ESPN

If the third time really is a charm, this could be the year that Arlington Martin finally gets past its playoff nemesis.

Martin (11-1) faces Euless Trinity (12-0) in the third round of the Class 5A Division I playoff bracket for the third straight season.

UIL PLAYOFFS
STAFF PICKS Bi-district »   Area round » Region semis »   Region finals » State semis »   Finals »   Totals » STATE BRACKETS Class 5A: Div. I | Div. II Class 4A: Div. I | Div. II REGION BRACKETS 5A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 5A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2

Trinity prevailed in the two prior regional elimination games, 37-19 on Trinity’s home turf at Bedford’s Pennington Field in 2009 and 42-21 on Martin’s home at UT-Arlington’s Maverick Stadium last year.

It is back to Pennington this time for a noon Saturday kickoff.

Trinity is a measuring stick for Martin’s improvement under coach Bob Wager.

Wager’s Warriors lost bi-district games to Trinity in 2006 (41-0) and 2007 (31-0).

“Those games were in our first couple of years trying to build a program,’’ Wager said. “We were on a different level. We’ve tried to learn from all our games with Trinity.’’

Martin has been within striking distance late in the third quarter of the two previous regional games.

“We’ve come off the field both times with people coming up and saying we could hold our heads high, but in each case we’ve fallen short of our goal to win a state championship,’’ Wager said.

As for this version of Trinity, Wager said only the names of players have changed.

“Trinity is very physically imposing," Wager said. "They are extremely well coached. The attention to detail is there from head coach Steve Lineweaver down to the managers that get the sideline ready for a game.’’

Martin, a District 4-5A co-champion, has playoff wins over Midland (37-7) and San Angelo Central (43-12).

Junior running back Kyle Hicks is Martin’s big gun with 1,469 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns.

Trinity, the District 6-5A champion, has playoff wins over Duncanville (55-36) and Allen (28-21).

Wager said he will emphasize the same things to his team: “Our reputation is our work ethic. We have to push ourselves every day. We will play hard. We do that every week.’’

Prior to this three-year run, Martin had never made it to the third playoff round.

“We’re excited to be back,’’ Wager said. “We may be back next year or we may never be back. Our guys understand that.’’

Southlake Carroll head coach Hal Wasson felt like his team was improving on defense late in the regular season but the results weren’t showing it yet.

“I always describe it as a clogged drain,” he said. “You pour the Drano in and it doesn’t instantaneously disperse. It has to settle a little bit and filter on out. That’s kind of the visual I use with the unit.”

UIL PLAYOFFS
STAFF PICKS Bi-district »   Area round » Region semis »   Region finals » State semis »   Finals »   Totals » STATE BRACKETS Class 5A: Div. I | Div. II Class 4A: Div. I | Div. II REGION BRACKETS 5A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 5A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2

If Carroll’s two playoff games are any indication, the Drano finally broke through.

In their 40-7 area-round win over Cedar Hill on Saturday, the Dragons (12-0) held an athletic Longhorns backfield to just over 100 yards rushing, and none of Cedar Hill’s primary runners – Damion Hobbs, Jared Rayford and Laquvionte Gonzales – topped 50 yards.

In bi-district, Carroll held Plano East to less than 100 yards rushing in a 23-16 win.

The two performances are remarkable given how badly the Dragons have struggled against the run at times this year.

Copperas Cove, Denton Guyer and Hurst L.D. Bell all rushed for more than 300 yards against Carroll, and Keller Fossil Ridge put up more than 200.

The positive trend will have to continue for the Dragons to keep their season alive, especially given their upcoming opponents. Carroll’s next opponent, Arlington Bowie (9-3), is very athletic the same way Cedar Hill is.

And if Carroll gets through Bowie, its opponent in the 5A Division I Region I final would likely be Euless Trinity and red-hot running back Joel Kimpela, who rushed for more than 300 yards in the Trojans' win over Allen.

“We’re going to have to continue that type of performance if we’re going to get to stay in the party,” Wasson said.

Carroll plays Bowie at noon on Saturday at Pennington Field.

Since District 8-5A’s conception two years ago, many considered it one of the strongest and deepest football districts in the state.

With realignment looming in February, Flower Mound Marcus and Allen losing this weekend marked the end of the perceived super-district.

UIL PLAYOFFS
STAFF PICKS Bi-district »   Area round » Region semis »   Region finals » State semis »   Finals »   Totals » STATE BRACKETS Class 5A: Div. I | Div. II Class 4A: Div. I | Div. II REGION BRACKETS 5A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 5A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2

While the 8-5A performed well in nondistrict play during the regular season, its playoff record didn’t live up to the hype.

Consider these numbers:

-- 8-5A went an incredible 38-10 in nondistrict regular-season play;

-- 8-5A went just 3-8 in the playoffs;

-- 8-5A went 3-5 against District 7-5A, its bi-district rival;

-- No 8-5A team went beyond the area round, and only three teams made it to area – both Allen teams and 2011 Marcus.

Like with any statistic, these numbers come with caveats.

It’s hard to say how good the two Allen teams were because they got very unfortunate area-round draws against Euless Trinity. With a better draw, Allen might have improved 8-5A’s overall playoff record.

The same can be said of playing 7-5A in bi-district. If 8-5A had been number 9 or 10 instead of 8 and played a weaker district in the first round, it might have been a very different story.

However, the final results don’t refute two facets of 8-5A – parity and depth. Only two teams didn’t make the playoffs in the district’s two-year history (Plano West and Lewisville), and playoff-worthy teams got left out of the postseason both years because of tiebreakers (Hebron in 2010, Plano West in 2011).

And for evidence of parity within the district, one only had to watch a game. District 8-5A play produced some of the year’s best regular-season games of the season, and the average margin of victory for 8-5A playoff teams against other 8-5A playoff teams was less than a touchdown.

Kenny Perry coached against Southlake Carroll in the 2002 playoffs and is about to be on the sideline opposite the Dragons again.

In each instance, Carroll has gone into the game with an undefeated record. Yet, the Dragons' style of play is much different today.

UIL PLAYOFFS
STAFF PICKS Bi-district »   Area round » Region semis »   Region finals » State semis »   Finals »   Totals » STATE BRACKETS Class 5A: Div. I | Div. II Class 4A: Div. I | Div. II REGION BRACKETS 5A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 5A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2

“This Carroll team is very physical,’’ the Arlington Bowie coach said. “You have to match their physical play to have a chance, and that’s not easy to do.’’

Bowie (9-3) and Carroll (12-0) will meet in a Class 5A Division I regional playoff at 5 p.m. Saturday at Bedford’s Pennington Field.

In 2002 when Perry was coach at Arlington Sam Houston, Carroll eliminated his team 19-16 in an area playoff on the way to a state title.

“In those years, Southlake Carroll was loaded with skill athletes,’’ Perry said. “They had receivers that could go and get open. They might beat you by 40 points, but it wouldn’t seem like you played that badly.

“This year, they could beat you by 14 and it would feel like 40.’’

Perry called this Carroll defense loaded with the best tacklers he’s seen.

“We pride ourselves on making yards after contact, but they make it very difficult based on what I’ve seen on film,’’ he said.

Perry has guided Bowie to the regional round for the fourth time in his six seasons at the school. The Vols are 2-1 in regional playoffs. Before he arrived in 2006, the school had never made it to postseason.

Bowie's losses this season have come to Dallas Skyline and Arlington Martin, both still alive in the playoffs, as well as Arlington Lamar. It has playoff wins over Odessa Permian (42-7) and El Paso Franklin (49-24).

In 2009, Bowie defeated Carroll in a Division II regional playoff 45-21 behind a 120-yard, three-touchdown performance by Russell Hansbrough, then a sophomore. Now a senior, Hansbrough has rushed for 1,172 yards and 17 touchdowns this season but is nursing a high ankle sprain.

“He’s going to give it a try,’’ Perry said. “Everyone has been stepping up since he got hurt and they may have to do it again.’’

Carroll’s physical style carries right through to its quarterback, junior Kenny Hill.

“When you play a team like this, you have to raise your level,’’ Perry said. “It is going to take a physical four quarters for us to have a chance.’’

Rowlett has a chance to reach a milestone of sorts with a win over Copperas Cove on Friday.

The Eagles (7-4) have long had trouble getting out of the area round of the playoffs, losing to Mesquite Horn last year and Dallas Skyline in 2007 in their last trips to the second round.

UIL PLAYOFFS
STAFF PICKS Bi-district »   Area round » Region semis »   Region finals » State semis »   Finals »   Totals » STATE BRACKETS Class 5A: Div. I | Div. II Class 4A: Div. I | Div. II REGION BRACKETS 5A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 5A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2

But Copperas Cove (10-1) provides a tough matchup for Rowlett. The Eagles have given up 100 yards rushing to eight different players this season, and the Bulldawgs have three runners capable of eclipsing the century mark in Chans Colbert, Brandon Hamilton and Orlando Thomas.

However, the Eagles may be better equipped to make a run than any year in recent memory. They have a 1,000-yard rusher in Jalen Rhodes, and quarterback Grant Bothun is a three-year starter who doesn’t make big mistakes.

Rowlett crushed Dallas Lake Highlands 53-14 in the bi-district round behind those two players. Rhodes rushed for 116 yards and four touchdowns while Bothun threw two touchdown passes. The Eagles didn’t turn the ball over in the game.

Copperas Cove is coming off an emotional 48-47 win over Mesquite Horn. The Bulldawgs trailed by 21 points in the third quarter and won after a failed two-point conversion attempt by Horn in the final minute of the game.

Rowlett plays Copperas Cove at 9 p.m. Friday at Cowboys Stadium.

A quarterback with a hot hand is a nice card to hold in the playoffs, and Mesquite seems to have just that in junior Alex Cooper.

In Friday’s 35-23 bi-district victory over 8-3 Belton, Cooper completed 28-of-35 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns.

UIL PLAYOFFS
STAFF PICKS Bi-district »   Area round » Region semis »   Region finals » State semis »   Finals »   Totals » STATE BRACKETS Class 5A: Div. I | Div. II Class 4A: Div. I | Div. II REGION BRACKETS 5A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 5A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2

“We’ve seen flashes of that throughout the season,’’ said Mesquite coach Robbie Robinson. “I don’t know that we anticipated that kind of a game from Alex, but the previous week he played lights out against [Mesquite] Horn, too.

“The big thing we tried to emphasize was that we had not put together a complete game all year,’’ Robinson said. “Our rushing numbers weren’t big because we had an emphasis on throwing the ball against Belton, but overall everything came together.’’

Senior receiver Kavaski Ervin was Cooper’s target with 13 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown.

Cooper led the Skeeters basketball team in scoring last season as a sophomore.

Mesquite (6-5), fourth-place finisher in District 11-5A, will face old rival Garland (9-2), champion of District 10-5A, in a Class 5A Division I area playoff 6 p.m. Friday at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. It is the first time the schools have met since when they were in the same district in 2003.

“Fast and physical, that’s how I describe Garland,’’ Robinson said. “They’ve got kids that can run and run well.’’

Robinson, who grew up in Mesquite, recalls the days when the Skeeters and Owls were district rivals in one-school towns.

“We had a game recently at Williams Stadium in Garland and our bus driver was unsure which end was our locker room,’’ Robinson said. “It made me think, has it really been that long? We used to play over there two or three times a season.’’

Despite Mesquite Horn's 48-47 bi-district playoff loss to Copperas Cove on Saturday, the football season isn't over for for one Jaguar.

Horn cornerback De'Vante Harris accepted his jersey to play in the Under Armour All-American game Friday and will represent his community Jan. 5 at Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field and on ESPN.

Click here for my story for ESPN Recruiting on Harris' journey -- which took him from being an undersized freshman to a national All-American -- and his future at Oklahoma.

Denton Guyer still possesses many of the qualities that made it a state title contender over the past three years.

The Wildcats have a well-coached defense and tons of talent in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Running back Sebastian Williams and receiver Conner Crane are gifted weapons.

UIL PLAYOFFS
STAFF PICKS Bi-district »   Area round » Region semis »   Region finals » State semis »   Finals »   Totals » STATE BRACKETS Class 5A: Div. I | Div. II Class 4A: Div. I | Div. II REGION BRACKETS 5A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 5A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2

The one thing Guyer (8-3) didn’t have, at least according to popular perception, was a quarterback.

Even critics might have to concede that that’s changing. Sophomore Jerrod Heard put together one of the best performances of his career in Guyer’s 41-35 double-overtime win over Hebron on Saturday as he threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns in addition to rushing for 105.

For Guyer, the key to making another run will be Heard’s continued development under center. As a young player at a demanding position, Heard has understandably committed mistakes and turnovers in Guyer’s complex offense

“What I’ve said over and over again about Jerrod is that he’s mature beyond his years,” said Guyer head coach John Walsh. “Yeah, he makes sophomore, silly mistakes, but when he makes mistakes he’s got a calm look on his face like a coach’s kid. Our offense is a quarterback-generated offense. We’re not going to back off on it. We’re going to let him roll.”

Sophomore quarterbacks coming of age in the playoffs is not unheard of. J.W. Walsh, Heard’s predecessor, blossomed during the postseason in 2008, leading Guyer all the way to the state semifinals after the team went 1-19 in its first two years of varsity play.

Just last year, Southlake Carroll’s Kenny Hill went from a player limited to draws up the middle in bi-district to an impressive pocket passer by the end of Carroll’s season.

Even with his periodic struggles, Heard has put together a strong season for a quarterback at any stage of development. He’s thrown for a little over 2,000 yards and 26 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. He’s also a gifted runner, tallying 600 yards on the ground.

With no clear favorite in the 5A Division II Region I bracket, the opportunity certainly exists for Guyer to make another run. The Wildcats play Mansfield (10-1) at 9 p.m. Saturday at Cowboys Stadium.

Arlington Bowie makes its second playoff excursion to West Texas in eight days, this time to Midland's Grande Communications Stadium to face El Paso Franklin in a Class 5A Division I area playoff at 1 p.m. Friday.

Last week’s trip to San Angelo turned out very well for Bowie (8-3). The Vols in a bi-district playoff eliminated the renowned Odessa Permian Panthers of “Friday Night Lights'' fame 42-7.

UIL PLAYOFFS
STAFF PICKS Bi-district »   Area round » Region semis »   Region finals » State semis »   Finals »   Totals » STATE BRACKETS Class 5A: Div. I | Div. II Class 4A: Div. I | Div. II REGION BRACKETS 5A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 5A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2

Bowie’s versatile quarterback Kolby Listenbee, a TCU commit, rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown and threw for 133 yards while completing 16-of-20 throws.

The only negative was a bus ride home that didn’t end until 2:45 a.m.

“I’ve spent enough time on a bus this season to get a license,’’ said Bowie coach Kenny Perry, reflecting on an earlier Zero Week non-district trip to Odessa. “Doing it once isn’t bad, but back-to-back weeks can be an issue.’’

The team will leave Thursday and spend the night in advance of the Franklin game.

“The guys out in West Texas don’t think anything about travel," Perry said. “They’ve been doing it for 70 years. They have a routine. It’s different for us.’’

Franklin (10-1) depends heavily on the passing arm of senior quarterback Brandon Layne, who has thrown for 2,525 yards and 26 touchdowns while being intercepted only five times.

Layne’s favorite receiver is senior Justin Holliday with 42 receptions for 716 yards and nine touchdowns. The Volunteers' secondary, headed by senior Diquan Rogers, will be tested.

Franklin’s only loss came in a nondistrict road game against San Angelo Central, 41-35.

“The quarterback is very accurate and they don’t make many mistakes, a lot like [Arlington] Lamar,’’ Perry said. “We’re definitely going against the best team in El Paso.’’

As for his own team, Perry said he noticed practices improving about three weeks ago.

“Peaking at the right time is something a coach can’t control,’’ Perry said. “But we’re playing our best right now.’’

ARLINGTON, Texas – Last week was a wild one for Allen running back Jonathan Williams, and it had nothing to do with the Eagles' bi-district close call against Keller Central.

UIL PLAYOFFS
STAFF PICKS Bi-district »   Area round » Region semis »   Region finals » State semis »   Finals »   Totals » STATE BRACKETS Class 5A: Div. I | Div. II Class 4A: Div. I | Div. II REGION BRACKETS 5A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 5A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division I: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2 4A Division II: Reg. 1 | Reg. 2

After decommitting from Missouri earlier in the week, Williams quickly made a verbal pledge Friday to play football for Arkansas.

Williams’ main reason for the switch was Arkansas’ proximity to his home in Texas, but also cited his respect for the Razorbacks' offense as a key factor.

“I like their offense,” Williams said. “They’re a pro-style offense and with Bobby Petrino as the head coach, he’s going to have a good offense year-in and year-out. I feel like I can prosper in that type of offense.”

Williams took a recruiting trip to Fayetteville after Allen’s national TV win over Plano East the weekend of Oct. 6 and said, on returning home, his family agreed Arkansas would be a better fit for Williams than Missouri.

Williams has rushed for over a 1,000 yards this season despite missing several games due to injury. Williams sat out most of the second half of Allen’s bi-district game Saturday after taking a big hit but returned for Allen’s final drive of the game.

Williams said he is fine and the rest was just precautionary to help him recover from a few small injuries he has acquired throughout the season.

DeSoto players hadn’t even had time to walk off the field after Friday’s 41-16 win over Mesquite before talk turned to Longview.

The Lobos host DeSoto for the District 11-5A title 7 p.m. Thursday. The game was moved up a night from the original schedule so it can be televised by Fox Sports Southwest.

In a way, Longview has been in the back of the Eagles' minds all season.

The 2010 District 11-5A race came down to the Week 10 Longview-DeSoto game. The Lobos won, 38-35, on DeSoto's home turf. Technically, both shared the District 11-5A title with a 4-1 record, but the Lobos were considered the No. 1 playoff seed based on head-to-head result.

This time, both teams go into Thursday’s showdown with 4-0 district records.

Compared to last year’s team, DeSoto (9-0), No. 4 in ESPNDallas.com's 5A area rankings, is a better defensive club. Opponents are averaging 14.8 points against the Eagles this year compared to 30.5 at this point of the 2010 season.

With experienced defenders like end Michael Richardson (Texas A&M commit), cornerback Bryson Echols (Texas commit) and linebacker Alex Lyons, defensive improvement hasn’t exactly come as a shock. As a result, things are easier for the offense, which scored 29, 35 and 48 points in the Eagles' three losses last year.

The Eagles defense will try to control Longview quarterback Bivins Caraway and a deep running back corps led by J’haston Faggans.

The only loss separating Longview (8-1) from an unbeaten season came courtesy of Allen, 42-23, in Week 2.

Longview, attempting to win its eighth consecutive district championship, is excellent on special teams. In last week’s 45-19 win over Tyler Lee, the Lobos blocked three kicks and for the second consecutive week returned a punt for a touchdown.

The top three playoff spots in District 6-5A are decided, but there exists a chance that as many as four teams could tie for the for the final berth.

Euless Trinity, Colleyville Heritage and Hurst L.D. Bell have secured postseason passes in the nine-team district.

In fourth position going into Week 10 is 4-3 Grapevine, followed by three teams at 3-4: Haltom, Irving MacArthur and Richland.

Grapevine would clinch the fourth spot with a win over Richland on Friday. Richland would clinch by beating Grapevine if, as expected, MacArthur loses to district champion Euless Trinity on Thursday and Haltom loses to district runner-up Colleyville Heritage on Friday.

If Richland beats Grapevine and MacArthur and/or Haltom pull off upsets, the final berth would be determined by three- or four-way tiebreaker procedures.

Grapevine (5-4, 4-3) comes in having won three of four, including a 10-7 gut check over MacArthur last week, the difference being a 21-yard Nik Grau field goal. The Mustangs defense limited MacArthur to two first downs and 124 yards, 79 of which came on the Cardinals only touchdown of the night.

Richland (4-5, 3-4) has put itself in contention by winning its last two games, 28-6 over Haltom and 42-14 last week over Irving Nimitz as quarterback Walker Burns ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns.

Richland and Grapevine both missed the playoffs last year after losing in the first round in 2009.

Plano West has a history of quarterbacks who put up big numbers, but those numbers don’t usually come on the ground.

With Plano West (5-4, 3-3 in 8-5A) evolving into a run-based offense, quarterback Travis Korry hasn’t had the chance to match his predecessors’ passing yardage this season, but he may have vaulted his team into the playoffs with a monster night running the ball against Flower Mound last week.

Korry ran for 353 yards and six touchdowns in Plano West’s 55-42 win over the Jaguars, leaving the Wolves in a tie for fourth place with Plano East (5-4, 3-3 in 8-5A). The loss eliminated Flower Mound from playoff contention.

Neither Plano East or Plano West controls its own destiny, but one of them will make the playoffs.

Plano West has the tie-breaker edge over Plano East in the event of a two-way tie for fourth. In the event of a three-way tie for third with Hebron (6-3, 4-2), Plano West would miss the playoffs.

Plano West backers should consider becoming temporary fans of Hebron because both Plano East (vs. Lewisville) and Plano West (vs. Plano) are favored Friday while Marcus is a slight favorite over Hebron. A three-way tie is not a remote possibility.

Here's what's already been determined in 8-5A: Allen has won the district title and clinched the top seed in Division I. Plano West or Plano East will be the second seed in Division I.

While Marcus' game with Hebron has playoff implications for Plano East and Plano West, it will also determined seeding in Division II. The winner gets the top seed.

Southlake Carroll fans can rest easy. Quarterback Kenny Hill is not seriously injured.

The junior signal-caller didn’t play in Carroll’s 45-14 win over Saginaw last week, but head coach Hal Wasson said Hill’s absence was merely a precaution and that he’d play in Carroll’s regular-season finale at Denton Guyer on Friday.

“We held him out with a little tweak he had and he’ll be fine,” Wasson said. “He could have played if he had to but we didn’t use him.”

Drew Ahmuty, who started at quarterback to open the 2010 season after Daxx Garman was ruled ineligible, filled in for Hill against Saginaw and played well, going 16-for-20 for 161 yards and two touchdowns.

Ahmuty provides Carroll (9-0, 6-0 in 7-5A) with a luxury that not many teams have: a backup quarterback who’s won at the varsity level.

“Drew did a really good job,” Wasson said. “We have a lot of confidence in Drew.”

Despite having clinched a playoff berth, Carroll’s postseason path has yet to be decided. The Dragons, No. 6 in the ESPNDallas.com 5A area rankings, don’t even know if they’re going Division I or Division II.

That’s made it hard on Carroll’s coaching staff to plan for the playoffs. Usually at this point a team can narrow down its first-round opponent to a couple of teams and some even know who it’s going to be.

But Carroll’s playoff opener could be against Hebron, Flower Mound Marcus, Plano West or Plano East, and who the Dragons would play after that gets even messier given that they don’t even know which bracket their going to be in.

Coppell (6-3, 3-3) will decide which bracket Carroll gets in. If Coppell misses the playoffs, Carroll will go Division I. If Carroll goes Division I, it will play either Plano West or Plano East.

If Coppell misses the playoffs, Carroll will go Division II. The winner of Carroll’s game with Denton Guyer will be the top seed, but even knowing its seeding won't automatically determine Carroll's first-round opponent because Marcus and Hebron are playing on Friday in a game that will decide Division II seeding in 8-5A.

“It’s going to come down to the last week,” Wasson said. “That keeps your players on point, it keeps your fans on point and it makes for an exciting finish, that’s for sure.”

Mesquite, rebounding from back-to-back 1-9 seasons, is a win away from wrapping up a playoff berth in ultra-competitive District 11-5A.

The Skeeters (5-3, 2-1), currently third in the six-team 11-5A, play at DeSoto (8-0, 3-0) on Friday and finish the regular season the following week against Mesquite Horn (2-6, 1-2).

Mesquite coach Robbie Robinson’s move of promoting eight sophomores to the varsity a year ago is paying off.

“We prefer sophomores play on the junior varsity,’’ Robinson said. “We bring them up only if they are the best ones.’’

Even without those eight, the Mesquite junior varsity captured the district title in 2010.

“We stressed that, hey this is big. Even without those key guys, our JV was able to win,’’ Robinson said. “We feel like we have a really good junior group.‘’

Quarterback Alex Cooper (1,425 passing yards, 16 TD) and running back Junior Session (840 yards, 13 TD) are key junior contributors.

But seniors have had a hand in the turnaround, too. Receiver Kavaski Ervin has 28 catches for 455 yards and seven touchdowns.

Senior Nick Bowers embodies the Skeeters’ spirit. The defensive lineman missed almost all of the 2010 season after suffering a broken leg in the first game.

“Nick rehabbed like a fiend,’’ Robinson said, “and has been playing great.’’

The Skeeters, Class 5A Division I state champs in 2001, last made the playoffs in 2007.