Thursday
Ennis, 6 p.m.
After going 11-2 last season and losing in the third round of the playoffs to upstart Rockwall-Heath, the Lions look to regroup for the 2009 season and have plenty of weapons back at their disposal, starting with quarterback D.J. Betik. The incoming senior threw for 3,384 yards and 32 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions. Betik also has his favorite weapon back in receiver Kyle Guinyard. Guinyard is the superstar of the team, with college scholarship offers already in from Colorado, Kansas, Texas Tech, UTEP and Tulsa. He led all of DFW last year with 1,751 yards on 110 catches. He found the end zone 20 times.
Arlington Bowie, 7:30 p.m.
The Volunteers also turned in an 11-2 record and lost in the third round to eventual state runner-up Wylie. The Vols make their living on team football and don't really have any standout offensive players, yet they laid claim to the area's No. 2 5A offense last year along with sporting the fifth-best defense.
Keller Fossil Ridge, 7 p.m., KISD Stadium
The Panthers were once a proud, powerful 4A school but made the move up to 5A last year and found themselves in a tough district to make a debut in. They finished the season 2-8, beating only Keller Central and winless Grapevine, while suffering beatdowns at the hands of Euless Trinity and Colleyville Heritage.
Arlington Martin, 6 p.m.
The Warriors went 4-6 last year, ending the season on a streak, winning their final four games of the regular season to sneak their way into the postseason before bowing out in the first round to Burleson. They were able to knock off a strong Mansfield team in the first of those four wins to let themselves know they were capable of playing with some good teams. That should carry into this year.
Adam Boedeker is a sports writer/award-winning blogger for the Denton Record-Chronicle. He's taking the Nuggets in 6.
