The next-to-last Friday of the high school football regular season is on deck, and all eyes are on District 4-2A Division I where the four likely playoff teams square off looking to improve their postseason positioning. The following are glimpses of the five games on the schedule this week:

Coleman (7-0, 3-0) at San Saba (2-6, 2-1)

7 p.m. Friday

The Class 2A Division I No. 5 Coleman Bluecats are in the driver’s seat for the District 4 championship after a dominant 31-7 win over Cisco last week, while the San Saba Armadillos look to stretch their win streak to three games and move into a tie atop the league standings.

Coleman snapped Cisco’s 61-game district win streak last week as the Bluecats allowed just 222 yards of total offense while producing 307 yards – 221 on the ground and 86 through the air.

Quarterback Jadin Jackson tallied 133 yards rushing and two touchdowns followed by Ryland Gentry with 44 yards and a score and Brent Bouldin with 34 yards. Jackson also completed 3 of 6 passes for 86 yards with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Cort McFadden and receptions of 24 yards by Devinar Roberson and 12 yards by Braxton Smith.

San Saba picked up its second straight win last week, 45-14 over De Leon, as the Armadillos finished with 302 yards of total offense – 184 passing and 118 rushing.

Lance Taylor completed 16 of 24 passes for 161 yards with a pair of touchdowns and two interceptions, while rushing for 33 yards and a touchdown. Weston Lackey grabbed three receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 6 yards and another score. Tyler Johnson caught a team-high five passes for 60 yards while Drake Bryant grabbed three passes for 16 yards and scored once.

On the ground, Zuri Herrera chipped in 28 yards, Tegan Suiz contributed 16, Johnson ran for 15 and Franco Franco added 13.

Defensively, San Saba yielded just 73 yards of total offense, registered seven sacks, forced a pair of turnovers and Cooper Moreno returned a fumble for a touchdown. Hurrera logged 16 tackles followed by Weston Oliver with 12, Bryant with 10, and Leonel Aranda with nine.

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Coleman is a 27-point favorite.

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Cisco (6-2, 2-1) at Goldthwaite (4-4, 2-1)

7 p.m. Friday

The Goldthwaite Eagles rebounded from their first District 4-2A Division I defeat by routing Winters, 49-13, and will attempt to vault Cisco – whose 61-game district win streak ended last week at Coleman – as both teams jockey for playoff positioning.

In the win over Winters last week, Goldthwaite manufactured 326 yards of total offense – 274 rushing and 52 passing – without a turnover, while surrendering just 190 yards – including a mere 48 rushing – with three takeaways.

Seth Gardner rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns, Jackson Patrick chipped in 38 yards and a score, Luke Sanderson produced 32 yards and crossed the goal line once, Carsyn Campbell compiled 28 yards, Cutter Campbell added 25 yards with a trip to the end zone, Aaron Anzua finished with 18 yards and Mason Reven tacked on 12.

Patrick completed 2 of 6 passes for 36 yards with a 26-yard touchdown to Cason Guthrie, while Guthrie hurled a 16-yard completion to Patrick. Gardner also caught a 10-yard pass form Patrick.

Defensively, Saul Vaquera returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown, Sanderson also picked off a pass, and Anzua pounced on a fumble. Reven and Carsyn Campbell led the Eagles with 11 tackles each followed by Patrick with eight, Guthrie with seven and a sack, Hayden Clary-Sharpe with seven, and Gardner and Kody Roberts with six tackles apiece.

Cisco enters the contest averaging 33 points and 321 yards – 264 rushing and 57 passing – per game, led by quarterback Hunter Long’s 1,293 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns and 460 passing yards and six scores, running back Trent Huston’s 679 yards and four scores, and receiver Kason Contring’s five catches for 119 yards and two scores.

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Goldthwaite is a 30-point underdog.

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Jacksboro (4-3, 2-1) at Comanche (1-7, 1-2)

7:30 p.m. Friday

The Comanche Indians notched their first victory of the season and Jake Escobar coaching era last week against Millsap, 49-34, to move into playoff contention. The Indians will attempt to inch closer to securing a postseason berth as they welcome the Jacksboro Tigers Friday night.

Coming into Friday’s game, Comanche produces 22 points and 321 yards – 155 passing and 166 rushing – per game, while allowing 38 points on average.

Hudson Welch has thrown for 1,161 yards and seven touchdowns, while adding 286 yards rushing and a score. Top receivers are Kyler Beaty (25-4442), Miguel Martinez (20-319), and Layden Welch (10-178). On the ground, Luke Wilson leads the way with 824 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Martinez has contributed 118 yards with a trip to the end zone.

Standouts for the Comanche defense – which allows 38 points per game – include Layden Welch with 42 tackles on the season trailed by Beaty and Wilson with 41 each, Martinez with 39, Ayden Fishback with 34 apiece, and Dom Rios with 32.

Jacksboro is coming off a 51-48 win over Eastland last week as the Tigers rallied from a 20-7 deficit and finished with 481 total yards – 337 passing and 144 rushing – while allowing 581 yards – 369 on the ground and 212 through the air – and forcing the game’s lone turnover.

Lando Belcher completed 21 of 32 passes with three touchdowns, while rushing for 46 yards and two more scores. Baylor Laake finished with 91 yards and a touchdown on the ground while leading receivers included Peyton Kinman with eight grabs for 188 yards and two touchdowns while Paul Shackleford chipped in six receptions for 59 yards.

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Comanche is a 7-point underdog.

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Evant (4-5, 0-3) at Zephyr (0-9, 0-2)

7:30 p.m. Friday

The Zephyr Bulldogs will wrap up the 2021 season at home Friday night and attempt to avoid a winless campaign as they host District 15-A Division I rival Evant.

Zephyr’s season has featured losses to Sidney (21-18), Veribest (31-12), Stephenville Faith (65-19), Blanket (61-0), Paint Rock (35-14), Cherokee (54-6), Ranger (52-16), Lometa (60-15), and Jonesboro (59-0).

Season stats for the Bulldogs are unavailable.

Evant. Meanwhile, is in the midst of a four-game skid having lost consecutive games to Blanket (42-30), Gordon (58-12), Jonesboro (70-8) and Lometa (51-6).

According to sixmanfootball.com, Zephyr is a 45-point underdog.

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Brookesmith (1-8, 0-3) at Blanket (8-1, 3-0)

– forfeit win for Blanket

Due to injuries in Brookesmith, the District 15-A Division II contest between the Mustangs and the league front-running Blanket Tigers has been ruled a forfeit, according to Tigers head coach Casey Mund.

With the forfeit, Blanket secures at least a share of the district title and the No. 1 playoff seed. Reigning district champion Brookesmith is out of the playoff mix.

Last week, Blanket won its fifth game in a row, 70-40 over Sidney, as the Tigers finished with 446 yards of total offense – 335 rushing and 101 passing.

Brayden Day rushed for 156 yards and four touchdowns of 13, 5, 6, and 63 yards; Carlos Morales added 117 yards on the ground and three scores from 15, 30 and 1 yard out; Levi Vazquez finished with 70 rushing yards and a 41-yard score; and Hayden Rodgers added a 2-yard touchdown run.

Brennen Varner completed 4 of 6 passes for 101 yards with a 35-yard touchdown to Vazquez, who caught two passes for 40 yards. Morales also hauled in two receptions for 61 yards.

Defensively, Morales led the way with 18 tackles and two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown; Rodgers added 17 tackles; and Day tallied 6 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Brookesmith dropped a 41-12 decision to Rising Star in a game that ended in the third period due to excessive injuries. The Mustangs finished with 138 yards of total offense while allowing 226 yards – all on the ground.

Brookesmith, which turned the ball over twice, was sparked by 75 yards passing from Trey Toft. Leading receivers included Grant Featherston (3-45), Mathew Chambers (2-4), Blayzon Walker (1-14), and Conner Heard (1-12).

Next week, Blanket will visit Panther Creek while Brookesmith has a home date with Sidney on the schedule.

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OPEN DATES

May (9-0, 3-0)

Richland Springs (6-1, 3-0)

Cross Plains (5-3, 1-2)