5A D1 Bracketology: Semifinals

The list of games gets shorter, so the importance of each is magnified ...

Regional I

Arlington Martin (8-4) vs. Euless Trinity (10-2)
noon Friday, Bedford's Pennington Field

Arlington (10-2) vs. Coppell (11-1)
1 p.m. Saturday, Birdville ISD Complex

I like that Trinity High basically gets a home game this deep in the playoffs. But Martin has beaten some good teams in the regular season and I'd suspect that a rematch against Arlington (one of those teams they've beaten) is an enticing motivation for Friday. It's a broken record that I run paranoid this time of year ... I like our position, but I'll be out of fingernails to gnaw through by 11:59 in the am.

Arlington is coming off a strong game by QB Matt Joekel. He'll need to be Superman to beat Coppell, but he's capable of it.

For now, I'll argue that it's been destiny for this region to be decided between Trinity & Coppell.

Regional II

Dallas Skyline (12-0) vs. Cypress Woods (10-2)
6 p.m. Saturday, Temple

Tyler Lee (6-5) vs. Round Rock Stony Point (11-1)
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Waco ISD Stadium

... and while destiny is all fine and good, there's two very different teams that are on teh flip side of that in this region. Cy Woods is one of three remaining Houston area schools left. They'd be a strong bet for winning Region III if they were aligned there. But they're not. Tyler Lee is probably set to meet the end of their road Saturday. But they sure do strike me as a good Cinderella team if they can just find two more rabbits to pull out of the hat.

I doubt seriously that Skyline or Stony Point is looking beyond this weekend.

Regional III

Katy Cinco Ranch (11-1) vs. Beaumont West Brook (9-3)
1 p.m. Saturday, Houston's Rice Stadium

Alief Taylor (9-3) vs. Brazoswood (9-3)
1 p.m. Friday, Houston's Tully Stadium

The Region formerly known as Hightower's is now up for grabs. The records suggest that it's now Cinco Ranch's for the asking. But I'm not so sure. West Brook has proven some ability to beat ranked teams. Brazoswood just might be for real. Taylor is the only one I'm more or less blank on.

I'll put my marker on Brazoswood and Cinco Ranch winning ... but I'm doubtful of the caliber of the region's strength now.

Regional IV

Austin Westlake (10-2) vs. Harlingen (12-0)
4 p.m. Friday, Alamodome

SA Clark (12-0) vs. Del Rio (10-2)
8 p.m. Friday, Alamodome

And as weak as I love to mock Region IV for being, it looks like it's time to cast that aside as any of these four teams could pull a surprise in the Final Four. The smart picks are probably Westlake and Clark, but I'm rooting against both.

Valley teams tend to get short billing (as do El Paso teams), but Harlingen is just up against the last remaining team I love to hate. And Del Rio is a much more interesting story this year.

D-II Games of Interest:
Abilene - Cedar Hill (battle of the undefeateds)
Tyler - Klein Collins
Katy - LaPorte

3A-II: Carthage - Caldwell
2A-I: Arp - Kirbyville
1A-II: Tenaha - Mart
6man-I: Motley County - Miami (both teams scored over 100 points last weekend)