Corsicana — Millsap at Rice

7:30 p.m. Friday

At Bulldog Stadium  



RECORDS: Class 1A Millsap is 0-6, 0-3 in District 6-2A DII. Rice is 2-4, 1-2.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Millsap:  WR/DB Daulton Thomas, OL/DL Mitchell Coker, QB/DB Bradley Bottoms, RB/DB Kristian Martinez. Rice: WR/DB Eric Hughes, OL/DL Billy Stephens, RB/DB Nathan Bowling, WR/DB Junior Pena.

UPDATE: Rice will host Millsap for homecoming in the first ever meeting between the two schools… last week, Rice won for the first time in loop play, going on the road to defeat Rio Vista 38-35… Millsap is coming off a 77-0 loss against district co-leader Mildred… coming in giving up over 500 yards per game, the Rice defense showed improvement, allowing only 300 yards to Rio Vista… after gaining 275 yards rushing last week, Rice’s Ragan Henderson now has over 1,300 yards … Rice senior PK Junior Pena nailed a 32-yard field goal that proved to be the decisive points against Rio Vista… Chris Atchley scored three times last week for Rice to go along with his 159 yards rushing and a pass reception… averaging just over three points per game, Millsap looks to get going against a Rice defense that is allowing over 40 points per game… Millsap’s Kristian Martinez and Andrew Tyson combined for over 170 yards rushing against Rio Vista three week ago … Millsap led Rio Vista at the half, 7-6, before falling 31-7.

— Jim Pitts

Frost at Wortham

7:30 p.m. Friday

At Bulldog Stadium



RECORDS: Class 1A Frost is 6-1, 0-1 in District 9-1A DII. Wortham is 3-4, 1-0 in District 9-1A DII.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Frost: LB Damian Hernandez, OL Colton McGill, FB/LB Cade Rigamonti, WR/CB Josh Riojas, RB Danial Steels. Wortham: QB Witty Busby, DB Brandon Campbell, FB Chris Lee, LB Blake Hutson, TE Micah McCord.

UPDATE: The Polar Bears six-game winning streak was clipped in their district opener 44-27 against Hubbard … Hernandez and Rigamonti replaced injured Woody Woods ... Hernandez had 8 tackles while Rigamonti had four carries for 22 yards and touchdown and also had a catch for 30 yards … Riojas is tied with Danial Steels with a team-leading six catches ... Riojas caught a 7-yard touchdown pass against Hubbard … McGill’s blocking has helped the Bears pound out 2,300 rushing yards so far this season … Wortham opened district play with a 15-8 victory over Meridian … Lee scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:08 left in the game … Bryson Rhoades can be dangerous on special teams as he had a 95-yard kickoff return against TCA for a touchdown ... RB Tyvon Freeman leads the Bulldogs with 358 yards rushing and three TDs ... Campbell has started sharing the quarterback duties, throwing two TD passes in last week’s win over Meridian ... NT Cameron Lewis has 1 1/2 sacks.

— Dan Lunsford

Blooming Grove at Scurry-Rosser

7:30 p.m. Friday

At Wildcat Stadium



RECORDS: Class 2A Blooming Grove is 5-1, 2-1 in District 6-2A DII. Scurry-Rosser is 3-3, 2-1.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Blooming Grove: QB/S Jayd Kirby, RB/LB Travis Whiteside, RB/LB Tyler Morris, NG Jon Cochran. Scurry-Rosser: Tyler Garrison RB, Collan Jasien RB/LB, Thomas Tilford WR/LB, QB Mason Alexander, QB Paten Snell.

UPDATE: The Lions exploded for 59 points last week against Dallas Life for their fifth win of the season … Kirby rushed for over 200 yards, scored three touchdowns and tossed a 30-yard scoring strike to Whiteside. The senior signal-caller now has 833 yards rushing and 621 passing on the year … Whiteside not only had a TD reception, but rushed for a touchdown and returned a kickoff 82 yards for a score … Morris also scored, returning a fumble 16 yards for a TD … Dalton Wasinger led the defense with eight tackles, Ben Nicholson had seven, and Cochran recorded a sack … the Wildcats’ offense centers around Garrison, who has 558 yards in the last three games …  Alexander, a sophomore, splits time at quarterback with the freshman Snell.

— Todd Wills



Dallas Gateway at Kerens

7:30 p.m. Friday

At A.G. Godley Field



RECORDS: Class 1A Dallas Gateway is 3-3, 1-0 in District 6-1A DI. Kerens is 2-4, 0-1.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Dallas Gateway: LB Leland Lloyd, FB/LB Byron Lynch, RB Kelvin Williams, RB Robert Overstreet, DB Joshua Dixon. Kerens: RB Rayvon Faulk, WR/DB Shelton Sayles, OL/LB Mike Kline, OL/DL Talon Modester, DB Zack Duncan.

UPDATE: Kerens came close to knocking off Cayuga in the district opener, losing a second-half lead in a 33-30 loss ... the Bobcats were hurt on special teams by a blocked punt, so they’ll have to clean that up ... Kerens QB Nate Betts has rushed for 633 yards and three TDs and passed for 484 yards and seven TDs ... Faulk and Adreon Davis have combined for eight TD runs ... Bobcats WR Brett Anderson is putting together one of the best season in the Golden Circle with 16 receptions for 334 yards and four TDs ... the Bobcats, who have struggled with turnovers this season, had only one against Cayuga ...  Gateway QB Michael Jimmerson had 184 rushing yards and passed for 81 yards in a 42-21 win over Cross Roads ... the junior QB is averaging 162 all-purpose yards per game ... Overstreet leads Gateway with 501 yards rushing ... MLB Kevin Williams leads the Gators with 7.2 tackles per game.

— Todd Wills



Meridian at Dawson

7:30 p.m. Friday

At Ed Mitchell Field



RECORDS: Class 1A Meridian is 1-6, 0-1 in District 9-1A DII. Dawson is 0-6.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Meridian: RB/DB Johnny Lira, TE/DL Jorge Flores, QB/DB Nick Prestwood, OL/DL Will Speer. Dawson: QB/DB Brandon Cehand, OL/DL Brian Simmons, RB/DB Dalton Long, OL/DL Mark Martinez.

UPDATE: Dawson hopes last week’s much-needed bye treated them well as they open district play at home against the Yellowjackets Friday night … several key players could return following the week off for the Bulldogs … team rushing leader RB Long should be healed and ready to head the Dawson ground attack after his four-game absence  … the Bulldogs are still in search of their first win of the season … two weeks ago Dawson fell, 51-0, to Normangee on the road … the Yellowjackets hope to turn their district fortunes around after dropping their 9-1A DII opener, 15-8, to Wortham … Meridian’s only win so far in 2012 came against Itasca … the Bulldogs and Yellowjackets last played in a four-game series from 2004-2007 with each team winning two of those contests … Dawson dominated the first pair of meetings while Meridian owned bragging rights in the final two showdowns in that stretch.

— James Ratliff