1 Dallas The Covenant 7-1 278.66 1.28
2 Austin Hill Country 5-2 278.51 6.11
3 Abilene Christian 7-1 276.19 11.23
4 Bulverde Bracken Christian 7-0 275.51 0.90


Dont think I've ever seen 4 teams this close at the top of D1 in granger's rankings...lookin like its gunna be a very exciting year, and three teams will be severely disappointed at the end, cuz I think that they all think they're going to take state.

So with the teams this evenly matched, and I've seen all but Abilene play and agree you have a hard time separating them, what will be the difference if/when they meet in the playoffs? We have the usual suspects...turnovers, extra points. Maybe it's matchups...Abilene may be a good match-up for Dallas Covenant, but not so much for Bracken? Not saying that as a definitive statement, just an example as I don't have enough knowledge of each team to give an in-depth analysis.

So I agree all 4 teams could win it, and there will be major heartbreak for 3 of these teams, especially so for the more senior-laden teams.

Close call, maybe. But remember the road to the state championship passes right thru the middle of Bulverde Bracken. Besides they have already beaten two of the top four. Ratings?

this year they've beaten two of the top 4?

Sorry, I should have said within the last year. That would be Dallas the Covenant for the State Championship in Dec. and Austin Hill Country, the first game this year. Anyway I am an OLH fan.
We just love to watch the running back, Mr. W. play. What an athlete, what an honor to watch him play. Probably the greast game ever played in 6 man football was last year in the playoffs
between OLH and Bracken. OLH was up two touchdowns with 3 mins. to play. OLH lost in O/T and should have won. If they had they would be our current State Champions. But there is a better
running back than Mr. W. I just wonder who he is?

Indian, may need to clarify your statement. Bracken beat Hill Country. Other than that, none of their opponents are sniffing anywhere near the top 4. To the contrary, one could argue Bracken has played the weakest schedule of the top 4 teams.

Agree he's a very dynamic player, good combination of speed and power. His cut-back runs, whether by design or improvised, are devastating. Kind of depends on what you are looking for in a RB. I know the Bracken kid is faster, good at breaking tackles and I think probably a bit more shifty than Walker (likely because he doesn't quite have Walker's size). Actually, he's not playing 6-man this year because they moved to 11-man, but the kid from Cedar Park Summit was also a fast, tough runner.

You could maybe say Walker is an Adrian Peterson-type while the Bracken kid is like a Chris Johnson-type. Can't go wrong with either one.

Now, I don't want to touch OLH as the state champ if they would have won that Bracken playoff game. Saw OLH play last year, I think they matched-up well with Bracken, but don't think they would have beat Covenant, nor would they have beat Hill Country, who I believe handled them by about 30 during the regular season.

Good point on the brackets. What a major miss by TAPPS. We could have had the best semifinals in recent history in Division 1. Instead, the finals may have already occurred before the final game. A lost opportunity for all. An unbelievable group of 4 teams that have been together awhile.

Covenant beats Abilene (big brother scenario-Abilene has been eliminated 3 years in a row by DC. I like history.)
Abilene beats Bracken (can see their O clicking against the warriors, combo of speed and size on defense good enough to stop Achillies)
Bracken beats Hillcountry (been done before, def more likely itl happen again)
Hillcountry beats Covenant (Hillcountry A-spread kills, specially against a team like Covenant)

Its a circle. Honestly I think it can go any way between any of these teams but, for the sake of the cycle, I picked the most favorable and unfavorable (can be inferred inversely) matchup for each team.

WWW32 - Very, very interesting! It creates quite a scenario, to say the least. Just wish it could be in the semis and finals.

what about the hill country abilene match up? this has been a recent topic and, personally, i think it would be a great rematch after what happened last year. thoughts?

"what about the hill country abilene match up? this has been a recent topic and, personally, i think it would be a great rematch after what happened last year. thoughts?"


Yes, good match-up. To assess, we need an honest assessment from both sides as to what each team does well and not so well. That, I think, will give us some insight. I can't speak for Abilene as I only saw them play once, last year, in the playoff game against Hill Country. So, I don't know what they have this year.

Have seen Hill Country a few times. To me, I'm interested to see what they do with their spreadback situation. #24 was playing exclusively early in the year, but he got hurt. He is an exceptional runner, but passing is inconsistent. #4 has been playing spreadback the last few games...better passer, but not as dynamic of a runner. Overall, Hill Country has a lot of speed when they are healthy. Tend to be on the smaller side, but they do have a couple tall kids at receiver and a big guy at center. Weakness, in games I have seen, seems to be on offense that they don't throw to their receivers enough, so if you stop the run of the spreadback they struggle. On defense, OLH killed them on cut-back runs. I mentioned not a lot of size, so a physical running team could give them trouble. Have seen them give up some big plays in the passing game by leaving guys seemingly uncovered.

Just my observations...

this is what i have generally heard all year, with a little less detail. seems to me, with the speed hill country has and the lack of strong running that abilene has, hill country might be able to put up a very good fight against them and possibly get "revenge" from last year. would that be a big upset considering all the hype surrounding abilene, even though hill country has been ranked higher most of the season?

WWW....you say that Abilene's combo of speed and size on defense is good enough to stop Achilles......But what about Wilkinson, Jacobson, McDaniel, Corey, and the other Achilles? This is definitely a match-up I would love to see and believe Bracken would prevail victorious. Maybe then, they would recieve the respect they have earned and deserve. GO WARRIORS!!

ok menance - now you look silly --- bracken gets plenty of respect