Hard to believe that Week 7 of the high school football season is here. Ellison –– which opens District 10-5A-II action after its idle date a week ago –– and Chaparral have five games remaining. Harker Heights, Killeen and Shoemaker have four tilts left.
Simply put, the year has reached the stretch run –– an all-out blitz to the finish line where shiny playoff spots up for grabs.
After last week’s results, the District 12-6A race appears that it will go down to the wire. Ellison’s league debut will go a long way toward the Eagles claiming a second consecutive berth, and the Bobcats can still vie for a top-four showing despite a couple recent setbacks.
Stay hydrated. It’s going to be an entertaining endeavor.
District 10-5A-II
Ellison at Belton
7 p.m. Thursday, Tiger Field
In six-team 10-5A-II, the room for error is minimal, and Ellison’s opener is a key contest to kick-start the Eagles’ efforts toward a return to the postseason.
Ellison (2-3) is coming off a 48-34 victory over Odessa High at neutral site Shotwell Stadium on Sept. 27.
Belton (2-3), also a playoff qualifier last season, won its first two games of 2025 –– 21-17 over Pflugerville Hendrickson and 34-26 over Georgetown –– before dropping three in a row to Georgetown East View, San Angelo Central and Cuero.
Ellison topped Belton, 38-19, last season, the Eagles’ first over the Tigers since 2008.
Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/tmwypzw4
District 8-5A-I
Chaparral at Leander
7 p.m. Friday, Bible Stadium
Chaparral (2-3, 0-2) go back on the road Friday with sights set on snapping a three-game slide. Leander (2-3, 1-1) eked by Leander Glenn last week, 28-27, in overtime to even its district record.
The Bobcats and Lions have very similar offensive and defensive numbers heading into their encounter, with each scoring about 22 points per game and allowing an average of 31.
Chaparral also is on the road next week before playing two of its final three at Joseph L. Searles III Stadium.
Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/y2ywsdpn
District 12-6A
Shoemaker at Killeen
7 p.m. Friday, Leo Buckley Stadium
Another enticing all-KISD matchup is on the docket this week between the Grey Wolves (5-1, 1-1) and Roos (0-6, 0-2).
This is one of those contests that embodies the ever-popular phrase “you can throw out the records.”
Both relentless squads rarely seem to take off a down through a 48-minute ball game and are looking to bounce back from defeats in Week 6 when Shoemaker’s best start since 2020 stalled at five consecutive wins after Waco Midway picked up a victory over the Grey Wolves, 66-47, at Searles Stadium, and Harker Heights closed out Killeen, 45-15, at Leo Buckley Stadium.
Numbers-wise, Shoemaker’s touts the district’s top offense in terms of yards per game, averaging 520 per outing –– including 296 yards rushing. Killeen’s defense allows the third-least at 293.7 yards per game –– just 138 on the ground.
Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/3emnfk57
Harker Heights at Bryan
7 p.m. Friday, Merrill Green Stadium
One week after a last-minute field goal got the Knights to 1-0 in district, reaching 2-0 was less dramatic thanks to an opportunistic defense and efficient offense.
Next for three-time defending district champion Heights (4-2, 2-0), which has won two in a row and joins Copperas Cove as 12-6A teams at 2-0, is a road game at Bryan (0-5, 0-1).
The Knights defense ranks No. 1 in 12-6A in points allowed (23.3) and yards per game (266.3), posing a tall task for the Vikings, who are averaging 12 points a night this season.
Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/2vy7ujvu
