With Week 8 kicking off tonight, there are many big games on the schedule that will leave options wide open for area high school football fans.
As usual, I'll break down a few of the area's top games today, then discuss the game of the week on Friday.
Coppell at Flower Mound Marcus, 7:30 p.m., Friday -- Last week I had to pick against my alma mater, Marcus, because the Marauders were up against Southlake Carroll, and I was right. They lost. This week, the District 6-5A gauntlet continues as these two teams are both 1-1 and tied for the third place in the six-team district that is one of the toughest in the state. But I think Marcus is the second-best team in the district, and Michigan-committed RB Stephen Hopkins will help prove that point on Friday. Prediction: Marcus 27, Coppell 21.
Irving MacArthur at Cedar Hill, 7:30 p.m., Friday -- MacArthur shocked a lot of folks last week by man-handling crosstown rival Nimitz, a team that entered last week with a 6-1 record. That was MacArthur's first district win as it is sitting in a gaggle of teams at 1-2 in 7-5A play. I think Mac will likely have to wait at least another week to pick up that second district win as it faces off against the top-ranked team in the state, Cedar Hill. The Longhorns are just too loaded on both sides of the ball. Prediction: Cedar Hill 49, Irving MacArthur 17.
Rockwall at Carrollton Newman Smith, 6 p.m., Saturday -- Newman Smith hasn't made the playoffs in 26 years, but that's about to change. Playing in what is perennially one of the toughest 4A districts in the state, 10-4A, the Trojans are in a three-way tie for second place with three games to play with Richardson Pearce and Rockwall-Heath, which they have the head-to-head tiebreaker over. The Trojans are loaded at the skill positions and will try "out-athlete" Rockwall, which sits one game behind the group tied for second and has alternated wins and losses since starting the season with two straight wins. Prediction: Newman Smith 42, Rockwall 21.
Last week's record: 2-2. Season record: 19-12.
Adam Boedeker is a sports writer/award-winning blogger for the Denton Record-Chronicle. Good riddance, Bradford.
