5PM - Football: Liberty Hill vs. El Paso Eastlake

The Vandegrift Vipers have owned District 25-6A (formerly 13-6A), capturing or sharing the district title for seven straight seasons. Their loss to McNeil last month was their first district defeat since 2021. But this year they find themselves embroiled in a 5-team playoff scrum. And while the Vipers are still definitely in the mix for another district title, they find themselves in the unusual position of chasing another team, the resurgent Hutto Hippos. And that raises the stakes this Friday night (10/24) when Vandegrift travels to Hutto’s Memorial Stadium to face the Hippos in this week’s VYPE Austin Central Texas Game of the Week.

The Hippos (5-0, 6-1) got off to an inauspicious start, dropping their opener to San Marcos. Since then, however, first year Head Coach Eli Reinhart’s club has reeled off six impressive wins. Reinhart was the offensive coordinator for last year’s 6A Division 1 state champion, North Crowley. Those Panthers averaged a gaudy 53.7 points-per-game enroute to a perfect 16-0 record and a 50-21 shellacking of Westlake in the title game.