GAMES
RANKINGS
St. Thomas looks lilke TAPPS favorites
BIG CHANGES: TAPPS, SPC early playoff look in
The big-picture story: TAPPS blew up the playoff format
For the 2026-28 realignment cycle, TAPPS compressed the football playoffs to three weeks so they finish before Thanksgiving, a move that drew significant pushback from member schools and fans. To get the playoff field down near 50% of teams, the organization added an extra championship in 11-man Division II and two more in six-man.
- Division I is a straight eight-team bracket, regionals this Friday, then semis and a final.
- Division II is now split into Large School and Small School brackets with four byes, so only two games are played in each this week.
- Finals are Nov. 19-21 in Waco. Per TAPPS, the Division I title game is Friday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m., with Division II Small School at 11 a.m. and Large School at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Waco ISD Athletic Complex.
TAPPS Division I — Regionals, Friday, Nov. 6
The four games: Austin St. Michael’s (District 2 No. 4) at Argyle Liberty Christian (District 1 No. 1); Frisco Legacy Christian (1-3) at Houston Lutheran South (2-2); San Antonio Central Catholic (2-3) at Dallas Parish Episcopal (1-2); and Plano Prestonwood (1-4) at Houston St. Thomas (2-1), Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Prestonwood at St. Thomas (Fri., 7:30) — The Eagles are the District 2 champion and the Houston-area headliner. St. Thomas is 7-2 overall and 5-0 in district before closing the regular season against St. Michael’s. Their two losses came early, including one to Kinkaid in September, before a 19-14 win over Lutheran South on Oct. 2 that effectively decided the district. Prestonwood is the 4-seed out of the Dallas district, but their résumé isn’t a pushover: PCA beat Fort Worth Christian 49-35 in September and lost to All Saints 42-14, a team that’s arguably the best private program in the state.
Legacy Christian at Lutheran South (Fri., 6:00) — The Pioneers were a surprise package this fall. LSA started 6-0 and and were 7-1, with the lone loss the five-point game at St. Thomas. QB Reid Jeffrey and Braeden Robinson are the names to wach. Legacy Christian is the District 1 No. 3 — they lost 24-20 to Episcopal School of Dallas in September, and ESD is now an undefeated SPC 3A team, so that’s a respectable loss.
St. Michael’s at Liberty Christian — Liberty Christian is the District 1 champion and the program with the most recent hardware: they won Division II in 2023 and Division I in 2024 before being upset early last year. They opened 2026 with a 66-63 loss to Midland Christian and lost 35-34 to Celina, so the defense has been the question all year, but the offense is explosive. St. Michael’s is the District 2 4-seed that St. Thomas just played.
Central Catholic at Parish Episcopal — Parish lost 42-16 to San Antonio Cornerstone in September, and finished second in District 1. Central Catholic is the District 2 No. 3; Lutheran South beat them 48-14 in September.
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TAPPS Division II Large School — Quarterfinals this week
Fort Worth All Saints and Regents School of Austin have byes. The two games are Midland Christian vs. Bullard Brook Hill and Austin Hyde Park vs. Houston Second Baptist. The winners face All Saints and Regents, respectively, in the semifinals, with the final Saturday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m.
Hyde Park vs. Second Baptist — This is the Houston story. Second Baptist is coming off the most improbable run in the area last year: they started 2025 at 1-6 and still reached the state title game, beating Woodlands Christian 34-27 and then Lutheran South to earn the berth for a second straight year. They led defending champ All Saints 10-7 at halftime of the final before falling. They sat at 5-3 as of mid-October. Hyde Park lost 31-27 to Central Catholic in Week 0.
Midland Christian vs. Brook Hill — Midland Christian is the dangerous one: they put 66 on Liberty Christian in Week 0, and played a New Jersey team (Wayne Hills) in a 41-34 loss. Brook Hill is the East Texas entry. Winner gets All Saints, the defending Division II champion. Prospectus: All Saints is the title favorite in this bracket; Midland Christian is the team most capable of scoring with them.
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TAPPS Division II Small School — Quarterfinals this week
Tyler Grace Community and The Woodlands Christian Academy have byes. The games are Grapevine Faith vs. the McKinney Christian/Grace Prep winner, and Brownsville St. Joseph vs. Victoria St. Joseph.
The Houston angle: Woodlands Christian - TWCA is the District 4 champion sitting on a bye and is the obvious favorite in this bracket — it’s a program with real pedigree and was pushed down here by enrollment rather than results. Walk specifically flagged that TWCA was denied the chance to compete against the other district champions. Story: “The best team in the Small School bracket didn’t want to be in it.” TWCA’s semifinal opponent is the Brownsville/Victoria St. Joseph winner — Grapevine Faith, which Walk describes as having come on late in the year, faces Grace Prep on the other side for a shot at Tyler Grace.
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SPC — Semifinals Friday, Nov. 6; championships Saturday, Nov. 7
This is new too. The SPC expanded its football playoffs this year to include semifinals in both 4A and 3A. St. John’s lists its SPC semifinal for Friday, Nov. 6, time TBA. The fall championships are in Houston this year (the SPC cross country championship is Nov. 7 at Spring Creek Park, hosted by St. John’s), so expect the title games Saturday on Houston-area campuses.
4A semifinals: (1) Kinkaid vs. (4) St. John’s; (2) Episcopal vs. (3) Houston Christian. All four are Houston schools. Standings: Kinkaid 5-0 SPC, 7-3 overall on a six-game win streak; Episcopal 4-1 and 7-3, four straight wins; Houston Christian and St. John’s both 2-3 and 5-5; St. Mark’s 1-4; John Cooper 1-4.
- Kinkaid vs. St. John’s is a rematch of Friday’s regular-season finale. Kinkaid beat St. John’s 28-0 in the 76th meeting of the series — the Falcons’ 14th straight win over the Mavericks, and only the fourth shutout in the rivalry since 1971. The Mavericks last beat Kinkaid 27-21 on Oct. 26, 2012, and this will be the first time the two have played twice in one year. Prospectus: Kinkaid, VYPE’s preseason No. 1 private school, is the clear favorite, but SJS gets a second look at them a week later.
- Episcopal vs. Houston Christian — Episcopal’s only conference loss is to Kinkaid, so a Kinkaid-Episcopal final (the matchup that’s defined 4A for over a decade) is the expected outcome. Houston Christian is the spoiler; the Mustangs have never won a 4A SPC football title, having lost the 2023 3A final 30-27 to Trinity Valley before moving up.
3A semifinals: (1) Episcopal School of Dallas vs. (4) Austin St. Andrew’s; (2) Arlington Oakridge vs. (3) Fort Worth Country Day. ESD is 10-0 (7-0), Oakridge 8-1 (6-1), FWCD 6-4 (5-2), St. Andrew’s 5-4 (3-4). ESD could reach 11 wins for the first time in school history next weekend. ESD dropped from 4A to 3A this cycle under new coach Bob Benson.
VYPE HIGHLIGHTS | McKinney Boyd Broncos vs Allen Eagles Football
Last week, the McKinney Boyd Broncos football team took on the Allen Eagles in a tough district matchup.
Check out the highlights from the game below!