, 3-2) on Friday at Baytown’s Stallworth Stadium at 7:30 p.m. 3. Huffman-Hargrave (5-5, 4-2) vs. Fort Bend Willowridge (6-4, 4-1) on Friday in Channelview’s Ray Maddry Stadium at 7 p.m. 4. Bridge City (4-6, 3-3) vs. Stafford (8-2, 5-0) on Friday in Deer Park’s Clyde Abshier Stadium at 7:30 p.m. District 10-4A-II 1. West Orange-Stark (8-2, 5-0) vs. Van (5-5, 2-3) on Friday in New Caney’s Randall Reed Stadium at 7:30 p.m. 2. Silsbee (8-2, 4-1) vs. Madisonville (4-6, 3-2) on Friday in Lufkin’s Abe Martin Stadium at 7:30 p.m. 3. Hamshire-Fannett (8-2, 3-2) vs. Athens (9-1, 4-1) on Friday in Bryan’s Merrill Green Stadium at 7:30 p.m. 4. Shepherd (6-4, 2-3) vs. Canton (10-0, 5-0) on Friday in Madisonville’s Mustang Stadium at 7 p.m. District 10-3A-I 1. Orangefield (9-1, 6-0) vs. Trinity (5-5, 2-3) on Friday in Crosby’s Cougar Stadium at 7:30 p.m. 2. Anahuac (6-4, 5-1) vs. Palestine Westwood (5-4, 3-2) on Thursday in Madisonville’s Mustang Stadium at 7 p.m. 3. East Chambers (8-2, 4-2) vs. Fairfield (8-2, 4-1) on Friday in Willis’ Berton Yates Stadium at 7 p.m. 4. Buna (7-3, 3-3) vs. Diboll (7-3, 5-0) on Friday in Jasper’s Bulldog Stadium at 7 p.m. District 12-3A-II 1. Newton (7-2, 4-1) vs. Elkhart (4-6, 2-3) on Thursday in Timpson ISD Stadium at 7 p.m. 2. New Waverly (9-1, 4-1) vs. Buffalo (8-2, 4-1) on Friday in Centerville’s Tiger Stadium at 7 p.m. 3. Hardin (7-3, 4-1) vs. Teague (6-4, 4-1) on Friday in Nacogdoches’ Dragon Stadium at 7 p.m. 4. Woodville (3-7, 2-3) vs. Mildred (7-3, 4-1) on Friday in Rusk’s Eagle Stadium at 7 p.m. District 12-2A-II 1. West Sabine (8-2, 6-0) vs. Tenaha (5-5, 3-3) on Friday in San Augustine’s Wolf Stadium at 7 p.m. 2. Colmesneil (7-3, 5-1) vs. Cushing (8-2, 4-2) on Friday in Center’s Roughrider Stadium at 7 p.m. 3. West Hardin (5-4. 4-2) vs. Grapeland (6-3, 5-1) on Thursday in Willis’ Berton Yates Stadium at 7 p.m. 4. Evadale (3-5, 3-3) vs. Overton (9-1, 6-0) on Thursday in Diboll’s Lumberjack Stadium at 7 p.m. Tom Halliburton is senior sports correspondent for the Beaumont Enterprise

The best interpretation of this game is it was two good teams who took it down to the wire. Someone had to lose. Anyone trying to make it mean more than that for either team is ignoring a lot of good and bad on both sides. Neither will be favored next week, but both can win.

Good dub for ole LU. Overall a fun game to watch. 😎

Here are the playoff seeds and their opponents for our coverage area districts: 17-6A D1 #1 North Shore vs. Deer Park D1 #2 Summer Creek vs. Dickinson D2 #1 CE King vs. Clear Springs D2 #2 Atascocita vs. Barbers Hill 9-5A D1 #1 La Porte vs. Houston Northbrook #2 PA Memorial vs. Houston Waltrip #3 Goose Creek Memorial vs. Houston Milby #4 Beaumont United vs. Houston Madison 9-5A D2 #1 Montgomery vs. Dayton #2 Huntsville vs. Nederland #3 Lake Creek vs. Texas City #4 West Fork vs. PN-G 10-5A D2 #1 PN-G vs. West Fork #2 Texas City vs. Lake Creek #3 Nederland vs. Huntsville #4 Dayton vs. Montgomery 9-4A D1 #1 LC-M vs. Houston Austin #2 Vidor vs. Houston Sterling/FB Willowridge loser #3 Huffman vs. Houston Sterling/FB Willowridge winner #4 Bridge City vs. Stafford 10-4A D2 #1 WO-S vs. Van #2 Silsbee vs. Madisonville #3 Hamshire-Fannett vs. Athens #4 Shepherd vs. Canton 9-3A D1 #1 Diboll vs. Buna #2 Fairfield vs. East Chambers #3 Palestine Westwood vs. Anahuac #4 Trinity vs. Orangefield 10-3A D1 #1 Orangefield vs. Trinity #2 Anahuac vs. Palestine Westwood #3 East Chambers vs. Fairfield #4 Buna vs. Diboll 12-3A D2 #1 Newton vs. Elkhart #2 New Waverly vs. Buffalo #3 Hardin vs. Teague #4 Woodville vs. Mildred 12-2A D1 #1 San Augustine vs. Union Grove #2 Shelbyville vs. Waskom #3 Garrison vs. Beckville #4 Joaquin vs. Pewitt 12-2A D2 #1 West Sabine vs. Tenaha #2 Colmesneil vs. Cushing #3 West Hardin vs. Grapeland #4 Evadale vs. Overton 1A D1 #1 Union Hill vs. Abbott #2 Chester vs. Aquilla 1A D2 #1 Apple Springs vs. Benavides #2 Calvert vs. Runge

2morehourslol might've been a better choice of name.

I liked when I was in high school, only 3 made it and District Champions got a 1st round bye. Made being the District Champion mean something.

Why in the world would someone want to go to College Station when all this good high shcool stuff going on. LOL I bet Brookeland Neches game will be good

Looking at THSFB 5AD2 predictions 2 picked png to win reg 3… Nederland went to OT with them.. 2 picked Crawford to win.. Nederland beat Crawford… 2 picked Montgomery to win… safe to say I think Nederland has an underdog chance.

Yates IMO is legit...they showed that last yr in the playoffs in D1 Only loss by 7 to a 5A D2 runner-up by 7 on the road....

Lamar a 21.5 point favorite over East Texas A&M at this point. Just take care of business in these last two games.

If and buts were candy and nuts we all would have a Merry Christmas. Was this posted for bulletin board material? lol

From 1998-2020 Lufkin made it 23 consecutive seasons. Oh how the times have changed. SMH

Carl Abseck has resigned as Lufkin High School’s athletic director and head football coach, Lufkin ISD confirmed Tuesday morning. In two seasons leading the Panthers, the team went 13-9 with one playoff appearance. Prior to his hiring by the Lufkin ISD board of trustees in a January 2025 special meeting, Abseck coached for four seasons at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, leading the Eagles to the area round of the playoffs each year. Abseck was the head coach at Cedar Park for six years before that, where he led the Timberwolves to a state championship, a state runner-up, and five district titles. “Lufkin ISD wishes Coach Abseck success in his future endeavors,” the district said in a statement. Abseck’s departure means Lufkin is looking for a new head coach for the second time in three years after having two men lead the program over the prior three decades. John Outlaw, hired in 1995, died in December 2011, and his successor Todd Quick retired following the 2024 season. “The district will focus its immediate planning on maintaining continuity across its athletic programs, addressing immediate leadership needs, and establishing a timeline for the search for Coach Abseck’s successor,” LISD said in the statement. After Abe Martin Stadium’s final game — a 24-14 Lufkin win over Beaumont West Brook — the team fell 42-7 in its 2026 season finale at La Porte. The Pack’s new coach will lead the team as it plays all 10 games in 2027 outside Lufkin. Four home games are to be played at Homer Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches before a new stadium opens on the Lufkin High School campus in 2028.

Friday HF vs Athens in Bryan. Likely just a simple trip to the Texas Roadhouse in College Station after an oh so important shopping stop for the daughter. Wish my credit card luck.

Silsbee has given up 30 points 6 times this year. So unless the defense has a better than average showing it's a shootout most likely. Run game for Silsbee is diminished from injuries so I don't see ball control being a thing that they can depend on like the past. Madisonville, just like Silsbee, can score points in bunches. They are a very balanced offense with dynamic weapons. Kovar is a true dual threat QB. 1700+ yds / 20+ TDs passing 800+ yds / 10+ TDs Rushing And after I watched Warren from HJ single handedly give Silsbee all they could handlez let's say I'm concerned. Secondary needs to cover and linebackers will need to contain. If they can't pressure Kovar and keep him in the box while doing it, it's a long game. Too close to call and Madisonville has beaten some decent teams. Jmo

Even then, a lot of times arrangements arent made until after lunch Sat or later...I guess I should be glad people care but people were legit mad in my email lol

Good job dogs. Huntsville next?

Shots fired!!! 🤣🤣🤣

Exactly. They hate Port Arthur. Smh. They'll run it up on Lufkin because of it.

This might be the most vanilla game PNG offense will have played all season and still win by 50+.