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A return trip to the Class 4A regional baseball semifinals did not seem to be in the cards for Waxahachie.

The Indians were faced with the daunting task of beating Corsicana in a best-of-3 regional quarterfinal series after losing twice to the 15-4A champion in district play. One of those defeats was a no-hitter in which Corsicana run-ruled Waxahachie, 10-0.

It appeared to be more of the same after the first game of the playoff series, a 3-2 Corsicana win. However, Waxahachie won the final two games in Corsicana to take the series.

"It's a different time of the year," Waxahachie coach Tracy Wood said. "We're playing better baseball. It came down to them making more mistakes when it was time. We'll take district losses to still be playing now."

While Waxahachie is making a second consecutive trip to the regional semifinals, it is by no means the same team that was knocked out by Rockwall-Heath just a round short of state. The Indians returned just four players from last year's squad.

The team has rallied around fundamentals, which Wood has stressed from Day 1, and depended on a committee of pitchers to make up for what they lacked in experience.

Wood started a different pitcher in the first game of every series Waxahachie has played so far this playoff season. David Marinelli, the starter in the opener of the last series, had just one start in the regular season.

"It was a gut feeling," Wood said. "Just a hunch I had and he did a good job. We have different guys getting it done for us for sure."

Waxahachie now has Frisco Wakeland in its sights. Wakeland knocked Highland Park out of the playoffs last week for the third consecutive season.

Wood says his team's success comes down to minimizing Wakeland standout Willie Schwanke in the series either on the mound or at the plate.

"He's their best player for sure," Wood said. "He's the guy you don't let beat you."

The series begins Thursday night in Waxahachie and will be completed Saturday at Frisco's Dr Pepper Ballpark.

Martin moves up in national rankings

Arlington Martin stands firm at No. 10 in the ESPNHS Fab 50 rankings, moving up two spots after its regional quarterfinal win over Lubbock Coronado.

Martin faces Hurst L.D. Bell in the regional semis this weekend.

Highland Park and Frisco Wakeland’s meetings in the UIL Class 4A baseball playoffs have become a tradition like no other.

The teams have met in the playoffs the last two years, and each best-of-three series was decided in Wakeland's favor the final inning of the third game.

This weekend, the tradition continues for the third consecutive year in the regional quarterfinal round.

All of the pressure lies with Highland Park, which has been on the short end of two heartbreaking defeats at the hands of a group of current seniors who have taken part in both Wakeland wins.

“They have three that are definitely killers and that’s (Willie) Schwanke, (Justin) Swanner and (Hayden) Nixon and we’ve faced them the last three years,” Highland Park coach Frank Oliver said. “There’s still three names that are still around and they’re still a good ball club.”

Wakeland was the undefeated champion of District 9-4A. Highland Park finished second in 10-4A, turning its season around after a 1-4 start in district play. Since that sixth game of the district slate, Highland Park has lost just one game.

This will be Highland Park’s first best-of-three series in this playoff run as the Scots look to advance past the regional quarterfinal round for the first time in four years.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if it goes three games again,” Oliver said.

Area teams wiped from 5A Region II

Any hope of a DFW title coming from Class 5A Region II was eliminated in the area round last weekend.

The Metroplex’s chance at gold now lies in the hands of five teams in Region I, four of are facing off.

Southlake Carroll has one of the toughest challenges against District 8-5A runner up Flower Mound in a one-and-done match 7:30 p.m. Friday at Colleyville Heritage.

Two third-place finishers play in the other area pairing between Hurst L.D. Bell and Plano East.

Arlington Martin rounds up the five, continuing it’s West Texas travel to face Lubbock Coronado in the regional quarterfinal.

Lake Highlands playoff run goes viral

Seen the Harvard baseball team’s dance to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” that recently took YouTube by storm?

If not, click here and check out the goofy dance that has tallied over 7 million views.

Well, the Class 5A area round might not have been all fun and games for the Lake Highlands baseball squad on the diamond -- Temple swept the series in two games -- but the Wildcats sure made the best of their bus ride to the Hill Country.

Here is the Wildcats' rebuttal to Harvard to the tune of Wham's “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”.

To say the Flower Mound softball team had a rough week would be a terrible understatement.

The team thought it had Saturday's one-game Class 5A regional quarterfinal against Plano East in the bag on a walk-off hit that scored a runner from second base in the bottom of the seventh.

The play appeared to end when the runner slid past a tag from the Plano East catcher, eliciting a safe signal from the home plate umpire.

But the runner was tagged during the Flower Mound celebration and was called out for not touching home plate.

The controversy boiled down to a small difference in rules between softball and baseball as mandated by the National High School Federation.

Rule 2, section 1, article 9 of the NHSF rule book states: “If a runner misses home plate and the catcher misses the tag, the umpire should hesitate slightly. If no tag is made, the umpire should declare the runner safe. If an appeal play is then made by tagging either the runner or home plate, the umpire should then make a decision on this appeal play.”

In baseball, umpires are instructed to hold position and refrain from making any call if no tag is made on a play and the runner misses the plate.

“The intention of the rule was probably meant to be good but in this situation it was not,” Flower Mound coach Mark Larriba said.

Flower Mound failed to plate any more runners in the seventh and could not come from behind in the eighth after Plano East took a 3-2 lead, ending the Lady Jaguars’ season in a crushing fashion.

And it came while the team was already dealing with tragedy.

Earlier in the week, Flower Mound catcher Christy Lisenby's father died in a car accident. The team did not practice Wednesday and had a memorial service to attend after the Saturday's game.

“There was a lot of emotion going around and then to have that happen,” Larriba said. “It was difficult to tell the girls the right thing. We realized softball is like life – it’s not fair. Sometimes things go against you but how you react to adversity is what coaches teach you and we really had to apply that.”

Larriba said he has no hard feelings toward the umpire, whom he said was trying to do his job to the best of his abilities, and wished Plano East the best of luck in their journey deeper in to the playoffs.

He just chalks it up to the human element to the game – which includes those who write the rules.

“The lesson is that people make mistakes. If we never forgave people for making mistakes, the world would be a hateful place,” Larriba said.

At least one area team destined for Austin

All that remain in the Class 4A Region II bracket are four strong teams from the Metroplex, meaning one will earn a bid to the state tournament in Austin.

Defending state finalist Forney returns to the regional semifinal to face a hot Rockwall squad that has yet to face much of a challenge in its playoff run. The first two games will be held at Forney on Thursday and Rockwall on Friday, with a rubber match Saturday at Plano West if necessary.

The winner of that series has either Frisco Wakeland or Ennis to look forward to in the region final.

Wakeland has been impressive, outscoring opponents 53-2 through four games in the first three rounds of play.

In 4A Region I, Birdville is the only area team still alive.

Hebron ousts Plano in regional quarterfinal

Plano will not make a return trip to Austin after falling to Hebron 4-2 in a one-game Class 5A regional quarterfinal Saturday.

That leaves just Plano East and Hebron representing the area in the 5A bracket, both in Region I. Plano East faces Lubbock Coronado and Hebron takes on El Paso Americas in the regional semis this weekend.

Frisco Centennial and Dallas Hillcrest have a lot at stake in their area-round matchup.

Centennial drew the short end of the stick last season, facing a strong Highland Park squad in the first round that sent the team packing after one quick game.

Centennial finished 2012 as the second seed in District 9-4A behind Frisco Wakeland and has a playoff win under its belt, but Hillcrest stands in the way of a long-overdue playoff run.

Hillcrest took the District 12-4A crown this season, running the table in one of the area’s weaker districts. However, Hillcrest has playoff experience from a run to the regional quarterfinals last season that took a talented Rockwall-Heath team to the third game in a best-of-3 series.

The winner of this area-round duel will then potentially face Rockwall-Heath in the regional quarterfinal next week.

Highland Park, Wakeland headed for rematch

In one of the more epic wins of the playoffs last season, Frisco Wakeland knocked off Highland Park on a two-run, walk-off homer in the third game of the regional quarterfinals.

Those two are one win away from another meeting in the same round this season.

Highland Park eked past Carrollton Creekview in the bi-district round, 1-0, and has North Dallas in its sights this weekend.

Wakeland found late life against McKinney North, taking the third game of the series 13-0 after two close games to begin the series. It will face Dallas Bryan Adams in the area round.

Class 5A Region I bracket heating up

Before the playoffs began, Arlington Martin head coach Curt Culbertson said the lack of DFW schools deep in the baseball playoffs was due, in part, to Metroplex teams falling to other local teams early in the brackets.

This year is no different.

The bottom of the Region I bracket will see two strong DFW teams fall at the hands of another North Texas team.

District 7-5A champion Southlake Carroll will face District 6-5A runner up Grapevine in area-round action this weekend. Also, District 8-5A runner up Flower Mound and District 5-5A champ Mansfield face off to play the winner of Carroll and Grapevine.

The setup will leave just one Metroplex team with the chance to advance to the bottom region semifinal in Region I.

High school baseball games average a much smaller fan attendance than those of other programs. Many games would be hard pressed to draw over 100 people.

This season, Fort Worth Christian has been guaranteed to draw anywhere from a handful to 67 spectators for their baseball games, all with radar guns in tow.

That’s right, 67 scouts lined the bleachers to get a report on pitcher Teddy Stankiewicz, coach Tracy Howard said.

The timing of the game was perfect to draw in that number of scouts. It was a week before any UIL schools could begin tournament play and it took place during a tournament hosted by Fort Worth Christian that featured many of the top private schools in the state.

But those 67 scouts were mostly there to check out the Cardinals ace.

Going into the regional final round of the TAPPS 4A state playoffs, Stankiewicz has a 10-2 record with 121 strikeouts and a 1.33 ERA in 79 innings. He is also No. 51 on the ESPNHS 100 top recruits in the nation -- the highest ranking of any player in the Metroplex.

Stankiewicz, an Arkansas signee, averages 90-92 mph on his fastball but has topped out at 95 with good control.

“Teddy is the type of guy that looks effortless when he throws,” Howard said. “He looks very smooth, but he has the ability to throw it by guys. He’s pretty fun to watch.”

Before his senior year, Stankiewicz participated in two Under Armor All-American games -- one at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.

“He’s been invited to some pretty big-time events and he’s done well,” Howard said. “He’s done a good job of getting himself recognized, but he’s also done a good job of competing once he’s there.”

The only question that remains in Stankiewicz’s game is if he’ll be playing SEC or MLB ball next fall.

Frisco Wakeland riding district momentum

Wakeland could be another team to beat in the playoffs. It is coming off a deep playoff run last year that ended at the hands of state semifinalist Mesquite Poteet.

Wakeland is on a 13-district game winning streak heading into bi-district play this weekend. It finished on top of District 9-4A with a 13-1 district record, and its only district loss of the season was the first game of district play to Frisco.

Colleyville Heritage jumps into Fab 50

Heritage jumped into the No. 47 spot this weekend thanks to winning 19 of its last 20 games to claim the District 6-5A crown.

Arlington Martin made a huge jump, moving from No. 33 to No. 12 in the national poll.

A year has passed, but not much has changed in the North Texas softball landscape.

Plano again enters the playoffs highly ranked nationally and a favorite to return to Austin to contend for a 5A state title. For its players, Friday’s bi-district opener against Denton Guyer couldn’t come any sooner after last season’s loss in the state semifinals.

“They’re so excited to finally get to the playoffs after such a hard district, finally getting to the playoff part,” Plano coach Cynthia Zea said.

The opening rounds of the playoffs could easily be thought as a brief reprieve from the gauntlet the team faced through district play, which included the area’s other highly ranked team, Plano East.

Plano didn’t run away with a district title this season as it did in 2011. It fell twice to Plano East, surrendering the championship to their cross-town rivals by heads-up tiebreaker. All but two of their District 8-5A competitors finished above .500.

However, there will be little time for Plano to catch its breath, with one of the toughest roads to state ahead of them. Denton Guyer finished third in District 7-5A behind strong competitors Keller and Keller Central.

If Plano pushes on to the area round, it could face ESPN Fab 50 No. 35 Mansfield Legacy, then Fab 50 honorable mention Keller in the third round.

“Our region, the North Texas region, in the last three or four years has really stepped up our game,” Zea said. “It used to be just he Houstons and the Austins. Now, I think softball is so strong that definitely someone from our region is going to Austin to represent us well. We just hope it’s us.”

Plano East has a slightly easier path through the introductory rounds of the playoffs, with District 7-5A runner-up Keller Central not an option until the third round.

In 4A, District 9-4A champion Frisco Wakeland could be a serious threat to make a long district run through a majority of Dallas ISD schools, with third-place finisher Frisco as a challenge in the third round. Wakeland took the season series from Frisco, winning 11-6 and 12-0.

Regardless of the district, what every coach has to deal with is a new set of challenges presented from teams across the state.

“They present a whole different set of challenges, but our girls just have to get up there hit the ball and play good defense and we’ll be fine,” Zea said.

It seems like the same old story for the Frisco Wakeland girls soccer team.

Wakeland enters the 4A state playoffs a favorite to bring gold medals back to soccer-crazy Frisco, just as it did last season.

But Wakeland head coach Meagan Wilson sees this season much differently than the team's 2011 drive to the state championship.

“They’re night and day different seasons,” Wilson said. “It’s kind of crazy if you compare the two different teams. They are 180 degrees different from each other. I’m very proud of this team for coming out and creating their own identity.”

Wakeland rolls into the playoffs undefeated at 19-0-4, as opposed to last season's club that entered postseason play with two losses.

But Wison has a much younger team to manage this go-around, with a much larger number of freshmen contributing than last year’s squad.

Wilson should have seven seniors returning from last year’s state title team to ride through another playoff run, but three have been hurt for the majority of the season, including last year’s championship game MVP Katey Carmichael. Carmichael was just released to play again right before the playoffs begin, which will add one of the area’s top forwards back into the mix.

“We’re getting her back right at the right time,” Wilson said.

Wakeland will have one of the toughest roads back to the state tournament, coming out of a stacked area of Region II.

First on the docket is Little Elm at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at Frisco Lone Star. If Wakeland advances, they could face Richardson J.J. Pearce in the area round and then either McKinney North or Highland Park in the sectional round.

“It’s going to be unbelievably hard this year,” Wilson said. “To be honest, it’s a shame because you have potentially four or five teams coming out of that one bracket that should probably be in the state tournament, and unfortunately we’re all going to eliminate each other.”

On the boys side, West Mesquite has hopes it can carry momentum from winning District 15-4A for the first time in school history into the playoffs for a run like they made in 2009.

“I’m hearing some really good things about this squad,” Frisco Wakeland head coach Rusty Oglesby said. “This is West Mesquite's year to come out of that district.”

However, it’s the area round matchup -- West Mesquite's first game after a bye -- that has coach Alex Figert most concerned.

“I’m not overlooking either Rockwall or Molina,” Figert said. “Both of them scare the dog out of me. I’m unhappy with our draw. I did not like our draw whatsoever, but it’s playoff time and every team in the playoffs are going to scare you.”

If West Mesquite can make it past that area round match between the winner of Rockwall and Dallas Molina, it could be on course to top the 2009 playoff trip that went three rounds, without fear of facing one of the Frisco schools or McKinney until the regional quarterfinal round.

The Frisco schools battled it out throughout district play, with only eight points separating the district champion, Frisco Heritage, from the fourth and final seed, Wakeland, and Oglesby said those in the soccer circles in Frisco expect one of the four Frisco teams to use the playoff-like experience they faced through district play to advance to the state tournament.

“We think that there’s going to be a Frisco school, we hope, in that regional tournament,” Oglesby said. “I think any of the four teams from our district can make it to that regional tournament if we take care of business in these first rounds.”

Wakeland opens its postseason against district champion McKinney at 7:15 p.m. on Friday at Plano’s Clark Stadium.

Frisco Wakeland had a banner season last year, winning its first playoff game at the Class 4A level.

But with a largely new roster this season, the Wolverines find themselves in a dog fight for the final playoff spot in District 9-4A.

Frisco, Frisco Centennial and Carrollton Creekview have jockeyed for the lead in 9-4A all season, but that trio has left little room for error for other schools in playoff contention, namely Wakeland and Carrollton Newman Smith.

Wakeland (14-14, 7-5) sits a game ahead of Newman Smith (14-14, 6-6) with two games remaining in the regular season. The Wolverines can clinch the final spot Friday with a win and a Newman Smith loss, but that will be a tall order.

Wakeland has to play at district-leading Frisco and dominating post RJ White while Newman Smith hosts a Frisco Liberty team that's won just two district games this year.

The most likely scenario -- the two teams settle things when they meet in a de facto playoff play-in game in the regular season finale at Wakeland.

In their first meeting this year, Wakeland held off a Newman Smith rally to escape with a 63-61 win, a victory that remains the difference between the two teams in the standings.

The Frisco Wakeland Lady Wolverines would have felt guilty this season if they'd taken a possession off, had a lazy practice or failed to meet their obligations off the court.

A simple glance at their bench would remind them what it means to persevere against long odds.

Wakeland assistant coach Jenny Mills was diagnosed with breast cancer last summer and began chemotherapy just as basketball season began.

Despite her condition, Mills missed just one game this season.

"She handled it like a champ," said Wakeland head coach Darilyn Krempin. "She's one of the strongest people I know. I think a lot of it is because she kept on going and didn't allow it to hold her back."

The Lady Wolverines (23-10, 11-1 in District 9-4A) rallied behind their coach this season. After losing the star players from their powerhouse 2010-11 team, Wakeland had a relatively slower start to the season and some outsiders began questioning whether it was the same team it had been the past two years.

But after surviving a difficult nondistrict schedule, Wakeland closed the season by ripping off eight straight wins, capped by Tuesday night's 61-35 victory over Carrollton R.L. Turner to clinch the District 9-4A title.

According to Krempin, Wakeland's success has come because of its belief in the team mentality that's developed around the program because of Mills. The Lady Wolverines rarely have the same leading scorer twice in a row as Alana Aguirre, Faith Hunt, Bria Platenburg, Danielle Westerfield and Darian Dunn have all shared the load during district play.

"We've had the success we've had this year because of the real team, family bonding, because of the things outside of basketball," Krempin said. "It's been a really unique, cool, special season, not even because of anything to do with being district champions."

In turn, Mills has drawn strength from her team. Krempin said the assistant's condition has improved and that "the worst is behind her."

"She's doing great," Krempin said. "I think it's helped her get through it. I think it's good that it was during the season instead of during the summer when we're all away from each other and sitting around doing nothing."

Wakeland opens the playoffs at 7 p.m. Monday at Prosper High School against McKinney North.

Football may not be the only sport in which Frisco ISD sweeps District 9-4A.

Frisco's girls basketball teams currently occupy all four of the district's playoff spots, as Frisco Liberty, Frisco Wakeland, Frisco Centennial and Frisco Heritage are in line to make the playoffs in 9-4A.

In fact, those four teams look so strong that it may be moot that Frisco ISD's sweeps the district. The more intriguing question might be the order in which those teams finish.

Each of the four is a game ahead of the team behind it, with Liberty (16-10, 8-0) leading the way and Heritage (19-8, 5-3) sitting in fourth, two games ahead of Carrollton Newman Smith. Wakeland (17-10, 7-1) is second and Centennial (19-9, 6-2) is third.

Ironically, the order is the exact opposite in overall win percentage. Heritage leads in that category with a .703 win percentage and Liberty is fourth at .615, suggesting it could be a wild finish in the district.

But the pecking order within the district is pretty clear. None of the four non-playoff teams have yet to win against the four playoff teams, and of the four playoff teams, none of them have beaten a team currently ahead of them in the standings.

McKinney Boyd’s girls soccer team, ranked No. 1 in the ESPNHS Fab 50, has already begun its 2012 campaign after winning its second state title in four years last season.

With the players who return, Boyd remains a frontrunner to bring another state title back to North Texas.

The biggest change for Boyd this year is on the sidelines.

After one of North Texas’ most successful coaches, Jimmie Langford, resigned from Boyd to take a job coaching a boys team in Colorado, the reigns of the defending champs were given to Michele Estes.

The transition might not be as difficult as it sounds. Estes simply moved into the head coaching role after spending years as an assistant coach under Langford.

Not much strategically has changed in Boyd’s play under Estes, but it’s intangibles that the new coach emphasizes to her players.

“She’s brought a more competitive atmosphere,” senior striker Amanda Elertson said. “She’s trying to ignite the team more. We’ve lost players from last year, so we need to find a chemistry this year that will make us as successful as last year.”

Before practices and games, Boyd breaks out to the cheer “We are one” to put teamwork and team chemistry in the front of the players' minds as they move through the season, preparing for another playoff run.

It’s that personal connection with the team that Elerton values in Estes, which in turn is what Estes wants to spread amongst the team.

“She knows your personality,” Elertson said. “If you’re struggling, she knows what’s best to help pick you up and get you going, and I think it’s really good to have a coach that knows you.”

Elertson is one of many Boyd players who participates year-round by playing club soccer outside of the school team. Estes believes this creates a business-like attitude that prevents true chemistry from forming. Estes hopes she can create a more personal connection amongst the Boyd team, which is something the players rarely have the opportunity to form on club squads.

Boyd will have another tough road to state again this year with five North Texas girls teams ranked in the top 10 in the Fab 50 as of Jan. 8.

The 5A state runner-up, Colleyville Heritage, ranks No. 3 in the nation in the Week 6 poll, behind Coppell. Ursuline Academy ranks No. 4 as it looks to continue its dynasty in the state’s private school ranks.

North Texas has the chance to make a strong push on the boys side, as well, with the efforts being led by defending 5A state champion Southlake Carroll. Carroll entered the 2012 season with a 31-match undefeated streak that is the second longest active streak in the nation.

The surprise team to watch for is Hebron, which is ranked No. 12 in the nation as of Jan. 8, just one spot ahead of district rival Allen at No. 13.

The perennial powerhouse, Frisco Wakeland, comes in at No. 14, looking to sandwich a girls state title last season with a boys title in 2010.

But 2012 has the chance to be the season of Boyd in soccer, with a boys team that ranks No. 9 in the Fab 50, competing with the girls side for the higher national ranking when all is said and done.

The girls, of course, are winning the battle so far, and have the will and drive to repeat last season’s success.

“Everone on this team is competitive and everyone wants to win,” Elertson said. “They have that drive and desire, and I think we can be as successful.”

DALLAS -- Rockwall-Heath has been in this position before.

ESPNDallas.com’s seventh-ranked team fought back in the final minutes to defeat Frisco Wakeland, 22-21, in Class 4A Division I bi-district playoffs Friday at Wildcat-Ram Stadium.

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

Coach Mickey Moss didn't have too much to say in the postgame huddle and simply repeated the words “never give up” over and over.

“That’s a sign of this team in the fourth quarter. Nine of our 11 games have all been decided in the last three minutes of the ball game,” Moss said. “We have won eight of them. That says a lot about our kids.”

Wakeland struck first on quarterback Nick West’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Carson Carew in the first quarter.

Rockwall-Heath closed the gap to 7-3 with a 31-yard field goal from Ethan Smith and briefly went ahead in the second quarter after an Amaris Fields 54-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Wakeland answered when West scored on a 1-yard run with 36 seconds remaining in the first half to take a 14-10 lead at the break.

Wakeland extended the lead on Dan Harrington's 9-yard touchdown reception from West early in the third quarter.

But the offense really began to click in the third quarter for Rockwall-Heath, which started moving the ball well and was able to find holes in the Wolverines’ defense.

Rico Henderson’s 1-yard run capped off a touchdown drive late in the third quarter that pulled Rockwall-Heath within 21-16 after a missed conversion attempt.

Henderson’s 11-yard run with 3:04 left in the game finished off the late comeback for Rockwall-Heath and sent his team into the next round of playoffs.

“We just continued to play hard and execute and not make as many mistakes as we did in the first half,” Moss said.

Henderson and Moss were pleased to win, but both were already looking forward to the next game.

“Tomorrow we will recover and hit the weight room hard and condition. Every game in the fourth quarter it seems like our kids have been the strongest,” Moss said. “So, we believe we have to turn around tomorrow and hit the weight room and do a lot of running and watch film and then prepare for the next one."

Rockwall-Heath will face Kimball next Friday in the area playoffs.

CLASS 4A DIVISION I REGION 2 PREVIEW

Overview: A new region champion is sure to emerge since 2010 winner Wylie failed to make the playoffs.

Tyler John Tyler, regional finalist a year ago, is capable of a deep run despite a misleading 7-3 record. All three losses came at the start of the season to Class 5A schools. The Lions were competitive in two of those losses, to highly ranked Longview (38-22) and Lufkin (34-31).

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 Lions once again start the playoffs against Texarkana Texas High. John Tyler took last year’s bi-district meeting against the Tigers 26-17.

Look for the most competitive first-round games to come from District 15-16 matchups: West Mesquite-Pflugerville Hendrickson and Waxahachie-Pflugerville Connally.

Of the four Dallas ISD qualifiers in the bracket, two are assured of reaching the second round. Although Dallas Woodrow Wilson (9-1) has a better record, Dallas Kimball (8-2) played in a tougher district and appears to have the best chance of reaching the third round.

Favorite: Highland Park. Returning to the more familiar Division I this season, the Scots are the only unbeaten team in the 16-team bracket. They survived a couple of close calls against Wylie and Rockwall-Heath on the way to a District 10-4A championship and are making a state-record 53rd playoff appearance.

The Scots suffered a blow when top returning receiver Dalton Stogner was lost for the season after tearing his ACL in the fourth game of the season, but quarterback Brady Burgin (2,684 passing yards, 22 touchdowns) and running back Preston Miller (1,129 rushing yards, 21 touchdowns) have picked up the slack with outstanding seasons.

Highland Park has scored at least 40 points in seven games. Five of its wins have come against playoff teams.

Watch out for: Waxahachie. Sandwiched between losing its opener to Class 5A power Flower Mound Marcus and falling to Mesquite Poteet in a Week 10 game with nothing at stake, Waxahachie went on an eight-game winning streak and shared the title in a salty District 15-4A.

The Indians saw their streak of 20 straight playoff appearances snapped a year ago but have roared back behind the quarterback play of Don King III (2,257 passing yards, 18 touchdowns) and the running of Robert Lowe Jr. (1,357 yards, 26 touchdowns).

Waxahachie’s signature win came over rival Corsicana 47-36 in the sixth game of the season. If the Indians can string playoff games together with similar effort, they should be playing in December.

Can’t wait to see: West Mesquite-Pflugerville Hendrickson (7:30 Friday, Waco Midway). This is a bi-district rematch of an entertaining 48-39 West Mesquite victory a year ago when the Wranglers piled up over 600 yards of offense.

A rebuilding West Mesquite lost its first four games this fall but rallied to win five of its last six despite an injury that sidelined freshman starting quarterback Chason Virgil for the season. Shateek Nasir responded when pressed into duty, leading a 22-21 victory over Mesquite Poteet when the Wranglers overcame an 18-point deficit in the second half.

We hope to see: A rematch between Rockwall-Heath and Highland Park in the regional final. The first meeting for the District 10-4A title in Week 9 went to overtime with Highland Park squeezing out a 31-30 victory. The difference was a missed extra point when Rockwall-Heath had a chance to force a second overtime. It remains the only blemish on the record of either team.

The Hawks led 10-9 at the half. Highland Park took control of the third period to build a 24-10 lead only to see Rockwall-Heath mount a two-touchdown comeback in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.

Rockwall-Heath and Highland Park are in opposite ends of the regional bracket. Each would need to win three games to oppose each other in a state quarterfinal.

Talent pool (FBS recruits): Dallas Bryan Adams: LB Kris Williams (Texas Tech); Pflugerville Hendrickson: TE Reid Mitchell (Rice), RB Daje Johnson (TCU), DE Victor Irokansi (Oklahoma State); Sherman: DB Ryan Reid (Baylor); Texarkana Texas High: OL John Michael McGee (Oklahoma); Tyler John Tyler: DE Eric Davis (Oklahoma State).

Rockwall-Heath coach Mickey Moss said playmaking wide receiver Amaris Fields is "100 percent" after being carted off the field in an ambulance during the Hawks' 27-17 win Friday over Wylie East.

Fields took a hit during the game and remained on the ground for around ten minutes while trainers attended to him. Medical officials believed at the time he had suffered a fracture to his upper arm and called the ambulance as a precaution.

Moss said Fields will play Friday night in Rockwall-Heath's 4A Division I bi-district game against Frisco Wakeland at Richardson's Wildcat-Ram Stadium.

Fields leads the team with over 800 receiving yards and is tied for the team lead with 10 touchdowns.

FRISCO, Texas -- Frisco Wakeland coach Marty Secord was quick to congratulate his team following its 13-7 win over Frisco Liberty on Friday but immediately set his sights on the playoffs.

With Wakeland peaking at the perfect time, Secord told his players to be ready for practice at 7 a.m. Saturday.

Wakeland (6-3, 4-2) and Liberty (6-3, 3-3) came into Friday's game tied for third place in District 9-4A.

The game was slow to develop on offense. Wakeland scored first with Zach Paul’s 25-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Liberty answered with only minutes left in the half, a 24-yard touchdown pass fron Conner Navalta to to Izaiah Robinson. But Wakeland struck again before halftime, taking a 10-7 on Nick West’s 8-yard pass to Dan Harrington.

"That helped us. We went into the dressing room feeling good," Secord said.

A third-quarter Wakefield field goal completed the scoring.

"We just needed to get our passing game together and hold onto the ball," West said. "We turned it over a bit too much, so we just have to work on the small things."


Wakeland is 2-2 against Frisco teams this season after its win against the defending district champion.

"Our defense played great. The offensive line was working hard and we just executed," West said. "It’s good for us as a team. We worked all off-season just to get in the playoffs and we just have to get ready now."

Although he did not know what the playoffs have in store, Secord said he is eager to find out.

"Whoever it is, we want to try to represent ourselves well. If you can’t be excited just about being in the playoffs … that’s enough to focus you right there," Secord said.

Wakeland will play R.L. Turner Thursday in the regular-season finale.