The high school football playoffs don’t take a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. In fact, this week’s schedule at Bowers Stadium is even more stuffed than last week’s with three games on the slate starting Friday afternoon.

Last week, Groveton and Klein Forest advanced after exciting victories at Bowers Stadium, home of the Bearkats and Hornets.

This week, Klein Oak plays Leander in a Class 5A game Friday at 2 p.m. Hamilton, which upset Mart, the state’s top-ranked Class 2A team, last week, plays Corrigan-Camden at Bowers at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

On Saturday, Bowers Stadium is the site of another 5A game — Spring Westfield versus Round Rock Stony Point. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

Ticket prices vary from $6 for the 2A game to $9 for the Westfield-Stony Point game.

“The schools set their own ticket prices,” SHSU media services coordinator Jason Barfield said Tuesday. “We’ve got three more games in Huntsville this week. Last week, we had great crowds, especially for the Lufkin-Klein Forest game. Lufkin brought a great crowd of between 4,500 and 5,000 people. They were really loud, and by the end of the game, Klein Forest’s side was pretty full, too.”

Already, the folks at Sam Houston State have another terrific matchup set next week. On Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m., the winner of this week’s Giddings-West Orange-Stark game clashes with the winner of the area contest between Crockett and Waco LaVega.

Giddings is undefeated (11-0) and ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, while Waco LaVega (11-0) is ranked sixth and West Orange-Stark (10-1) is seventh. Crockett (8-3) last week upset Madisonville in the first round of the Class 3A Division II playoffs.



Lions, Bulldogs move on; Cubs’ season comes to abrupt end — Livingston extended its remarkable ’07 football season another week, at least, with a 42-13 thumping of Manor last week. The Lions (9-2) made maximum use of their speed and offensive balance to blast an 8-3 Manor team in a Class 4A Division II first-round playoff game at Conroe’s Moorhead Stadium.

Livingston took control early, posting a 28-0 halftime lead against the District 17-4A co-champion Mustangs and never looked back. The Lions play Houston Washington (7-4) on Friday at 1 p.m. at Humble’s Turner Stadium.

Waller, the other Division II (or small-school) representative from District 18-4A, also advanced to the second round. The Bulldogs (8-3) beat Austin McCallum 41-20 in a bi-district game last week at A&M; Consolidated High School in College Station.

Waller quarterback Jeremy Phillips threw for two touchdowns and scored on a 99-yard run to lead the Bulldogs, who advanced to face Houston Yates (10-0) this week. Waller and Yates play at 1 p.m. Friday at Rhodes Stadium in Katy.

Brenham, the champions of 18-4A, was not as fortunate as Livingston and Waller. Austin LBJ turned two interceptions into 13 points in a 20-18 upset of the Cubs last Saturday in Bryan.

The Jaguars (9-2) forced four turnovers, including three interceptions of Brenham quarterback Kyler Crenshaw.

Brenham’s defense created havoc, too. The Cubs notched a pair of safeties and forced four turnovers.

“They were better and we didn’t deserve to win this game,” Brenham coach Glen West told the Bryan-College Station Eagle.

A couple of days after the game, West was still smarting from the loss to LBJ. The Cubs had advanced to the state semifinals in 2005 and the regional semifinals last fall.

“You run at top speed and all of a sudden your whole plan has changed because of a loss,” West told the Brenham Banner-Press. “You really don’t plan on a loss, you plan on a win.”

With the win, LBJ advances to play Houston Furr (7-4). The game, originally scheduled to be played Friday at A&M; Consolidated, has been moved to Bryan’s Viking Stadium at 6 p.m. Friday.



Some of state’s best hoops being played in Huntsville, New Waverly — The New Waverly Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs have some company in this week’s rankings of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, or TABC.

Huntsville’s boys, following wins over Tomball and Cleveland, pulled into the 20th spot in the Class 4A rankings, which were released Monday.

“It’s nice to have that recognition. It’s also nice that we’ve been able to put Huntsville back on the basketball map,” Hornets coach Doug Anderson said Tuesday.

On Monday night, the Hornets performed like one of the state’s top Class 4A teams in a convincing 66-48 victory at Lufkin. Senior point guard Drae Murray led the Hornets with 19 points. Junior post Kirby Ennis added 15 points and George Perry came off the bench to contribute 12 points and 12 boards.

“We came out and played with a lot of intensity on both ends of the floor,” Anderson said. “We played great defense and created 17 turnovers against them. They pressed us the whole time, and after a timeout to get better organized, we handled it pretty well. We missed a few easy buckets, but overall we played very well.”

The Hornets (3-0) host Fort Bend Elkins on Saturday at 3 p.m.

The New Waverly boys, ranked seventh in the latest TABC Class 2A poll, started the 2007-08 season this week with a pair of wins on two consecutive nights. The Bulldogs pounded Leggett 99-43 on Monday, then they eked out a 75-71 victory on Tuesday at Kountze.

Jarvice Sykes scored 26 points Tuesday, Joseph Carrington and Alex Brown added 10 points each and Sir. Horace Saulsberry threw in eight points for the Bulldogs.

“I’m pleased to be 2-0 against two ranked teams,” Bulldogs coach Bill Goffney said. “Leggett is ranked (17th) in Class 1A and Kountze is ranked (eighth) in 3A. We have played with a lot of intensity. We’ve got to fix some little stuff, but so far I’ve been very pleased with our intensity.”

The Bulldogs next play at Class 4A Montgomery on Monday at 7 p.m.

New Waverly’s girls, ranked ninth by the TABC, rebounded from Monday’s loss to Leggett with a 73-72 victory at Normangee on Tuesday. The Lady Bulldogs (4-2) held off a late charge in the fourth quarter to notch another win.

“Normangee is a good team, and they are state ranked in the Class 1A division,” Lady Bulldogs coach Eldridge McAdams said. “They have already upset some of our district foes this season and (they) made a deep run in the playoffs last year.”

Senior Didra Jones led all scorers with 27 points for New Waverly. She also had eight rebounds. Little sister Destiny Jones, a junior, posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.

Amber Sanders scored 10 points and dished out five assists. Shanique Smith had seven points, and Raven Russell provided a spark off the bench with six points and six rebounds.

Jessica Windborn and Alicia Scott each finished with four points for New Waverly.

“To come out of there with a win was big for us because we didn’t play as good as we can,” McAdams said. “We are playing some tough teams to get ready for district and we want to be in full swing. We are not playing like the Lady Dogs right now, but it will come.”

The Lady Bulldogs will take the rest of the week off then are back in action next Tuesday at North Zulch at 6 p.m.