Twin brothers Luke and Matt Joeckel (pronounced JO-kel) have helped the high-scoring Arlington Colts (10-2) reach the Class 5A Division I regional round. The Colts will face Coppell (11-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Birdville ISD Fine Arts/Athletic Complex in North Richland Hills.

During the college recruiting process in the spring, it was Luke Joeckel, a 6-6, 290-pound offensive lineman that all the big schools wanted, Arlington coach Scott Peach said. Matt, a 6-4, 225-pound quarterback, did not grab the same attention.

But the brothers wanted to go to the same college. Only six schools were offering scholarships for both.

"It came down to Texas A&M and Arkansas," said Peach, "and when they visited A&M, they fell in love with the place."

They made their commitment in April.

The season that Matt is having must be pleasing to A&M coach Mike Sherman. Matt has thrown for 2,522 yards and 38 touchdowns and rushed for 677 yards and 12 scores. The Colts are averaging 45 points a game.

"The funny thing is their dad played at Texas Tech and they probably would have gone there if both had been offered," Peach said.

Luke's primary job is to block for Matt and the backs, but he gets his hands on the ball on extra points and field goals as deep snapper. The holder receiving those snaps is none other than Matt.

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A quick defensive turnaround has Denton Ryan in its best position to win a state championship since appearing in four straight title games from 2000-03.

The unit has given up just 20 combined points in playoff wins over Saginaw and Fort Worth Arlington Heights and averages 21.0 points against per game in 2009.

That's a vast improvement over last season, when it gave up an average of 31.8 points per game and was gashed regularly on the ground.

"Our kids understand that if we want to keep playing, we have to play great defense," said Ryan head coach Joey Florence, who's led the Raiders (11-1) to the playoffs in all 10 of his seasons at the school. "They're playing really well together. They're playing well as a unit."

The difference in the unit's play coincides with dramatic changes. After switching to a 4-3 formation in hopes of salvaging a flawed unit in 2008, coaches reverted to the 4-2-5 defense it used throughout its glory years.

Ryan improved a defensive front that had trouble stopping the run by moving linebacker Ty Hook and defensive tackle Ishmael Pitts to defensive end. The Raiders also benefited from the return of DT Taylor Lanzer, who missed last season because of injury.

LB Colby Boliver and DB Sedrick Purnell are the only players who remain in the same position from 2008, and countless junior varsity call-ups have contributed to a revamped roster.

Ryan has given up more than 30 points only three times this season. That came against the explosive offenses of McKinney, Richardson Pearce and Lake Dallas. The Raiders gave up more than 30 points nine times in 13 games in 2008.

In the team's win over previously undefeated Denton Guyer, Ryan held the a Wildcat offense that led the Dallas-Fort Worth area in production going into the game to 29 points and 421 yards, well below their season averages.

Ryan's defense will get tested against El Paso Chapin (10-2) at 7:30 on Saturday at Midland's Grande Communications Stadium in the Class 4A Division I Region I regional round. Chapin spent the regular season whipping other El Paso teams. It averages 37.1 points per game.

A win for Ryan could set up a rematch with Guyer (11-1), which plays Abilene Cooper at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Abilene's Shotwell Stadium.

When asked about the possibility of a rematch, Florence pleaded ignorance.

"What'd you say?" he said. "There must be something wrong with the phone. I can't hear you. I don't understand."

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Saturday was bittersweet for Garland seniors Jared Barnett, Ayron Morgan and Adrian Phillips. They got to put their names in the school record book but were also bounced out of the playoffs.

Tyler Lee (6-5) upset Garland, 23-17, but quarterback Barnett broke Greg Hunter's 2006 records for most passing yards and attempts in a season with 2,069 and 261. The loss was particularly tough to take for Barnett, who suffered whiplash fighting for extra yardage on the last play of the game and then spent Saturday night at Parkland Hospital as a precaution. Twice Barnett led the Owls into Tyler Lee territory in the closing minutes of the game, but he could not get them into the end zone and saw the clock stop on the game and his season while trying to scramble for a touchdown.

Garland head coach Jeff Jordan reported that Barnett was released Sunday and is expected to wear a neck brace for the next few weeks.

Morgan finished the year with a big day, hauling in four passes for 139 yards, raising his season total to 797 receiving yards and shattering Keith Mills' 1999 record for receiving yards in a season by 100 yards. Also, Phillips pulled even with Alex Updyke for the school record in receptions with 42 on the year.

"We played hard and left everything we had on the field, but came up a little bit short," Garland head coach Jeff Jordan said. "This has been a fun group of young men, and I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to work with them."

As a team, the Owls also set the school-record for most wins in a decade with 83.

While their high schools careers are done, all three Owls will continue playing into college, with Barnett and Phillips committed to Iowa State and Texas, respectively, and Morgan leaning toward Arizona but still undecided.

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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Southlake Carroll's Justin Agnew was ready when Allen quarterback Matt Brown headed his way.

On a two-point conversion attempt to win the game, Brown swept left but changed directions when he didn't see a hole. There wasn't room in the right side either thanks to Agnew, the Carroll safety.

Agnew shook a block and brought Brown down at the 1-yard line, preserving Carroll's 35-34 win in double overtime over the defending Class 5A champions in the Class 5A Division II Region I area round.

Read more about Carroll's thrilling double-overtime victory here.

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas -- Dallas Skyline's Michael Davis looked out to the DeSoto secondary and seemed positively upset to see only one defender trying to cover him.

"That's just disrespecting me," Davis said. "I kept thinking, 'somebody better cover me.'"

Davis spent the first half of Skyline's 41-36 shootout win Saturday night over DeSoto proving his point, hooking up with quarterback Javia Hall for 239 receiving yards and four touchdowns in the Class 5A Division I Region II area playoff game at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.

When DeSoto's coverage slowed Davis in the second half, he moved over to defense and came up with two crucial interceptions.

Davis, a 6-2, 175-pound senior who has orally committed to LSU, had touchdown receptions of 57, 71, 37 and 74 yards.

Read more about undefeated Skyline's victory here.

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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Aledo coach Tim Buchanan said he almost passed out in the first half as his team played Stephenville in a Class 4A Division II area-round game at Cowboys Stadium.

The Bearcats didn't look like themselves with less than 100 total yards and a 13-6 deficit against their biggest rival.

But Buchanan and the Bearcats had a second-half revival and came back with timely, big plays to beat Stephenville, 26-23, in overtime Friday night on quarterback Matthew Bishop's 13-yard scamper.

Read more about Friday's game here.

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BEDFORD, Texas -- The relief of surviving a topsy-turvy game was written all over Everman coach Dale Keeling's face.

It was evident in his dance moves, too. He gathered his team at the 50-yard line Friday after the 21-16 Class 4A Division II area-round win over Lake Dallas and let loose on a dance he said he didn't know.

"He's jiggin'," senior J.T. Gales said.

The celebration began when a wet ball slipped out of a Lake Dallas receiver's hands on fourth down in the closing minutes to give Everman the victory at Pennington Field.

Read more about Everman's win here.

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IRVING, Texas -- The 2009 season is officially the greatest in Carrollton Newman Smith history.

In the playoffs for only the second time, the Trojans (10-2) knocked off perennial power Dallas Carter, 49-27, in a Class 4A Division I area playoff at Irving ISD Stadium on Friday night to advance to the regional quarterfinals for the first time in school history.

Read more about the Trojans' win here.

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Linebacker Aaron Benson has made Cedar Hill's defense even more fearsome since his return from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss four games.

In his second game back, Benson ripped the jersey right off Plano West quarterback Michael Pruneau in last week's 31-22 bi-district victory and on another occasion slung down a running back like a rag doll.

"When Aaron gets his hands on somebody,'' said Cedar Hill coach Joey McGuire, "they are going down.''

Benson, a 6-1, 215-pound senior, will remain a Longhorn at the next level. He has committed to Texas.

Cedar Hill (11-0) faces Class 5A Division II area-opponent Flower Mound Marcus (7-3) 2 p.m. Saturday at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Marcus' productive running game will be the top concern for Benson and the Longhorn defense.

With Stephen Hopkins leading the way, Marcus is averaging 272 rushing yards per game. Hopkins has 1,282 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Cedar Hill's defense is limiting opponents to 110 rushing yards per game.

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Trinity coach Steve Lineweaver likened his team's 88-27 bi-district playoff win over Flower Mound last Saturday to a boxer who was so scared of his opponent that he can't stop swinging.

"We were scared to death of their passing attack," Lineweaver said of Flower Mound. "We were expecting to have a real tough time trying to find a way to win by one."

Lineweaver's team is thinking much the same way this week with Plano (5-6) on deck. The Trojans (9-2) play Plano at 5 p.m. Saturday at Cowboys Stadium in a Class 5A Division I Area Round game. It's the Wildcats' tradition, work ethic and defense that has Lineweaver worried this go-round.

"We're talking about not getting outprepared this week -- we're trying to win Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and so on," Lineweaver. "They have a good defense. Whatever you have been doing, they'll have a defense to stop that and make you beat them left-handed."

Oh, and there's that redemption thing, too. Trinity beat Plano 30-27in double overtime in 2007 and 42-35 on a last-second pass in 2008, both in the postseason.

"We're hoping we have a chance to win by one in the end," Lineweaver said. "That has been our theme: win by one."

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