Week 8 Amarillo-area High School football predictions

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Gruver receiver Mason Lankford makes a catch over a Stratford defender last Friday. [Joe Garcia III/ Press Pass Sports]

THURSDAY’S GAMES 

District 2-5A Division I 

Abilene High (5-2, 3-0) at Lubbock High ( 3-3, 0-2), 7 p.m., Shotwell Stadium, Abilene
Abilene High remains the team to beat for this district championship. Lubbock High has been outscored 126-14 in its two district games. … Abilene High 52, Lubbock High 7.

District 2-5A Division II

Lubbock Cooper (6-1, 3-0) at Palo Duro (3-3, 0-2), 7 p.m., Dick Bivins Stadium
Palo Duro continues its three-week district gauntlet playing the best of the three teams in Lubbock Cooper. Cooper is averaging 50 in its last two games and will test a PD defense licking its wounds from giving up 70 last week. The Dons WILL be the fourth-place team in this district. But the winning waits a week. … Cooper 48, Palo Duro 22.

District 1-2A Division II 

Gruver (7-0, 1-0) at Bovina (2-4, 0-1), 7 p.m.
There’s nothing more the Greyhounds want to do than keep the momentum going off a huge win against Stratford last week. This is a long road trip, but Gruver is playing with purpose. … Gruver 42, Bovina 14. 

District 1-1A Division I 

Claude (4-3, 0-1) at Boys Ranch (0-7, 0-1), 7 p.m.
Coming off a hard-fought loss to Booker, the Mustangs could be in trouble of looking past the Roughriders. Boys Ranch is getting healthier and added more punch to their roster, but Claude still has playoff expectations to fuel them. … Claude 56, Boys Ranch 22.

District 2-1A Division II

Patton Springs (2-5, 0-1) at Hedley (0-7, 0-1), 7 p.m.
This is a game the Owls have a legitimate shot at winning and are slight favorites to get their first victory of the season at home. When you look at the schedules, Hedley seems to have the upper hand. … Hedley 53, Patton Springs 46.

Class 1A non-district 

Holy Cross Catholic Academy (2-3) at White Deer JV, 6:30 p.m.
Nothing would make a JV team happier than beating a varsity squad, so the Bucks youngsters will give the Mustangs their best shot, but it won’t be enough for White Deer in the end. … Holy Cross Catholic Academy 42, White Deer JV 40.

FRIDAY’S GAMES 

Caprock (1-5, 0-2) at Lubbock Coronado (0-3, 1-6), 7 p.m., PlainsCapital Park Lowrey Field, 7 p.m.
This is a game both teams need to win if the playoffs are in the future. Caprock has to play its best game of the year to win this one and rebound from giving up 55 and 56 points in its two district losses. … Coronado 35, Caprock 14.

Lubbock Monterey (3-4, 2-1) at Tascosa (3-3, 2-0), 7 p.m., Dick Bivins Stadium 
Tascosa remains the team in this district with the best chance of knocking off Abilene High for a district championship. The Rebs better be buckled up on defense with Monterey arriving in Amarillo having cranked out points like crazy the past month of 70, 42, 42, and 49. … Tascosa 42, Monterey 35.

District 2-5A Division II

Plainview (3-3, 1-1) at Abilene Cooper (1-6, 0-3), 7 p.m., Shotwell Stadium, Abilene
On paper Cooper looks like a cakewalk. The paper lies. A bunch of teams across this great state would be 0-3 in district after playing WF Memorial, Lubbock Cooper and Abilene Wylie. Plainview is legit and the winner of this has high playoff hopes. Go with the home team grinding one out. … Cooper 17, Plainview 14.

Abilene Wylie (5-1, 3-0) at Wichita Falls Memorial (5-1, 2-0), 7 p.m., Memorial Stadium, Wichita Falls
Oh, my, my. Lookie here. A legit showdown game. Both teams can flat out play. Both teams still have Lubbock Cooper ahead, so the winner has a district title game ahead. Wylie’s lone loss is to Stephenville. Memorial’s lone loss is to Frenship. No shame in those losses. Hmmm. Instant classic ending on a late field goal. … Memorial 34, Wylie 31.

– Lance Lahnert
Last week: 6-0 (1.000)
Season: 23-3 (.884)

District 2-4A Division I

Hereford (5-1, 1-0) at Randall (6-0, 1-0), 7 p.m. Friday, Happy State Bank Stadium
This is the game of the week in the Texas Panhandle, or at the very least, in this district, with the winner claiming no worse than an early share of the district lead and an inside track on a playoff spot. With the way both offenses have shown balance, this one promises to be entertaining, and will be the first of two installments over the next two seasons featuring a pair of junior quarterbacks, Hereford’s Kalub Ramirez and Randall’s Kaison Benton. A slightly better defense and homefield are what gives the Raiders an advantage in maintaining an unbeaten record and sending a message to the rest of the district that they’re the team to beat the remainder of the season. … Randall 38, Hereford 27.

Canyon (4-2, 0-1) at Dumas (2-4, 0-1), 7 p.m. 
There’s a definite sense of urgency here between teams looking for their first district wins. Canyon had a rough night defensively and on special teams in the second half in a district opening loss to West Plains, and Dumas couldn’t hold on to a narrow second half lead in losing at home to Randall. The best defense for Canyon might be the offense, as the Eagles could use their strong ground game featuring Colt Cruth to keep Dumas quarterback Colton Mills and an explosive passing game on the sidelines for long stretches. It’s a definite contrast in styles which will come down to execution, and with the edge in experience, give the advantage to Canyon. … Canyon 28, Dumas 24.

West Plains (3-3, 1-0) at Pampa (2-4, 0-1), 7 p.m.
These teams couldn’t be more opposite in the way they opened district play last week. West Plains had an auspicious debut in a new district with an impressive win over Canyon and Pampa’s struggles, particularly on offense, continued in a loss at Hereford. The visiting Wolves are a large favorite this week, and with some justification after last week, as quarterback Reid Macon led a balanced offensive charge to give opponents something to worry about the rest of district. Pampa could stay in the game with a tough defensive effort, but West Plains simply has too much depth. … West Plains 49, Pampa 21.

District 2-4A Division II

Lubbock Estacado (3-4, 1-0) at Perryton (2-5, 0-1), 7 p.m.
Another entertaining shootout looks highly possible here, as Perryton dropped a 43-40 slugfest at Lubbock-Cooper Liberty to open district last week, and Estacado has a talented set of athletes. While Perryton quarterback Cooper Schilling accounted for 464 total yards of offense against Liberty, the Rangers have had trouble stopping opponents most of the season. This one could come down to who makes a key stop late. The Rangers are at home and the Matadors are making a long road trip so the advantage of fresher legs late favors Perryton. … Perryton 40, Estacado 38.

Lubbock-Cooper Liberty (2-5, 1-0) at Borger (3-3, 0-0), 7 p.m. 
Liberty made an impressive district debut last week in beating Perryton, showing a prolific offense which should make the rest of the district take notice. Borger comes in with the advantage of drawing the district’s first open week, which should help the Bulldogs to prepare more thoroughly. Cobbling together enough offense to stay competitive might be a challenge for Borger, although defense gives the Bulldogs a fighting chance. It won’t be quite enough, as Liberty has more viable weapons. … Liberty 28, Borger 19.

– Lee Passmore
Last Week: 2-2 (.500)
Season: 21-13 (.618)

Class 3A non-district 

Guymon, Okla. (3-4) at River Road (3-3), 7 p.m. 
The Wildcats proved after three straight losses they are still a team with fight left in them after getting a huge road win last week. River Road has a difficult opponent in Guymon but will close out non-district with a W. … River Road 30, Guymon 27. 

District 1-3A Division II 

Friona (0-6, 0-1) at Canadian (3-3, 0-0), 7 p.m. 
The Wildcats open district play fresh off a bye week. Despite facing a lot of off the field injuries recently, Canadian is a team still favored to win the district. It’s been an emotional week in Canadian, but Friday the team and community can set that aside for the moment and focus on football. … Canadian 35, Friona 13. 

Childress (3-4, 1-0) at Tulia (3-4, 1-0), 7 p.m. 
Both teams opened up with big district wins last week. The Bobcats defense has been great all season and the offense is finding a groove. The Hornets hang until Childress pulls away down the stretch. … Childress 37, Tulia 19. 

District 2-3A Division II

Littlefield (5-2, 1-0) at Muleshoe (5-2, 1-0), 7 p.m. 
Muleshoe bounced back last week with a strong QB play from Nathan Martens. Once again, Martens has to deliver to beat a very sound Wildcat squad. … Muleshoe 36, Littlefield 30. 

Lubbock Roosevelt (5-2, 0-1) at Idalou (4-2, 0-0), 7 p.m. 
This is a battle of two teams that love to beat you up by running the ball and physical play at the line. The Wildcats do that among the best with anyone. … Idalou 32, Roosevelt 20. 

– Kale Steed 
Last week: 6-0 (1.000)
Season: 36-9 (.800) 

District 1-2A Division I 

West Texas High (5-1, 1-0) at Panhandle (6-0, 1-0), 7 p.m. 
The Panthers can’t look ahead to next week’s showdown at Sunray. The Panthers have to have to keep their full attention focused on the Comanches which we expect. … Panhandle 53, WT High 22. 

Spearman (2-4, 0-1) at Sanford-Fritch (1-5, 0-1), 7 p.m. 
Give me the Lynx to bounce back and get their first win on the district schedule. … Spearman 47, Fritch 16. 

Sunray (6-0, 1-0) at Highland Park (3-3, 0-1), 7 p.m. 
Like Panhandle, the Bobcats need to take care of the Hornets early and play focused football. … Sunray 48, Highland Park 12. 

District 1-2A Division II 

Farwell (3-4, 1-0) at Vega (1-4, 0-0), 7 p.m. 
This is the first game for Vega in almost three weeks. Let’s hope there isn’t too much rust for the Longhorns with a Farwell team coming to town that improves by the week. … Farwell 33, Vega 18. 

District 5-2A Division II 

Quanah (0-6, 0-0) at Wellington (4-2, 1-0), 7 p.m. 
The fireworks go off early and often for the Skyrockets. … Wellington 50, Quanah 6. 

Shamrock (4-2, 1-0) at Clarendon (0-6, 0-1), 7 p.m. 
Don’t expect to see any quit from the Broncos despite the record. Clarendon fights until the Irish take over behind a talented offense. … Shamrock 41, Clarendon 20. 

Wheeler (5-1, 1-0) at Memphis (1-4, 0-1), 7 p.m. 
The key for Wheeler is hand the ball to Julius Atherton. A run game always travels. … Wheeler 49, Memphis 21. 

– Kale Steed 
Last week: 7-1 (.875)
Season: 46-15 (.754) 

District 1-1A Division I

White Deer (3-4, 1-0) at Wildorado (3-2, 0-0), 7:30 p.m.
This should be a dandy of a ballgame. White Deer can run the ball very effectively with Davin Hext and Logan Matlock while Braddek Darnell, Blu Washington and Ashden Iler make up a strong passing attack for the Mustangs. In a tight one you have to go with the better defensive team. … White Deer 68, Wildorado 64.

District 2-1A Division I 

Kress (3-3, 0-1) at Happy (5-1, 0-0), 7 p.m.
Happy has won eight straight games against Kress having outscored them 465-48 in that span. This one won’t be that easy, but the Cowboys still have enough talent to bring home another victory. … Happy 52, Kress 18.

Springlake-Earth (3-3, 1-0) at Nazareth (5-2, 1-0), 7 p.m.
If you want an upset special this would be it. The Wolverines are talented and have the type of speed to give defenses fits. However, the Swifts play very well at home and squeak by this one despite nursing some injuries. … Nazareth 48, Springlake-Earth 44.

District 5-1A Division I 

Lorenzo (3-4, 0-1) at Valley (1-5, 0-0), 7 p.m.
Looking at records alone it’s easy to go with Lorenzo in this one but that’s simply not the case. After upsetting Claude at home, the Patriots are eyeing a playoff spot in a wide-open district race. … Valley 56, Lorenzo 8.

Silverton (2-5) at Petersburg (3-4), 7 p.m.
You just have to wonder what could be if the Owls were completely healthy. Injuries have hampered head coach Kevin Hurn’s squad all season which has led more losses than the Red and White would like. Zaden Ortiz is a bright spot for the Owls, but the Buffaloes are a tough out at home. … Petersburg 52, Silverton 42.

District 1-1A Division II

Groom (4-3) at Follett (4-3), 7:30 p.m.
The Panthers have their rushing attack kicked into high gear now that David Meeks is back in the fold. With the size up front and a bruising attack of Meeks and Bryan Torres, Follett is rounding into shape and looks like a squad that could make a deep run. The Tigers will need to find a way to shut that running attack down while being efficient on the offensive side of the ball for a chance. … Follett 56, Groom 20.

District 2-1A Division II

McLean (3-4) at Paducah (3-2), 7 p.m.
Injuries have been stacking up for the Tigers, but they get a key player back this week. Is that enough to knock off the Dragons at home? McLean won’t back down to a talented Dragons squad. … Paducah 62, McLean 38.

– Craig Sperry
Last Week: 8-0 (1.000)
Season: 64-15 (.810)

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