In Focus: Junction Eagles
For the fourth week in a row the Bearcats will be facing an opponent with an identical record. For the fourth week in a row the Bearcats are facing an opponent that earned that record in much the same fashion.
Junction has been beaten handily in all of their loses outside of a very average Ingram Moore squad. Just as Ballinger’s lone win came against winless Grape Creek, Junction’s lone win came against winless Christoval.
At this point it is hard to say who has the better team. Junction’s opponents have a combined seven wins with four of those belonging to Sonora and two of the remaining three being Junction losses. Ballinger’s opponents also have seven wins, three by Comanche and two apiece by Clyde and Merkel.
Junction has been outscored 87-118 this season, but 47 of those 87 points came against Christoval. Junction has averaged 13 PPG in their losses.
Ballinger has been outscored a whopping 72-152, but 44 of their 72 points came against Grape Creek. Ballinger has averaged 9 PPG in their losses.
If Ballinger is able to run the ball it should help to open up the passing game and give the Bearcats a victory. Should they again struggle to run the ball it will be a very long night for the Bearcats.
Comanche (3-1):
After a Week 3 last second defeat against Cisco, Comanche returned to the winning track last week. With a very good 34-6 win over Little River Academy the Indians were able to spend this week preparing for a 3-1 Eastland squad that was just dominated by Wall. Expect another barn burner type of game this week with district play looming for Comanche where in two week’s their game against an impressive Jim Ned squad will likely be for the district title.
Grape Creek (0-4):
Grape Creek faced Ozona last week and was shut out by the previously winless Lions. Grape Creeks only claim to fame so far this season has been providing the lone wins for Ballinger and Ozona. They were also defeated handily by TLCA whose only other win at this point was against a Bronte team spending their last season in 11-man football. This week Grape Creek will play host to a decent Coahoma team. That spells trouble for Grape Creek and anything less than a 40 point margin of victory would be a major shock.
Clyde (2-2):
Clyde is now 2-2 on the season, but considering both of their losses came against 3A powers in Eastland and Cisco they shouldn’t be too disappointed. This week they will be hosting the 1-win Coleman Bluecats, who not only won last week against winless Brady, but they scored their first points of the season in Week 4. Don’t expect this game to be close. Don’t bet on Coleman scoring any points. Clyde should march through this game fairly handily while they prepare for upcoming district play.
Merkel (2-2):
Merkel will go on the road this week to Stanton to take on the Buffalos. Merkel has been far from a dominant team this year, but considering that Stanton’s lone win this season came last week against winless Christoval I think this will be one that will go the Badgers way in the end. Not an overwhelmingly technically sound football team, what Merkel does have is athletes and they will be coming in waves against Stanton. It shouldn’t be an absolute blowout, but Merkel won’t should win by double digits.
Mason (4-0):
Even though Mason just did what they’ve been doing every week, the more impressive part was who they did it to. Coming in to last week the Punchers were ranked #3 in 2A while the Iraan Braves were ranked #8 in 2A. All Mason did was absolutely dominate the Braves to the tune of a 58-7 victory. Iraan plays Hawley this week and they will win by at least 40 points before traveling to Ballinger next week. At this point Mason is just trying to get through the season without injuries in order to make a run at the 2A state championship. They definitely look to have the talent to bring another title home this year.
Reagan County (3-1):
For the second week in a row the Owls walked out with a one score victory. This week against Ozona it should not be that close. Reagan County is far above the skill level of Grape Creek this season and that should bring the Buffalos back down to the ground. This should be at least a three touchdown victory for the Owls.
TLCA (2-2):
TLCA was manhandled by C-City last week in a shocking 48-7 defeat while Winters returned to Earth by being shut out by Hamlin. I don’t expect this to be a very low scoring game. Winters has plus athletes with the right matchup and this should be the right matchup. I don’t see Winters undersized defense being able to stop TLCA very well either. This one SHOULD be a shootout.
Sonora (4-0):
In one of the best game of West Texas last week the Sonora Broncos were able to come from behind, on the road against a previously undefeated Jim Ned squad. It was not their biggest win point wise of the year, but it was their most impressive. When other teams would have folded they kept fighting away and eating into the score until they finally took the lead late in the game. This week should not be anywhere near as exiting as they play host to 1-win Crane. Crane’s lone win comes against Ozona, whose lone win comes against winless Grape Creek. Not a very impressive resume. As usual the Sonora defense will likely give up a score or two, but their offense should roll. Don’t be surprised if Sonora puts up 60 points this week as they get ready for Iraan in what should be a thriller next Friday.
Alpine (3-1):
Alpine will likely be in it’s third straight close contest this week. The Bucks sport a five point loss to undefeated Pecos, while this week’s opponent Kermit sports a two point loss to Pecos. Neither team has been very dominant or consistent at this point in the season. Alpine’s offense looks to be the more explosive of the two. On the season Kermit has put up 61 points while Alpine has scored 60 or more in two games this season.
Wrap-up
Ballinger’s best bet this week will be a win with a TLCA loss to Winters to keep pace leading into district play in two weeks. As it stands they are the lone district team with a losing record, although they have played the toughest schedule at this point, by a large margin. We should know more next week as the contenders and pretenders become more clear.
