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STATE SEMIFINALS PREVIEW: Brock Eagles set for Malakoff
UIL State Semifinals are about to kick off. Teams all over the state that have made it this far are preparing to put up the fight of their lives to get to the state title game. With just one victory standing between them and another appearance at the biggest stage in Texas high school football, Brock fully intends on leaving it all on the field Thursday as they take on Malakoff. What can fans expect out of this 3A semifinal matchup?
Brock Eagles (10-4, 6-0)
This season, the Eagles have been on a roll. After opening the season with four straight losses during their preseason schedule, they knew they had to turn the tables and put forth a better effort on the field. With a strong mentality and dedication to fine tuning their attack, the Eagles went on a run through district play defeating opponent after opponent before finishing at the top of their district standings with an unblemished district record. Once in the playoffs, Brock continued to do what they do and steamroll their opponents ending the seasons of Iowa Park (48-0), Muleshoe (57-20), Bushland (51-27), and Whitesboro (30-19).
Led by the likes of Jhett Jones, Reid Watkins, Carson Finney, Brett Tutter, Tyler Moody, and more, Brock's offense has been able to step up and make big plays happen throughout their games. The defense led by Watkins, Zachary Brewster, Cam Harris, and more has been a wall that has proven to be difficult for opponents to get through. They enter the state semifinals on a 10 game win-streak while outscoring their opponents this season by a combined 266 points. The Eagles will look to continue their regular excellence against Malakoff.
Malakoff Tigers (13-1, 6-0)
Having lost only one game this season- an early 21-17 loss against Grandview in preseason play- the Tigers have been a force to be reckoned with in their own schedule. Defeating the likes of West Rusk, Salado, Glaewater, Eustace, Groesbeck, and more, the team was able to finish at the top of their district undefeated in district play. Outscoring their opponents by a combined 485 points this season. Through playoffs, the Tigers have defeated Dallas Madison (62-0), Winnsboro (55-10), West (35-14), and Grandview (29-17).
Jason Tennyson, Corey Phillips, Damien Jackson, Austin Massingill, Mike Jones, and more have been impactful on the Tigers offense. With the ability to set the tone and continue to raise the bar, Malakoff has laid out quite the resume headed into the state semifinals. Chauncey Hogg, Jakerry Smallwood, Asa Mondragon, and more lead the defense in creating a force that has been nearly impossible to get past all season. Malakoff will look to put a stop to Brock on Thursday.
What To Expect:
Brock has the determination and skill that it takes to really focus on the game. They're a disciplined team that not only knows what it takes to get to the state title game, but to win it. With only one team standing in their way, the Eagles are set to play a game that fans will be proud of. Malakoff, however, isn't going to be a team that just lays down and let's Brock run all over them. They are going to put up a fight and be one of the toughest teams Brock has had to face all season. Fans can expect this game to keep them on the edge of their seats.
Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 8 at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco.
Predicting Notable Week 9 DFW Matchups
Last week was rough, going 15-9 (62.5%) and pretty much ending any shot of going 75 percent on the season. I have to go 64-12 the last regular season weeks (or 21.3 wins per week) to get there - it's obviously not happening. Now the goal is just to get back to 70 percent on the year. My overall record is 130-58 (.692) through eight weeks.
Below are the 22 other games of note that I'll try my best at predicting a winner for in addition to the deeper-dive games in 7-6A:
DeSoto downing Mansfield Summit; Cedar Hill defeating South Grand Prairie.
(Rankings for each team can be found in our Week 9 Top 10 Area Rankings)
The first three games are Thursday night matchups; the final 19 are Friday night games.
Lakeview Centennial (5-2, 3-1) vs. Sachse (5-2, 3-1)
