Top 5 Football Games to Watch in West Texas This Week

Here are our top five high school football games to watch in the Concho Valley and West Texas in Week 8:

San Angelo Central at Odessa Permian

It’s always exciting when these two longtime rivals face off, and this is a particularly important game for the Central Bobcats on Friday at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa. Central (3-3 overall, 0-1 in District 2-6A) needs a win to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole in the district race. The Bobcats had an impressive offensive showing last week against Midland Legacy, but the defense couldn’t get near enough stops in a 58-42 loss. Along with Legacy, Permian is looking like one of the favorites for the district title. The Panthers are 5-1 overall and 1-0 in district after last week’s 49-7 win over Odessa High. Gavin Black leads Permian’s powerful rushing attack with 523 yards and six touchdowns. Permian is the favorite in this matchup, but the Panthers only won 32-30 last year in San Angelo, and you can expect another close score this time.

The pick: Permian 35, Central 31

Ozona at Sonora

The Christian Villarreal Show makes a stop in Sonora this week in what looks like the District 3-2A Division I championship. No. 6-ranked Ozona is 6-0, while Sonora is 5-1, and both teams had convincing wins in their district openers last week. Ozona walloped Reagan County 94-16, and Sonora beat Forsan 42-8. All eyes will be on Villarreal, the Ozona running back who has already racked up 2,068 rushing yards in six games. He is on pace to break the state’s single-season rushing record of 4,045 yards by the second round of the playoffs. If Sonora has any hope of winning, the Broncos will have to find a way to slow down Villarreal. No one has come close to doing that yet.

The pick: Ozona 44, Sonora 28

Wall at Coahoma

The No. 2-ranked Wall Hawks continue their march to the District 4-3A Division II title when they host Coahoma. On paper, it looks like an enticing matchup between 7-0 Wall and 6-1 Coahoma. Yet it remains to be seen if the Bulldogs can actually hang with the Hawks. A 5-1 Merkel team was blown out 63-13 last week against Wall. Coahoma is coming off a 33-27 win over Grape Creek in its district opener. The Bulldogs have some impressive wins over Albany and Wink, and their only loss was against a 6-1 Littlefield team. While Coahoma deserves respect for its strong start to this season, Wall remains the runaway favorite in this game.

The pick: Wall 42, Coahoma 14

Stanton at Grape Creek

This has the feel of a must-win game. Grape Creek (4-3 overall, 0-1 in district) dropped its district opener last week, 33-27 at Coahoma, and the Eagles still have matchups against undefeated Wall and 5-2 Merkel. If they want to lock up no worse than the fourth and final playoff spot, they need to take care of business at home against Stanton (1-5, 0-0). Grape Creek showed how capable it was last week by nearly knocking off a Coahoma team that is now 6-1. The Eagles also have one of the area’s most dangerous offensive players in running back Darrell West, who had 277 yards last week. Despite its 1-5 record, Stanton has three losses by six points or less, so the Buffaloes could be a pesky team to put away. Stanton also beat Grape Creek 34-12 last year. This Eagles team seems ready to get this win.

The pick: Grape Creek 27, Stanton 20

Cross Plains at Miles

This is a matchup of two teams who have had rough starts to the season, but one of them will take a big step toward punching their ticket to the playoffs. After three straight eight-win seasons, Miles is 1-5 overall and 0-1 in district, including a 48-0 loss to Albany last week. Cross Plains, which hasn’t had less than four wins in a year since 2011, is 2-4 overall and 0-1 in district, capped by a 33-14 loss to Roscoe last week. These teams have a common opponent in Sterling City, which Miles won by 20 and Cross Plains won by 19. This should be a close game against two teams hungry for a win.

The pick: Miles 22, Cross Plains 21

The Rest of Week 8

Clyde at San Angelo TLCA

Eastland at Brady

Reagan County at Christoval

Forsan at Colorado City

Ballinger at Hamilton

Harper at Mason

Thorndale at San Saba

Eldorado at Sterling City

Winters at Albany

Junction at Brackettville

Paint Rock at Robert Lee

Water Valley at Veribest

Eden at Leakey

Menard at Medina

Blackwell at Loraine

Olfen at Trent

Panther Creek at Brookesmith

Richland Springs at Leander Founders Classical

Rochelle at Lohn