Cougar14.2

1. Longview 2. Denton Ryan 3. Aledo 4. College Station 5. Frisco Lone Star 6. Crosby 7. A&M Consolidated 8. Manvel 9. Mansfield Timberview 10. Amarillo Tascosa

1. Dallas South Oak Cliff 2. Lucas Lovejoy 3. Liberty Hill 4. Fort Bend Marshall 5. Mansfield Summit 6. Argyle 7. Wichita Falls Rider 8. Leander Rouse 9. Colleyville Heritage 10. Texas High

I know the McNair’s don’t own the stadium, very few pro sports franchise owners do own their stadiums/arenas. They lease them from the city/county but Bud Adams moved the Oilers because the city wouldn’t build him a new stadium. He was also a huge proponent of football at every level. That’s why we would play 1st round games all the way through the state championships. What I’m saying is that if Cal wanted games at NRG they would be playing games at NRG. You can read their lease agreement below and see how much stroke he has over the decision making. Cal and his dad have always been more skewed to the business side of things though. [Hidden Content]

Capitalism at it's finest. If an 18 year old tech nerd who creates an app can make millions for his talents then why shouldn't the 18 year old QB make millions for his talents if someone is willing to pay it? Do we tell the tech nerd to wait until he graduates and gets a professional job before he starts receiving just compensation? Do we tell him the academic scholarship he's on IS his compensation like I see some who are against NIL do with athletic scholarships? If the consensus #7 QB in the country can get this type of money that tells you the emphasis college coaches place on getting the right guy at that position, just like they do on Sundays. Tennessee's QB commit got $8M for his commitment earlier this year. If rich boosters/collectives want to spend their money on kids for their entertainment then so be it. Unless the NCAA places guidelines on NIL deals then you're going to see this a lot, especially at the QB position which has the most impact on if a staff gets fired or not. NIL has basically turned college athletes' scholarships into one year deals with a player option at the end, which is totally fine with me. If a player outplays the "value" that one team sees them in then they're allowed one free transfer to another team that may see greater value in them, same for adults when they switch jobs. It also makes college coaches a lot more culpable for the lies they tell kids on the recruiting trail to get them on campus which IMO is the best part of the new NIL structure. The only downside I see to the current NIL structure is that it hurts a lot of middle to lower tier kids initial high school recruitment. If a program has 20 scholarships available in a class they're a heck of a lot more likely to take 15 high school kids and 5 transfers than they were a few years ago when those transfers would've had to sit and lose a year of eligibility if they transferred up or laterally. Some people don't like the fact that NIL has taken some of the "amateurism" away from college sports, which I totally agree with, but why place stipulations/limitations on when a kid can receive financial compensation that may change the course of their lives just because they play sports?

There may be something to reason #1 but I doubt reason #2 had much of an impact. NRG hosted the title games in 2016 and has hosted a lot of playoff games since then including BH vs Manvel in 2019. North Shore and Katy have played there multiple times since then also. They would've shut all the games down right afterwards if it was the title games' attendance that steered them away from hosting high school games. It would clear a lot of things up if Cal McNair just came out and vocalized the reason/s, some of us might even agree with him.

Per DC's district finish predictions the playoff paths for the four 8-5A-D1 teams would be: Crosby: 1st - McKinney North, 2nd - Frisco Wakeland, 3rd - Longview PA Memorial: 1st - John Tyler, 2nd - Mansfield Timberview/Frisco, 3rd - Frisco Lone Star Barbers Hill: 1st - Lancaster, 2nd - Frisco Lone Star Kingwood Park: 1st - Longview *DC's has Baytown Lee 4th but I think KP will finish in that spot

I see the top 6 in the 5A-D1 rankings are 1. Longview 2. Denton Ryan 3. Aledo 4. College Station 5. Frisco Lone Star 6. Crosby Does anybody have the DCTF predicted finish for 5A-D1 district 6? Trying to figure out which Frisco school they're predicting as our second round opponent?

Was watching some highlights from the state 7 on 7 tournament and noticed that Ja’Koby Banks wasn’t playing qb for FB Marshall. I mentioned earlier in the year that FBM got a stud transfer at QB and that they might be more potent if Banks moves to the slot where he’s committed to UH. Well, the kid playing QB didn’t look like the transfer either? I thought FBM’s qb play held them back from being the caliber team they were expected to be last year. If Coach Williams has already gotten that situation fixed prior to fall camp then man, watch out! I think having to make tough decisions at the most important position on the field like James Williams and Jeff Riordan had/have to do goes to show that the GM part of being a high school coach probably carries just as much weight as developing a great scheme.

Crosby gets to ride to the River Oaks area on the west side of town and play Lamar for their one scrimmage. I’d imagine that’s pretty sufficient prep for CE King the following week.

Seems like wherever Rio goes he produces high quality talent on the offensive side of the ball. All the way from Tyrik Rollison at Sulphuric Springs to the Brisbane kid he has now. Crazy part is that if he didn’t have to kick his starting qb off the team he’s probably playing for a state title last year. Dude can flat out coach offensive football. I think a healthy Chapel Hill is a title contender this year too though. Riordan has basically proved if you give him the guys he can beat your guys. Very impressed how fast he’s gotten CH there against that level of competition in that area.

I don’t like playing at Abe either. It’s an old venue in need of some upgrades but I can assure you Coach P isn’t going to agree to play y’all in Nac and make the Crosby fans travel twice the distance. Sounds like it would potentially be in Waco then. We did hammer Texas High at SFA a couple of years ago though.

Lol, I drink way too much of it to afford the blue label all the time but that’s my favorite too. They have some special casks in the islands that taste just as good as the blue label but they’re unavailable in the states, smh. I’m going to miss out games with Ned too. Very tough environment to play in usually and has generally played Crosby harder than any frequent opponent on the schedule the last 15 years. Good luck to the Dogs. If everybody plays up the their potential that’s a murder’s row of a district the next two years.

I wish "must see" and "have to see" were interchangeable, smh. While that game would be a must see for a bunch of random fans around the state, the have to see part of it for me usually leads to an excess intake of Johnnie Walker. That's win or lose though . . .

I've already told my son that if they handle their business that they should get to play y'all in the 3rd round on Black Friday in Lufkin. Crosby filled the home side twice last year against Marshall and Texas High so I would expect a Crosby vs Longview game to get Abe Martin pretty close to capacity. Good luck to y'all and hopefully we can meet up healthy.

Either way we're splitting hairs but I have to disagree with you on this one. I didn't think DR had a bunch of depth last year either. The way they play guys somewhat mitigates their depth issues if you can really call them that. DR make their hay on the defensive side of the ball and I think they're the most loaded team in the class on defense. They have the best ILB in the entire country, Marquice Hill and Tre Bates both have major FBS offers on the defensive line, Chance Rucker just committed to Michigan State to play corner and Kaden Kelly has an FBS offer at safety. If they're healthy their defense probably doesn't take much of a step back if any at all? I think DR is a little thinner on offense but their RB, who I think is a little more hype than substance, just committed to OU, Davis is going to pick up more FBS offers at QB and they return their leading receiver from last year. Depth may truly become an issue but you have to get past those guys first. Longview is very talented but outside of Jalen Hale and the receiving core what other position group would you give the nod to Longview over DR in? O-line possibly? I also think Longview has more talent in their incoming junior class than the incoming senior class does. The '24s at Longview have just as many if not more offers than the '23s do already. They also have to replace a pretty solid QB while DR bring their back. Again, splitting hairs but I just felt like DR probably should've gotten the nod.

CE King has a new coach and will be transitioning to a more run-based offense per one of their QB's dad so they may not be as stiff as some of their projections. They did pick up a transfer DE from Yates that's already committed to Colorado to go along with Dylan Spencer who's already committed to Texas playing on the other side so their defense might be a little better. I do feel bad for Soulja though. I know he's invested but he and everybody else on this board knows they have absolutely no chance for anything more than moral victories on the football field this year. Maybe he can petition the UIL for them to start basketball season earlier like some yahoo did for soccer this year?

With the offseason BH is having I would update my prediction to show them finishing 3rd also. I would flip flop Lee and KP and wouldn't at all be surprised if KP beat one of those top three teams if they had an off night. I don't think GCM will finish dead last either if the transfer QB they picked up from Clear Creek gets ruled eligible.

That's interesting. I would've for sure though DR would be #1 after blowing out Longview once last year and having a big lead in the 3rd round game before Longview came back to make it close? IMO Longview does return slightly better overall offensive skill guys but I think DR returns the better offensive backfield and more defensive talent. If College Station had a proven QB with the talent they return I would probably put them in front of Longview too.

We've won outright or were co-champs 6 of the last 8 years in district play so we're kind of used to it by now. #6 is pretty stiff given the move up in class and the smallest enrollment but I think it would be more than deserved if we can start the season 2-0. I would imagine 1-5 are: 1. Denton Ryan 2. Longview 3. College Station 4. Manvel 5. Aledo

1. Albany 2. Muenster 3. Mart 4. Wellington 5. Burton 6. Wink 7. Windthorst 8. Falls City 9. Chilton 10. Tenaha

Did y'all get a kid from the Houston area? There was a PAM fan at the area track meet sitting by me that said y'all might be in line for one?

I would absolutely love to do something like that but my work performance struggles enough during football season. Writing previews would have me doing some much research that they wouldn't get much out of me in the Summer either. They pay me ok so I at least want to try to give the company something during the latter half of the year.

I'm high on PNG because of what they have coming back but it's just hard to predict anything with a first year coach? On one hand I feel like with what they're returning anything less than 10-3 would be somewhat disappointing. On the other hand I feel like 9-4 with a first year coach is dang near as solid as it gets. 1. FB Marshall - Most pedigree in recent years, most talent and the best proven head coach to date. I have a feeling they'll be out to prove a point this year and their non-district schedule of Klein, Crosby and Alief Taylor should have them more than ready for district play. I think they'll play Liberty Hill in the semis 2. Texas City - If they could score they might be in the conversation to battle for the region. Expect a lot more of the same of what you saw from them last year. The only real impactful loss they had is their QB and according to the TC fans his little brother is better anyway. 3. PNG - Like those old BH teams, PNG is still struggling to defend on the edges. We'll see what the new offense looks like but picking them 3rd really should matter since they went three deep from the three-hole anyway last year. 4. Dayton - It will only be the 5th game of the year but I think they go over to Mid-County and play the Dogs for a playoff spot. Biggest question I have is if Dayton can stem the tide of being beat down at the line of scrimmage the last several years? 5. Nederland - No doubt their biggest game is MCM but if Ned can't beat Dayton at home week 5 they might be on skates the rest of the season. The 27.5ppg they averaged last year won't get it done this year either. Ned needs several pieces but it wouldn't surprise me if they end up with the best statistical defense in the district. 6. Galena Park - Went to their playoff game with PNG last year and was pretty surprised with how decent they were at the line of scrimmage. That being said, their skill guys left a lot to be desired. They're going to give a couple teams some tough nights with that style of offense but that about all they'll probably do. 7. FB Willowridge - They have a new coach and those Mo City athletes are nothing to sneeze at but it's hard to see them putting it together enough to really cause any trouble in the district. I will say though, be careful going over there to play them as it will be a long ride to an unfamiliar place which usually causes some discomfort. 8. Bye Week - most teams should be able to go undefeated against them. 9. Santa Fe - Situation is borderline HISD level as far as competition. No explanation needed as I'm sure it's tough enough for them. I would not at all be surprised to see three of the top 5 teams in the region come from this district. I think other salty teams in the region will be Austin LBJ, Leander Rouse and possibly Bryan Rudder.

It looks like Dayton's participation rates have improved mixed with the fact that they have a very talented sophomore class that will contribute next year. Coach Ware also comes from New Caney where they're well versed in talent acquisition which I think may be a reason they have Sunshine out there at QB now. If they can keep the participation rates up Dayton is going to be in a pretty good spot until they feel the impact of that new sub-division on their enrollment and have to move up a class.

In the 5 years prior to last season FBM made it all 5 regional finals and played in two state title games. Their bad year last year they went 10-1. They got their reputation by doing stuff like beating Manvel by 30 in a regional final and beating our district champ 49-0 in a third round game. They usually have the most talent of any 5A school in the area outside of Manvel to go with one of the top 10 coaches in the area. Teams can have off nights but their reputation is very well deserved.