It is time for the 2020 Texas High School Football playoffs!
How exciting is it to scream those words from the rooftops after the challenging fall that we have all faced. But we are here. Six wins and you are a State Champion!
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With that being said it is time to breakdown the brackets. Here are VYPE's Class 6A favorites!
Class 6A Division I
North Shore
Surprise, surprise! The back-to-back defending state champs are a favorite to reach the state title game and repeat in 2020. With the likes of Dematrius Davis leading the squad it is hard to bet against this team. Davis has passed for 2,472 yards and 27 touchdowns with just one interception. Davis has also rushed for 477 yards and 12 scores. Davis' top target has been Texas A&M-commit Shadrach Banks (749 yards, 12 TDs) who has also become a solid weapon out of the backfield. Banks and Davis is a solid combo. But don't forget about Charles King (577 yards) at receiver, he's one of the more underrated talents in the city. On the defensive side of the ball, Denver Harris has led the way in the secondary with six interceptions. This team has all the pieces to get back to the title game.
Cy-Fair
Class 6A Region III may be if not the hardest part of the bracket in the state. This is a hard section. Cy-Fair won its first state title back in 2017 but did that down in Division II. Now, can they make a run in Division I. Under first-year coach Jeff Miller this offense has looked the part. Airing it out with Carter Cravens at QB and running it down the pipe with LJ Johnson. Cravens has passed for 1,723 yards and 21 touchdowns, while Johnson has rushed for 1,109 yards and 18 scores. Hunter Warren has anchored the defensive unit leading it in tackles with 53 and three sacks. Keith Ford and Nick Chrest have held down the secondary with three interceptions apiece. If they make it to the second round a date with District 19-6A Champion Katy Tompkins could await them. That would be a heck of a second-round showdown. Let's see what the Bobcats have in them this year.
Class 6A Division II
Shadow Creek
The Sharks have had an interesting season. Opened the year with back-to-back losses to North Shore and Bridgeland. Then had to shut everything down for a couple of weeks due to COVID-19. Came back and rattled off four-straight wins and was in line for the district title at the end. A 31-28 overtime loss to Dawson gave Shadow Creek a second-place finish in District 23-6A. Baylor-commit Kyron Drones has passed for just over 1,000 yards, the running game has been paced by Kelvon Brown and Isaiah Harper, while UH-commit CJ Guidry and Greg Hancock have been Drones' top targets. Defensively, Byron Roberson has been dynamite with 78 tackles to lead the unit. Texas-commit Terrence Cooks has 55 tackles and two sacks on the year. The defense is good, offense has some go to it. What Shadow Creek has to do is come out fast, they didn't do that against Pearland Dawson. They've had two weeks to get ready for Clear Creek. They get past this round a very good C.E. King team could be waiting for them in the second round.
Katy
With Seven Lakes taking the final Division I spot out of District 19-6A, Katy got sent to the Division II bracket this year. The last time the Tigers won a state crown, which was back in 2015, it came in the DII bracket. So, can Katy ride that magic again? It has been a weird year for the Tigers. A change at QB early in the season, a loss to Katy Tompkins (which ended a 75-game district winning streak) but they still got into the playoffs. After the loss to Tompkins, Katy rolled over Katy Taylor (which just was advanced to the Area round because George Ranch could not play this week), Morton Ranch and Mayde Creek. So, a solid finish for Katy. Offensively, the running game has to be ON for the Tigers. The services of Davis & Davis will be leaned on. Seth, only a sophomore, led the team with 991 yards rushing, while senior brother Jalen was right behind at 966 yards and they combined for 27 touchdowns. That may be one of the best one-two punches out of the backfield in the city along with Johntre Davis and Reuben Owens II at El Campo. Sophomore QB Caleb Koger has gotten better with experience. But like in 2015, the defense will carry this team as far as it wants in the playoffs. Florida State-commit Hunter Washington and Bobby Taylor anchor the secondary, Malick Sylla is a big man on the line and Shepherd Bowling is one of the top linebackers and captains, along with Ty Kana. The defense is solid but Katy cannot afford to get into a back and forth scoring battle in the playoffs. Their defense will have to be stingy for potentially the next six games.
Others to Watch
Pearland Dawson - Cameron Whitfield is a problem to stop on the defensive line. He is tall and will wreck a play in the backfield. They also have a solid weapon in kicker Carter Brown, who just verballed to Arizona State. Also, don't forget about Jaden Stewart rumbling out of the backfield. They get Dickinson in the opening round but then would get North Shore in the second round.
C.E. King - The Panthers could be one of the surprises of the playoffs. The offense is led by Kameron Kincheon at QB, who has passed for 1,653 yards and 19 touchdowns and Jerrell Wimbley out of the backfield who has rushed for 1,387 yards and 15 scores. That duo could be a problem for defenses to stop. Along with Wimble, D'Koreion Hammond has also rushed for 1,032 yards. Defensively William Hicks and Roy Morris have led the unit with 97 tackles apiece. Hicks is just a sophomore, which is wild. Jakobe Crawford had 85 tackles as well. Freshman Kmard Kimble has three sacks and in the secondary Ty'jai Pollard, Josiah Ruano and David Potts each have three picks apiece. This team could make a run.