Corsicana — Blooming Grove at Rice

7:30 p.m. Friday

At Bulldog Stadium



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

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Blooming Grove:  RB/LB Ben Nicholson, OL/DL Jose Camarillo, RB/DB Brandon Hayes, QB/DB Jayd Kirby. Rice: QB/DB Dalton Pike, RB/DB Angel Oropeza, OL/DL Blake Smith, OL/DL Irving Briones.

UPDATE: Both the Blooming Grove Lions and the Rice Bulldogs struggled coming off a bye week, dropping their District 6-2A DII openers to Mildred and Scurry Rosser, respectively … despite last week’s shutout, the Lions are still one of the Golden Circle’s top scoring offenses, averaging over 32 points per game … QB Jayd Kirby leads the Blooming Grove offense, averaging 204 yards of total offense per game … Travis Whiteside (5 receptions) and Tyler Morris (122 yards receiving)  are Kirby’s top targets … despite outscoring Scurry Rosser in the second half, a huge first half deficit was too much for Rice to overcome last week … Bulldog running back Ragan Henderson has averaged over 275 yards rushing and four touchdowns the past three games … QB Dalton Pike proved to be a weapon on the ground, averaging over 9 yards on four scrambles out of the pocket last week … with a 21-12 victory last season, Blooming Grove holds the overall edge against the Bulldogs 6-2, including four in a row.

— Jim Pitts



Dawson at Normangee

7:30 p.m. Friday

At Panther Stadium



RECORDS: Class 1A DII Dawson is 0-5. Class 1A DII Normangee is 2-3.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Dawson: QB/DB Brandon Cehand, OL/LB Jake Strother, WR/DB Marvin Manning, OL/LB Armondo Martinez. Normangee: OL/DL Dylan Isom, WR Elijah Eastern, DB Dalton Clark, C Blake Shaw.

UPDATE:  Last Friday night Dawson scored its first points since Week 0 on a touchdown by freshman RB Ian Norwood … the Bulldogs lost that contest, 62-6, to a hot Bosqueville team … this Friday’s game against Normangee will wrap up Dawson’s pre-district slate … next week the banged up Bulldogs have a much needed bye to heal and prepare for league play … a week ago the Panthers dropped a close game at home, 21-19, to New Waverly … Normangee also has losses to 4-1 Milano (L20-12) and 3-2 Leon (L33-6) ... Normangee has a 2-2 record at Panther Stadium in 2012 … the Bulldogs and Panthers last saw each other in 2006 and 2007 as district foes … Normangee came out on top in both meetings … the Bulldogs were outscored 76-8 in those two contests.

— James Ratliff



Rio Vista at Mildred

7:30 p.m. Friday

At Asby Field  



RECORDS: Class 2A Rio Vista is 2-2, 1-0 in District 6-2A DII. Mildred is 3-1, 1-0.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Rio Vista: QB Nick Russell, WR Ryan Jimison, L Jared Wilson, L Zach Sanders. Mildred: L Austin Pair, LB/K Devin O’Sullivan, DB/WR Will Burnham, L Nic Stone.

UPDATE: Rio Vista is coming off a 31-7 win over winless Millsap, while Mildred defeated Blooming Grove, 62-0 … Rio Vista has one more win that it did last year … coming off a big win last week, Rio Vista is averaging 14.5 ppg. and allowing 24.0 … it’s homecoming in Mildred … Mildred pitched its first shutout last week, holding its rival to 99 yards and 4 first downs … Jeremy Ballard picked off his second pass this season, tying him with freshman Will Burnham for the team lead … Eagles QB Nic Shimonek, who twice averaged less than a yard rushing and last year averaged 3.8, is a legitimate ground threat this year, with 327 yards (7.8 per carry) and 4 TDs … junior center Jasper Marshall, a returning starter, played for the first time last week after missing the first three games with an injury.

— Raymond Linex II



Axtell at Wortham

7:30 p.m. Friday

At Bulldog Stadium



RECORDS: Class 1A DI Axtell is 2-3. Class 1A DII Wortham is 2-3.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Axtell: QB Tanner Fields, DE Lucas Helleck, C Tyler Martinez, FS M.D. Tucker, WR Jesse Rutledge. Wortham: OL/DT Skylar Jordan, OL/DE Blake Hutson, RB/CB Tyvon Freeman, FB/LB Haven Proulx, TE/OLB Chris Lee.  

UPDATE: Axtell has won two straight games and picked up a quality win last week, beating Bremond last week 34-7 ... Fields, Axtell’s fifth quarterback, had a 55-yard TD run and a TD pass to Tyler Pope to give Axtell a 22-0 at the half ... Tucker, who plays a hybrid safety position, leads the Longhorns with 65 tackles ... Wortham fell below .500 with a 14-6 loss to Itasca ... it’s the final tuneup for Wortham before it opens district play at Meridian next week ... the Bulldogs are seeing steady improvement on defense, allowing 4.2 yards per carry ... WR/K Brandon Campbell is the Bulldogs’ leading scorer with a rushing TD, 2 TD receptions, 5 extra points and a two-point conversion ... RB Tyvon Freeman has 362 yards on 45 carries ... RB Shane Sykora has shown steady improvement in the backfield ... the sophomore is coming off a 100-yard game and has 173  yards on 28 carries for the season ... NT Cameron Lewis has 1 1/2 sacks ... LB Steven Hutson has two fumble recoveries.

— Todd Wills

Frost at Perrin-Whitt

7:30 p.m. Friday

At Pirate Stadium



RECORDS: Class 1A DII Frost is 5-0. Class 1A DII Perrin-Whitt is 3-1.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Frost: DT Jesus Cabrera, TE Cody Campbell, DE Julius Gray, RB Danial Steels, QB Jacob Stroder. Perrin-Whitt: RB Gage Aguilar, OL Chance Brown, QB/S Josiah Cansler, FB Wes Guinn, WR Forest Francis.

UPDATE: Last week Frost beat Texas Christian Academy-Waco 66-6 … Cabrera had a fumble recovery that set up a Woody Woods touchdown run … Gray had three tackles including one for a loss, but also had two touchdown runs last week … this season, Steels has rushed for 732 yards and 14 TDs… the Polar Bears ground attack that has averaged 8.3 yards per carry and gained 1817 yards and 24 touchdowns … besides his primary blocking duties, Campbell has excelled on special teams coverage units … Perrin-Whitt beat Santo 28-20 last week … Aguilar replaced injured RB Pepper Rasberry and led the Pirates with 169 yards rushing  and three TDs on 27 carries… the Pirates average 21.5 points per game using an I-Formation.

— Dan Lunsford