It was an interesting first weekend of playoff football in the Houston area.

Some games went exactly as expected; others were complete surprises. Several teams that were expected to win did so, but got much more of a run for their money than they would’ve liked in the first round. So, who fared best over the weekend? And which team might have raised some questioning eyebrows in the course of moving on?

First of all (since I saw this one first-hand), Klein Collins only elevated their stature as a contender for the Region II/Division 2 crown in my mind. Their 44-7 win over Oak Ridge was a textbook example of the two huge strengths that this team has: a punishing defense and an offense that does not make mistakes to beat themselves.

Before the game, Coach Drew Svoboda refused to single out any one or two players on defense who are THE difference-makers, instead saying that he wouldn’t trade any one of his eleven for any other group of kids. In the aftermath, it was easy to understand why.

The Lamar Redskins and North Shore Mustangs were impressive in victory, not simply because they defeated Eisenhower and Pearland, respectively, but because of the manner in which they thoroughly controlled their games against opponents that were expected to be a little more evenly matched to them.

Last week, we wrote that we expected The Woodlands to be given a big test right out of the gate by Klein Forest. We expected a TWHS win, but a very close game. But, the game was even closer than expected, coming down to missed PAT in overtime by the Golden Eagles, which gave the Highlanders a 32-31 win.

Finally, here’s a short multiple-choice quiz:

At some point in their playoff opener, Cypress Ridge looked like they would [a] blow out Cedar Park by halftime, [b] live through the rest of the school year with the pain of a huge blown lead, [c] win a gritty overtime thriller, or [d] all of the above.

If you can’t figure out the answer, find a box score of the game.

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I wanted to rant about this issue last week, but got consumed with playoff predictions instead…

Do you know which Dallas-Fort Worth area venue has hosted the most playoff games to this point? It’s that high school Mecca, Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

And do you know why they’ve hosted more games than any other venue? It’s because they’ve hosted a Thursday night doubleheader, a Friday night doubleheader and a Saturday quadrupleheader.  It’ll happen again this weekend too.

If you’re thinking my rant is about the greed of Jerry Jones and the Cowboys, then you’ll be sadly disappointed. I’m a lot like Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street: “Greed is good.”

Jones and the Cowboys are in business to make money (as well as pay off the debt they incurred to build that edifice).

My rant is instead directed toward the coaches and administrators of the teams and schools who, for the ‘prestige’ of being able to say they played a game in Cowboys Stadium, are willing to sacrifice their team’s best interest and agree to be a part of a hurry-in, hurry-out format of either two or four games in a single day.

The Thursday night twinbill started at 5:00 PM. The teams in the early game at least get the benefit of a solid hour or more on the field before game time. But parents must choose to sacrifice work time to make it to the game on time, arrive late or not go at all, which seems unlikely.

The parents fare better for a Thursday 8:00 PM start, but then the teams suffer because the pre-game on-field time is cut down due to waiting on the early contest to wrap up.

Undoubtedly, the ticket prices at that venue are higher than other locales. In every game, the game officials will be ‘encouraged’ to run a tightly-timed event. Quarter changes and halftimes will be sliced and diced. And I can envision guys with walkie-talkies out on the field after each game to run off both teams who just finished and run the next contestants onto the field…

Assembly-line playoffs.

Friday night doubleheaders start an hour later, because there is no school on Saturday and you can ‘legitimately’ start a second game at 9:00 PM. But imagine trying to keep a group of restless high school kids focused until that hour.

Then, there are the Saturday marathons: 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM kickoff times.

If I were a coach of a team whose administration was considering being a part of that scenario, I’d take a stand for my team and refuse to play under those terms and conditions. I think, in situations where more than one game at a given site are necessary or expedient, there should be a minimum of five hours in between kickoff times for each game.

If a site can’t or won’t do that, then the coach has the obligation to the best interests of his team to turn down the opportunity to play there—no matter how grand a stage it may be.

(Yes, I know that currently the Alamodome in San Antonio hosts Saturday tripleheaders with four hours in between kickoff times; that’s better, but still pushing the envelope a little, in my estimation.)

I think this is just a North Texas/DFW phenomenon. And this isn’t the first year this has happened in that region of the state.  The same practice was in place for years at Texas Stadium in Irving. 

You haven’t seen those kinds of scenarios here, even back in the day when the Astrodome hosted high school playoffs. Saturday day/night doubleheaders are generally no problem, but four games at one site seem ridiculous.

But apparently certain coaches in North Texas—much like the general population of that area—are more concerned with style over substance and where they are seen rather than how much of a chance to succeed they give themselves.

I guess if you are resigned to the fact that, ultimately, you’re not going to make it through the bracket to play on a major stage at the end of the season, it really isn’t a big deal.

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Speaking of North Texas matchups, I feel lonely out on this limb: I’ve picked De Soto to end Dallas Skyline’s season. I’m either the smartest prognosticator in the world…or the dumbest.

I also think Converse Judson will take out Austin Westlake in Region IV this Friday night. That seems to put me in the minority as well, but the Rockets play this game at home (at D.W. Rutledge Stadium) and I think this team is going to play for a while.

Many would say it isn’t wise to trumpet unpopular picks immediately after lampooning others, but I’ve never been accused of being a wise man. Only a wise…well, you know.