Ball Hawk Student Blog: Cedar Hill's Team To Beat

High School Playoffs Heat Up

In a game that epitomized the thrill of football, powerhouse Southlake Carroll knocked out the defending Texas state champion Allen on Friday. I still think Cedar Hill is the team to beat in Class 5A Division II.

A week after Plano West pushed highly favored Cedar Hill to the limit, cross-town rival Plano put up a battle against a heavily favored opponent Trinity. The Wildcats lost by just three points with a strong effort.

The Plano West boys’ basketball team enters the season hoping to repeat as district champs. They lost their season opener to Lake Highlands, but the addition of Jackson Jeffcoat as the season progresses should provide a major boost on both offense and defense.

Football stud Michael Pruneau is also playing basketball for West this season. He last played as a sophomore, but from what I’ve heard, he can play the three or four positions equally as well, and is a great shooter.

Have to give a shoutout to Justin Staley, a friend of mine, also a junior, who is playing varsity basketball for West this season. I told him last year if he made varsity, I’d put him in my column. He scored eight points in the season opener.

The two most exciting basketball players in the area? Definitely Duncanville’s Perry Jones (a projected NBA lottery pick down the road), and Prestonwood’s Zach Peters, who also has NBA talent.

Cowboys vs. Redskins

The NFC East’s classic rivalry ended in predictable fashion on Sunday, with the Cowboys emerging victorious over the Redskins by a low score of 7-6. It wasn’t pretty, with Dallas struggling to find any sort of offense through three quarters. As usual though, the ‘Skins defense simply gave out in the fourth quarter, exhausted from being on the field for too long. Washington’s offense was stagnant, down to its third and fourth string running backs and an inept offensive line. Jason Campbell actually had a good game, and if it weren’t for the blockers in front of him largely being undrafted free agents, he would’ve more than likely thrown a few touchdowns. As a ‘Skins fan, I’ve never been as disappointed with a kicker’s confidence and resulting performance as I was with Shaun Suisham’s. He stared down the goal post before his 50-yard field goal like he was about to jump out of a moving airplane. He was 2-4 on game day and it cost the Skin’s a win.

For you Dallas fans, the home team may have won, but they didn’t exactly dazzle.  Even with Washington missing their best defensive player (Albert Haynesworth), Dallas couldn’t amount to more than one touchdown. Miles Austin and Roy Williams were held in check for the entire game, and for the second straight week, the Cowboys offense looked out of sorts. Playing that way against a wild card contender like Green Bay is one thing, but against the 3-7 Redskins? I foresee another first-round playoff loss for “America’s Team.”