dBerrySports

Chop block really hurt Newton's last drive. Then the OPI. Newton punted to Gunter, who took a knee to go into halftime. Newton 14, Gunter 10

Newton had a TD pass from Foster to Williams wiped off the board thanks to an offensive pass interference by Williams.

Long pass from Foster to Williams, Newton deep in Gunter territory

Josh Foster pass to Noah Williams for the touchdown!

Junior

I believe 12

That West Brook district looks too good for them. I could see them switching West Brook and Alvin in those districts though.

Saw on Footballscoop that Mike Jackson is leaving La Marque for Conroe Grand Oaks. Is that a new school?

6-man football is a doozy to cover lol

Are any kids from the SETXsports area signing today or in the next three days?

To say they have to play mistake free is almost to say that Gunter will actually play mistake free. Which I don't think will be the case. Newton will have something to say about it, call it speed, or whatever else you want to.

Gunter in comparison to Newton is nowhere near Carthage to Silsbee.

Coaches in Florida would kill to make what even the lower-paid coaches in Texas make. If you include salary+stipend, the head coach where I'm at now probably makes somewhere between 45-50k. So in Florida, you have to teach (most head football coaches here aren't ADs, it doesn't pay like TX). People on this board may not love what I say, but I believe this: the difference between TX and FL isn't athletes. That part is a wash. But the commitment TX has to pouring resources into athletic programs is what makes it stand out. St Thomas Aquinas, one of the best programs in the state, is 7A and plays in a stadium closer to what a 4A would play at in TX. Anyways, to get back to my point. TX coaches have it easier on the pay front, probably a little more unreasonable level of pressure as well.

No lie, that story almost brought me to tears. He's a great man and with all he's been through, winning state on Thursday would just be even more amazing. Funny enough, I'm tagged in a picture on Facebook with coach Johnston and who I now realize is Darwin Barlow. Funny, had no idea that little kid would be such a major component of a state title run 4 years later.

Teams in Texas should be more prepared than any other state I know to travel. Once the playoffs start, you're more than likely traveling every week from the first round through the state championship. Teams in the major metro areas in general don't have to travel much early on because they're usually playing teams from another part of that same metro area. Places like SETX, East TX, West TX (especially out there) and way down south are traveling like crazy pretty much from jump. Home-field advantage plays a factor, to say otherwise seems silly to me. But these teams have to win 5 games just to get the HFA at state. Now, there are some teams that play at AT&T Stadium throughout the playoffs, just like the Alamodome and NRG. If you play there once or twice before state, you're used to the stadium and the little things about it. 89falcon seems a bit arrogant about DFW, but they do win. They have a lot of built in advantages that other parts of the state don't seem to have. HFA by itself won't win a game. But it is an advantage.

Doesn't East Chambers also have an indoor facility?

Wish I could go, but school doesn't get out for us until Friday. So I'll be tuned in Thursday & Friday.

So what's the lowdown on Gunter? Clearly really good but does anyone know more about them? And how Newton will match up with them?

How does Manvel match up against Denton Ryan or Highland Park? They look like an unstoppable force right now

I'm not a small-town person at all lol but I love Newton, probably my favorite small town ever. People have been great to me up there. And coach Johnston, even through his sickness, always welcomed me with open arms up there (even when I wrote about him criticizing the Newton fans the last season they went to state). I said that to say, congrats Eagles! Finish the job this time, I know yall can do it.

This one's about over so I'm gonna switch over to the WOS/Wimberly game since it's still close. Congrats Eagles!!!!

Darwin Barlow with a 63-yard TD run. Eagles fans, start packing for Arlington. XP is good, Newton leads Boling 56-28, 4th quarter

TD Newton, Darwin Barlow. Eagles starting to blow the game open. 2 pt conversion is good. Newton 49, Boling 28.

Newton defense with a big 4th down stand to turn Boling over on downs. Eagles ball. 9:30 left in the game

TD Newton. 2 pt conversion good. Eagles lead Boling 41-28, start of the 4th quarter