the two notable games, imho, this week are rockwall vs. achs and hill country vs. richland spring. now rockwall and hill country are clearly the two underdogs here, but do either of them have a prayer, what is the likelihood of this happening, and what would that mean for that team moving forward??

I think the rockwall game is mainly notable just to get a feel for these two teams. Their names have come up a few times, but noone rly has said much about them. We'll see if the Rock can challenge Dallas Covenant in District and/or ACHS can be a state title contender. and best of luck Hillcountry.

Really interested to see how the Austin Hill Country/Richland Springs game goes. Given Richland Springs' high ranking and past success, they must be a pretty phenomenal team, but I don't know anything about them and would love to know what it is that allows them to have such sustained success. Maybe this game will help define, in a way, the difference between public and private school six-man football. Anyone with knowledge of six-man history know of similar games in the past that have matched successful public vs. private six-man schools?

I've seen a few private-public matchups. I've seen them go both ways but generally public comes out on top. I think what you will see in the Richland Springs team is what makes them unique; defense.
Defense is stressed and IMO coached very well. I don't get the chance to see the private schools play much so I will refrain from commenting on them. I do watch 2 of arguable the best programs in public 6man in Throckmorton and Richland Springs on a fairly regular basis.
Having said that, I close by paraphrasing the Sage of Abilene, Mr. Don Hardin: "You never know how good a sixman game is gonna be until it's over"

I know that the top private school has not been able to match the top public school in quite a long time. The last time I can recall where the top rated private school played and beat i believe the number 1 public school at the time was Jesus Chapel El Paso in 99 or 2000-ish

that ep jc team is arguably the best team in six man history, but at the same time, they werent playing against the physical strength that seems to have taken over the top public schools. that strength won gc the title last year and, combined with speed, is a nearly unstoppable force in sixman. as i recall, whitharral was the public team to beat back then and from what iv heard, many of todays private school teams could have knocked them off and back then helton's boy's made short work of them. just because they are public, does not necessarily mean they will take the W. all that to say, it differs year to year, and, unlike the el paso jc team, the private school is clearly the underdog here. so i do agree with you www32, good luck hill country.

Let's put it this way.

If Austin Hill Country beats Richland Springs, it will rank up there with the Jets beating the Colts in Super Bowl III in my football history.

I wouldn't go betting any of the grocery money on that result ... but if AHCC comes out on top, it will be a BIG STEP towards private schools becoming more competitive. I'm thinking Richland wins and I would not be suprised if it's a 45 game. It doesn't help AHCC that there are all sorts of fires across the street from their campus and probably a good number of families are affected by the fires (plus, all that smoke ain't real good on the lungs if you're out practicing in it).

But as I say, let's go ahead and play the game and see what happens.

For those that are interested, check out the thread on the public school forum...Div 2, District 15...regarding why Richland Springs has a sustained record of success.

The question posed here I think raises another question...why don't we see more of the "better" private school teams scheduling games with the "better" public school teams?

some do. Hillcountry playing RS, DC has Throckmorton on their schedule I saw

I would be most surprised if both games were not 45ers.

Abilene lives in 6man country, which I believe is a huge advantage. RS will put 70 on HC by half, if they want to.

Talent pool in Private has run dry. Down economy hurts private schools.

Wouldn't suprise me either.

But don't go so fast to thinking that private schools are hurting ... yes, there are some schools that are struggling BUT you will find that schools that are doing the job they need to do --- educating kids --- are doing well. We've got a record enrollment -- and Seguin is in no way a bustling town.

while currently the top public schools would most likely put a beat down on most, if not all, private schools, you have to keep in mind that that is only the top public schools. already tapps d1 is 4-2 against public d1 and 5-2 against public d2. for a very long time multiple private schools have been consistently ranked in the top 20 over all by the toy. while on gameday these predictions mean nothing, it does say something about those private schools to be in such elite company. i wouldnt describe a top 20 over all spot as "hurting", especially for a private school who generally has less to work with.

Seriously, guys ... of the 46 public vs private school games this year so far, private schools have won 30 of them. Now, I gotta tell you that some of those were against some of the newer Charter schools (and unless the charter school belongs to T-CAL, which is the only private school league that accepts charter schools, I count them as public schools since they are tax supported just like UIL member schools ... and those charter schools ARE eligible for UIL membership).

Last year, private schools had a smaller lead after week 1 but it dried up pretty quick. Partly because some of those top 10% schools started playing a few private schools.

But I'll agree, take out maybe the top 10% or so of UIL district public schools, and I would agree that private vs public schools would be competitive.

Which is why we at Parkview have considered moving our week zero kick-off to week 1 and doing a private vs public. Anyone have any input? Good idea, bad Idea?? Anyone interested in seeing Covenant and Throck going at it?? Strawn and Abilene Christian??

I think public v. private is a good thing, especially if the schools are somewhat evenly matched or even if the public school on paper appears to be better. Kind of like the big BCS schools playing a worthy opponent in the first few weeks of the season as opposed to someone who really won't give them a challenge. Given the subjectiveness of the polss and such with college football it's somewhat understandable why it goes on, but in high school what's the danger? It's not a district game so it doesn't hurt your playoff chances. Lots of folks believe playing a tough schedule gets you ready for the playoffs. I suppose as a coach you have to worry about not destroying your kids' confidence if they are losing those tough games. Maybe you have to worry about the potential for injury if the public school kids are just more physically developed? When all is said and done, I think it's a good thing for the upper tier private schools to play the upper tier public schools.