Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I trust you will take at least a few minutes to find something or someone in your life to be thankful for this week.  If you’re a fan of Texas high school football, you can, at the very least, be grateful for one of the most entertaining seasons in recent memory.
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November 26, 2009 is the fifteenth anniversary of this all-time Texas high school playoff gem between Plano East and Tyler John Tyler, not to mention the most ‘homer’-riffic call of a football game ever.

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Here’s a play run by Bethel College that I doubt any coach that is still in the Texas high school playoffs would have the courage to call.

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Upsets were the order of the weekend in Round 2 of the 2009 UIL football playoffs, along with some near misses.  Plenty of teams will give thanks this weekend for still having at least one more game to play when many people thought they would not.

The Woodlands fell at the hands of the Stony Point Tigers on Saturday night.  This is an upset because TWHS was the top-ranked team in the Houston area and the third-ranked team in the state.  But it isn’t like Stony Point was an overwhelming underdog.  Coach Craig Chessher, with his team trailing 17-3 at halftime, apparently pulled out a Lombardi-esque halftime speech and Sam Kelley sliced and diced the Highlander defense in the second half. 

The Tigers outscored The Woodlands 35-7 in the final two periods to advance to play Tyler Lee.  You can listen to that game on the LSN.

And how ’bout those West Brook Bruins?  After knocking off North Shore in the final week of the regular season to win District 21-5A, the Little Team that Could out of Beaumont rolled on through a first-round win over Deer Park before they upset almost everyone’s pick to come out of Region III in the 5A Division 1 bracket, the Hightower Hurricanes.

Now, the Bruins have their fourth extremely tough test in a row, against the Cinco Ranch Cougars, in the regional semifinal round.  But, after the last three weeks, who is to say that Craig Stump’s team can’t or won’t pull off another upset? 

Again, you can follow that game at the LSN, and it will be one of our video streams for the weekend.  Listen AND SEE all the action.

In still another LSN broadcast on Friday, Brazoswood and Alief Taylor play in a third round matchup that I doubt anyone saw coming.  Brazoswood knocked out North Shore, 7-3, in what could be considered a mild upset, though you couldn’t tell that to anyone who has seen the Bucs’ defense play this season. Alief Taylor won their second consecutive playoff game, which also happen to be the first two playoff wins in school history.

Outside the Houston area, Dallas Skyline posted 41 points in the first half, and then held on for dear life as DeSoto shut them out and made a furious attempt to end the Raiders’ undefeated season.  Skyline eked out a 41-36 win and now will face Cypress Woods in a rematch of last year’s Region II semifinal game.

Cy Woods held off a late rally by Westfield to advance.  In their first two seasons as a varsity program, David Jones’ Wildcats have now advanced to the third round of the playoffs both years.  That’s a strong benchmark to establish.

Beyond the 5A classification, there will be plenty of other exciting matchups as the remaining number of teams dwindles.

Beaumont Central and Friendswood meet again in a Class 4A 2008 playoff rematch.  The Central Jaguars feel like they were robbed by the Mustangs last season and come into this game with revenge on their minds.  This is another of our LSN-TV games this week.

Perhaps no games will be as entertaining as the 1A matchups we have this weekend.  Riesel and Mart, a pair of 22-1A teams who are both still alive in the playoffs, square off against some tough competition.  Mart will take on Tenaha, who comes out of East Texas with a 12-0 record.  But Mart can put up a lot of points offensively, as their 60-7 victory over previously-unbeaten Evadale last week would attest.

And they are a rugged team on defense, something that should be no surprise from a team coached by a man named Rusty Nail.  Mart and Tenaha play Friday night in Van.

Riesel finished behind Mart and Lovelady in 22-1A, but are still alive and well in the 1A Division 1 regional final round.  They’ll have a tough battle against 10-2 Joaquin, but are just one win from the state semifinal round.  Joaquin is about as close to Louisiana as you can get without being in it (over near Possum Trot and Huxley) and they take their football seriously.  So that will be an entertaining game on Friday afternoon.

By the way, Lovelady, the 22-1A champs are also still alive in the 1A playoffs at 12-0.  They play 10-1 Cayuga this week.

All in all, it’s another bountiful week of playoff football.  That makes me thankful, indeed!