Friday's game puts me in Plano, which feels more like North Carrollton and just down the street from Lewisville Hebron, for a TAPPS District 2-DI showdown between two of the perennial state powers.
Game Details
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Day: Friday, November 1
Location: Lions Stadium (Plano, Texas)
Previous meetings: Bishop Lynch won 50-40 (2018)
Previewing Bishop Lynch (4-4, 1-1)
After a close loss to the reigning TAPPS state champs to open the season and then rattling off three straight wins, it was looking like the season everyone projected Bishop Lynch to have. Then it was three straight losses, losing by an average of 47 to 18.3 to San Antonio Cornerstone, Fort Worth Nolan and Parish Episcopal and a sub-.500 record.
Last week seemed to have stemmed the tied against the Friars in a game where they got back to winning the turnover battle and dominating its opponent on defense - holding crosstown-rival Bishop Dunne to just 121 yards of offense.
On the year, Bishop Lynch has been very up and down - as told previously. When it wins, the offense is humming putting up nearly 400 yards of offense and scoring 38 points a game. When it losses, it's very pedestrian at 232 yards and 17 points per game.
Bishop Lynch is a run-first offense, averaging 225 yards per game on the ground (251.2 in non-district; 148.5 in district). When the run game is rolling, Lynch will put up points and force teams to keep up with it. In every game - win or lose - that Lynch has scored 20 or more points, the running game has surpassed 200 yards rushing. When neither of things occur, Lynch is 0-3.
Another contributor to Lynch's success or failure this year has been the turnover bug. When it wins, it forces 2.4 a game and commits just 1.8. When it loses, the turnovers forced drops to 2.0 and the turnovers committed jump to 3.0.
Offensively, the Friars are led by Darries Boyd, who has rushed 185 times for 1,205 yards and 13 touchdowns. Isaiah Schmidtke has chipped in with 41 carried, 341 yards and 5 scores on the ground as well.
Previewing Prestonwood (6-2, 1-1)
Prestonwood is another ground-and-pound team that likes to control the ball and force teams to have to abandon its own run game, which it has done successfully in five of its six wins this year. In its two losses, Prestonwood was met with teams that can play up-tempo and use both the run and passing games effectively.
Case in point is against Parish last week as Prestonwood was down 27-6 at the half and allowed the opponent to put up 478 yards. All while the offense struggled to generate any offense as running back Randell Holmes was held to 80 yards rushing and the passing game only netted 79 yards on 19 attempts.
Holmes and quarterback Jacob Switzer carry the load for Prestonwood, as the two have combined for 1,182 yards and 16 touchdowns for a team that averages 27.1 points per game but just 20.5 through two district games.
Previewing the Game
Since the 2016 season, these two teams have met four times with Bishop Lynch getting the better of Prestonwood in three of those matchups. The only win for Prestonwood came at home in the first meeting in 2016 (subsequently losing in the playoffs to Lynch that year on a neutral field).
In a five-team district, this game is huge. Right now, Prestonwood sits in the No. 2 spot behind Parish but tied with Bishop Lynch and Plano John Paul II in the district standings. Prestonwood owns the tie-breaker over John Paul with is 22-10 to open district play.
These teams have played close lately in the four games mentioned earlier. The average margin of victory has been 6.25, which is just shy of where TexasFootball.com has this line (Prestonwood favored by 7). Before its win over struggling Dunne, Bishop Lynch was giving up 47 points a game during the three-game losing streak and in two of its wins prior gave up 34 and 38 points, respectively.
Removing the Parish losses from each team, Prestonwood has been far more consistent in its offensive production and defensive abilities. While the offense might turn the ball over, the defense is able to get the ball back to stymie any momentum.
Prestonwood's last win over Lynch in 2016 came at home, which is where this game will be played, and that's why I'm leaning toward Prestonwood in this one and to bounce back from a rough outing a week ago.
Prediction: Prestonwood 30, Bishop Lynch 24
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