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That was an absolute instant classic. And there's a decent chance we see that matchup again. Anna was almost untouchable in the first half and caught most of the breaks. If not for that kick off return for a TD, there is a decent chance the Coyotes did run away with things. But Celina just kept absorbing the punches and throwing some back. Celina's run game is for real. Best we've had in a long, long time, and it's a double-headed monster. Gutierrez and Williams are the real deal. Both run so hard, don't avoid contact and have a true breakaway burst if they get to that second level. And I know I've said it a ton, but the Bobcats offensive line can win some big-time ballgames. Porter wasn't at his sharpest at QB, but he hit some big throws when he had to, which he's done consistently through the first four games of the season. That coverage gaffe at the end was a brilliant play call/design by Celina, and you could tell the corner thought he had safety help over top. But the slot receiver beat his man and was set to split those safeties, which caused the safety over Kaleb Hill to pause just long enough for that 70-yarder to develop. Hill, who has good speed in his own right, just outran everyone after that. Anna out-gained the Bobcats by over 100 yards, offensively, and had a half-dozen more first downs. But Celina's defense stood tall, made some adjustments in the second half and help the Coyotes to just 7 points across the final two quarters, which allowed the Celina offense to get cranking and wear down that Anna front seven.

Anna has speed alllll over the field. They have size in the trenches on both sides. They have what feels like an infinite assortment of weapons on offense. But their undoing will be a team that can really, really run the ball. Granted, they may not face another offensive line at Celina’s level this season, so they may not give up another big game on the ground. But if a team can pound the football and at least be efficient passers, you’ve got a chance against Anna.

In QUADRUPLE OT. Feels worth mentioning lol. Both teams left it all on the field.

Those were some awful awful calls. But I think the refs felt an obligation to be pretty tight and strict, because this game was chippy early, and I’m gonna tell ya, Anna was pretty dirty. They cleaned it up later on, but it was ugly earlier in the game. Officials had to try and get control of it.

Folks, Anna is the real deal. They are as explosive of a team as I’ve seen. Ziondre Williams is still learning his complete QB toolset, and they are going to be SPOOKY come November. He is methodical, and getting better as a passer. And they played tonight without Jacob Emmers. I’m telling you, they are still a top 3 team in 4A Div. I. Celina showed tonight they belong in that top tier conversation. Bobcats showed so much heart and character in this game. Just so proud of those kids and so proud of the coaches. I don’t think it will be the last time we face off with Anna this season.

What a statement win by Celina. I’m gonna be honest, athlete for athlete, Bobcats have no business being on the field with Anna. But this is as proud as I’ve been of a Celina team since we knocked off Argyle in 2015. I said it then that that was the type of win that could propel us to a state title run. I feel very similar after this one tonight.

My freaking goodness. What. A. Freaking. Game. Celina 42 Anna 40 FINAL 4OT

We'll find out here in about five hours.

Oooh, this one! Brock's offense looked like they figured some things out last week against Wimberley. The defense is there for the Eagles, and they are going to have their hands full tonight against the machine that is Gunter. I'll be watching Anna at Celina on the big screen, but Brock v. Gunter will be the other game I'll have going on my phone.

They have run some formations that certainly take bits and pieces from slot-t. We call it a "funky gun" and it's a power scheme out of a pistol look. But there's some misdirection and lots of moving pieces that ask a lot from the defense. We scored on a pass last week that was set up by this look. And I agree with you, this is one of the better offensive lines that I can remember from Celina. The only comps I'd throw out, from a quality standpoint, were 2015, and then maybe back to 2007 and 2008. None of those three teams had the size, strength and quickness of this year's group though. HOWEVER far Celina goes this season, it'll be on the backs of that O-line.

Should be a full house and a playoff type atmosphere. But there should be plenty of space.

Sounds like some hilarious alternate universe. But, it's not. And I tend to agree with you. I believe in the Celina offense. But I want the Bobcats defense to make me eat some crow and force me to believe in them too. This is the game to do it.

Also, I think Terry may be the only one picking Celina this week. Hope you're right!

I said it after Celina beat Paris in week 1 … the Wildcats would be a tough out for most teams after Week 3-4. Paris has some dudes, and their scheme now better suits those dudes. You could tell they were still getting used to that fit during week one, but they’re starting to get comfortable now. They’ll be able to run with just about anybody (including Gilmer) but their lack of depth and lack of size up front will be their undoing. But I still say Paris is a playoff team, and if anybody goes into that matchup thinking they’ve got it, you could be looking at a nail biter come halftime and third quarter.

I agree with this. If Celina’s o-line is healthy AND they play disciplined, then that’s a unit that will keep us in every ball game. They are dominant. Big. Quick. Strong. Smart. And physical. And they’ll need all of it on Friday, because Anna’s defense can flat out fly around and they’ll be bringing all kinds of looks and coverages I’m sure. But that offensive line, if they play well, can help us establish our power run game, which looks like it’s our bread and butter again. We don’t run it out of the full house all the time like the olden times, but we can power run out of multiple looks. We’ve got two young but very fast and very physical RBs that are a ton of fun to watch. If we have a chance come Friday, it’ll be because our offensive line dictated the pace and rhythm of the game.

And yeah, it’s easy to look at last week’s game and compare what WG did against Gunter and blah blah blah. I’m sure there’s merit to that, but I don’t know how much. Fact is, WG did (and does) have some talent and they showed up to play with an almost perfect scheme and they executed it as close to perfectly as you probably can. They had a big halftime lead and all the momentum for the majority of the game. AND YET, Celina had the poise and reserve to come from behind multiple times and gut out a win. The way the offense became methodical and surgical when they HAD to be flawless was impressive. There were clutch plays after clutch plays when the pressure was at its highest. Sure, maybe it shouldn’t have gotten to that point. But it did, and Celina never panicked. There’s something to be said for that.

Defensively, it seems like we’re still sorting out a bit of personnel, especially up front. We’re good in spots and in other spots I’m just not as confident. Feels like we’re trying to find our identity on that side of the ball. Last week against WG, you could see Coach A Ford make some adjustments to the defense and it put kids in the right spots to make the right plays. But we lacked discipline which leant to lack of execution. We were opportunistic and made a big turnover when it counted. But it felt like we were on our heels the whole time.

Based on previous two weeks, my gut says Anna wins this one comfortably. But the skill gap between Anna and Celina was much wider a year ago than it is now, and the Bobcats gave themselves a chance to win both of those matchups in 2022. Celina is much more balanced, more skilled and more efficient on offense than they have been since 2015. We also have (so far anyway) a more dominant offensive line, an improved QB, drastically improved receivers and (perhaps biggest) improved, adaptive and creative play calling.

To my knowledge, Anna has played their first two games WITHOUT stud receiver Jacob Emmers, and they’ll be without him again on Friday. They do have sophomore breakout Ziondre Williams at QB, though. Dude showed out at 7-on-7 and he’s picked it right up this fall too. A true dual threat. Not as big or strong as Evan Bullock was, but way more athletic. Not as strong or accurate of an arm on the deep ball, either, but as a HS QB, I’d probably take Williams’s tools over Bullock. Bobcats had a problem with Walnut Groves QB last week, and Williams is probably going to give them similar fits. Expect him to tuck and run for at least a pair of long TD runs. Anna also has Steens at receiver and Chumley back at RB. Both are big-time playmakers. Essentially, the Coyotes are loaded.

Could be. Gunter is a machine, and this could be their best group yet. Very disciplined. Very talented. Gonna take a special team to beat them. WG was admittedly a little better than I expected. But Celina was a more deeper and more talented team. But we didn’t play that way. We’ve been fortunate these past two weeks. A similar performance next Friday and our good fortune will expire.

Always grateful to win, and it was good to see late-game, come-from-behind fight and execution with the game on the line. The offense never got rattled, didn’t seem like the moment was too big for us down the stretch. BUT if we don’t improve from last night to next Friday, in all phases of the game, Anna will beat us by 30+.

We came out in the 3rd quarter and pounded the football on the ground for our first score. Kinda running however we wanted and from a few different looks. Our two young backs are really, really good, and they’ve both got that “fall forward” mentality. That run game set up a beautiful play-action TD pass too, and it opened up the outside more in the passing game. Knox Porter at QB is a gamer. He made some “good” mistakes last night — and what I mean is, he made decisions, mostly in timing, pocket step up, leaving the pocket too early, etc. — that he can watch on film and get cleaned up. As a passer, you’d have to go back a ways to find a better one for Celina. He made so many big-time throws in clutch situations, and led us on two high-pressure scoring drives — one to take our first lead, and the other to tie the game with a minute left. He is putting the ball where he wants, and our receivers are making great plays. This offense has a chance to be one of the better ones we’ve had since 2015. Just need to curb those slow starts.

Offensively, on the other hand, after another slow start, we started to impose our will in the second half, and there wasn’t much WG could do. Our best lineman was suspended for the first half, and when he came back, there was a noticeable difference. Running lanes got bigger and stayed open longer, pass pro held up a bit better, and we seemed to have a better pace.

Hats off to WG, they played a great game and, quite honestly, probably deserved to win. The Wildcats came in with a nearly flawless game plan and executed it almost flawlessly. They stuck to that plan and trusted it and it paid off in the way of a 20-7 halftime lead. I was impressed with their QBs decision making and his speed and athleticism, especially in traffic. He had good vision as a runner and was at times handing it off to a RB who also played well and had lots of patience and then an explosive step. That said, I’m awfully concerned about our defense. For the second week in a row, we look as undisciplined across the front as I can remember a Celina defense. So many times our guys were in position to make plays last night, but gave up their assignments on reads and options, and those went for big plays. We honest-to-God missed 3-4 game-winning (literally) tackles in regulation, and it wasn’t because the ball carrier did anything special. We gave up a handful of fourth down conversions (and not always short ones) when we had them pinned in their own territory. There wasn’t a snap, defensively, where I felt confident we’d get a stop or just not give up a big play. No improvement, defensively, from last week to this week.

They didn't back down, I'll give them that. Hopefully it helps them grow and doesn't destroy the confidence. Gotta find that balance when you're trying to build a program and a culture.