County teams are all playoff bound

The regular season of high school football has come to an end and all five teams from Orange County have qualified for the playoffs. Now the quest begins for a state championship.

Here is what happened in the final week of action for our teams and a look ahead to the bi-district round games for each school.

Orangefield crushes Cougars

The Orangefield Bobcats cruised to a comfortable 52-22 win over the Buna Cougars on Thursday night in Buna and finished as the champions of District 10-3A Division 1.

Orangefield jumped out to an early lead and never looked back against the overmatched Cougars. Running Mason Manning had limited action but still finished the game with three rushing touchdowns. Jose Lecea rushed for 112 yards and two scores as Orangefield built a 42-0 lead early in the third quarter before pulling the majority of the starters.

Orangefield (8-2) is the No. 1 seed in District 10-3A and will play the Fairfield Eagles (6-4), the No. 4 seed from District 9-3A, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, at Wildcat Stadium in Splendora.

Orangefield averages 33.8 points per game on offense for the season, while the Bobcats defense has limited opponents to 16.5 points per game on average. The Eagles offense has generated 38.7 points per game offensively for the season, while its defense has allowed 30.1 points per game on average.

The Eagles finished in a three-way tie for second place in its district standings, but Fairfield claimed the fourth seed based on a points tie-breaking system.

Mustangs lose bid for district title

The battle between two state-ranked district rivals proved to be an entertaining affair, but it was the Longhorns who emerged victorious over the Mustangs.

The No. 9 state-ranked Hamshire-Fannett Longhorns beat the No. 6 state-ranked West Orange-Stark Mustangs, 28-14, this past Friday at Longhorn Stadium in a rainy, soggy, sloppy game. The Longhorns claimed the district title with the win.

Hamshire-Fannett jumped out to an 14-0 lead early in the second quarter before the Mustangs answered when quarterback Marcus Turner Jr. roared to the end zone on a 40-yard run to cut the Longhorns lead to 14-7 at the half.

Each team had multiple turnovers in the second-half, mostly due to the sloppy field conditions and rain, but the Longhorns still jumped out to a 21-7 lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass. WO-S answered back on the next drive. Facing fourth and goal at the H-F 5-yard line, Turner threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Amyrian Scott to make the score 21-14.

Even with momentum on their side, the Mustangs were unable to keep the Longhorns out of the end zone as Hamshire-Fannett scored once more to claim a 28-14 victory.

West Orange-Stark (8-2) will be the No. 2 seed from District 9-4A Division 2 and will face the No. 3 seed from District 10-4A D2, the Sweeny Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 14, at Randall Reed Stadium in New Caney.

WO-S has been averaging 37 points per game on offense this season, while its defense has been limiting opponents to just under 19 points per game on average. The Mustangs have beaten No. 3 Newton (Class 3A D2) and No. 10 Waco La Vega (Class 4A D2) this season.

Sweeny (5-5) has averaged nearly 35 points per game on offense through 10 games, while its defense has been allowing 30 points per game for the season.

Cards lose tough game to Falcons

The Bridge City Cardinals lost a tough battle to the Huffman-Hargrave Falcons this past Friday night, 26-18, at Larry Ward Stadium in Bridge City and will be the No. 3 seed for District 10-4A D1 in the bi-district round of the playoffs.

Inclement weather was a problem for both teams, but the Cardinals fumbled the ball five times on the night and could not overcome the miscues to get the win, despite stellar performances by Hutch Bearden and Ashton Sumrall.

Bridge City (8-2) will travel to Longview to take on the No. 7 state-ranked Pine Tree Pirates (9-1), the No. 2 seed from District 9-4A D1, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 15 at Pirate Stadium.

The Cardinals offense has been averaging nearly 33 per game on the season, while its defense has been one of the stingiest units on Southeast Texas by limiting the opposition to just 13 points per game for the year. Its defense and special teams units have been very aggressive and opportunistic this season and have each scored multiple touchdowns on fumble returns and kickoff returns.

Pine Tree has averaged just over 25 points per game on offense this season, while its defense has held opponents to slightly more than 15 points per game.

The Pirates have beaten No. 10 Gilmer (Class 4A D2) this year, as well as perennial playoff power Van. Pine Tree's only loss on the year was to No. 6 state-ranked Kilgore, 17-6, in district play, which was Kilgore's lowest offensive output on the year.

LC-M finishes with unbeaten district record

The Little Cypress-Mauriceville Battlin' Bears finished district with a 7-0 record after the Bears defeated the Lumberton Raiders, 35-25, this past Friday at Battlin' Bear Stadium. The Bears are the champions of District 10-4A D1 and the No. 1 seed for the district in the playoffs.

The Bears offense generated 501 yards of total offense for the game and jumped out to a 14-6 halftime lead thanks to a 78-yard touchdown pass by Braylen Lewis to Khayden Reed and a 3-yard run by J'Lynn Morris.

LC-M exploded for 21 points in the third quarter to put the game away as Lewis had touchdown runs of 64-yards and 72-yards, while connecting with Reed for a 34-yard touchdown pass.

LC-M (8-2) will play the Lindale Eagles (5-5), the No. 4 seed from District 9-4A D1, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 15 at Battlin' Bear Stadium in Orange.

The Bears, which have won eight consecutive games, have been averaging just over 30 points per game on offense this year, while its defense has held opponents to slightly more than 19 points per game.

Meanwhile, the Lindale Eagles (5-5) are much better than their record indicates.

The offense has been averaging 29 points per game on the season, while the defense has allowed 20 points per game. All five of its losses are to playoff teams and two of those teams are state-ranked in district rivals No. 6 Kilgore and No. 7 Pine Tree. Another quality loss was a 37-36 heartbreaker to No. 10 Gilmer (Class 4A D2).

Vidor qualifies for playoffs with fourth straight win

The Vidor Pirates scored early and scored often and sailed smoothly by the Livingston Lions, 61-14, for their fourth consecutive win. The victory sends the Pirates to the post-season as well.

Vidor jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter as its Slot-T running attack carved up the Lions defense. The majority of starting personnel were out of the game by the end of the third quarter with Vidor firmly ahead, 55-14.

With the win, the Pirates (5-5) are the No. 4 seed from District 10-4A D1 and will take on the No. 6 state-ranked Kilgore Bulldogs (8-2), the No. 1 seed from District 9-4A D1, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 15, at RE St. John Memorial Stadium in Kilgore.

Vidor started out the season in turmoil at 1-5, but finished strongly to even its record. For the season, the Pirates have averaged 34 points per game on offense while allowing opponents 30 points per game on average.

However, during Vidor's current four game winning streak, which came after several personnel changes were made, the Pirates have averaged just over 51 points per game and limited opponents to 20 points per game.

Kilgore averages 33 points per game on offense this season, but its defense has been very impressive as it has limited opponents to just over 14 points per game.

The Bulldogs have a strong resume with wins over Class 4A D2 powerhouses, No. 1 state-ranked Carthage and No. 5 Pleasant Grove, while suffering a two point loss to No. 7 state-ranked Gilmer. Kilgore has also beaten district rival Pine Tree, currently the No. 7 state-ranked team in Class 4A D1.