Paris(6-3/3-2) @ Argyle(8-1/4-1) and Kaufman(7-2/3-2) @ Melissa(7-2/5-0)

[regaleagle]

Paris will travel to Argyle for the final district game of the season while Kaufman visits Melissa for their final battle in District 7 4A D-1 play.  Melissa has already at least clinched a tie for the District Championship last week with their win over Terrell.  A win over Kaufman this week wins them the title outright regardless of whether Argyle wins against Paris or not.  Paris has a head-to-head win over Kaufman, so Kaufman needs to win against Melissa this week to claim the #3 playoff spot.  Not sure if ties are decided by head-to-head first, then point differential.....OR just point differential.  Probably head-to-head first would make more sense, but maybe not.  In any case, Argyle is favored at home against Paris and Melissa is favored at home against Kaufman.  Melissa's QB Sam Fennegan went to the sidelines with an injury in the 2nd qtr of last week's game against Terrell and did not return.  To top that......Kaufman's QB Derek Clamon did not even play last week in their loss against Argyle.  I wonder if either or both will play this week?  Look for Paris vs Argyle to be a very good game.......looks like Paris is hitting on all cylinders right now.

[RETIREDFAN1]

Argyle

Melissa

[regaleagle]

Meanwhile.......back at the ranch in Argyle, it appears that the Eagles have found the right combinations to get their offensive attack back on track as they work toward the playoffs.  It will be interesting to see how Argyle does against a quality opponent this week versus a very good Paris team.  Paris has a very good defense with lots of athletic types.  They also have a stable of very speedy and talented RB's on offense and a seasoned QB in senior Luke Hohenberger......the son of Coach Hohenberger. He's basically a coach on the field for the offense and knows how to run that Wing-T offense as well as any team in 4A.  QB Hohenberger is in his 3rd season as the starter at QB for Paris.  Their RB's are very impressive too.  

[regaleagle]

From what I can find.......it looks like Melissa was leading Terrell 22-7 last week when Fennegan left the game with an injury in the 2nd qtr.  At halftime the score was 22-7, then early in the 4th the score was 29-7.  The final score of the game ended up being 36-14, so both teams scored a TD later in the 4th quarter.  Melissa's backup QB is nothing close to Fennegan in size, skill sets, or experience.  Kaufman played their seasoned and highly touted senior running back Braxton Garmon(6-0/190) at QB last week against Argyle.  At first, I thought he was just in there in the Wildcat formation, but soon we found out he was the QB for that game because Clamon was on the sideline with an injury(we assume?).  Actually, I have to give Garmon a high five for his passing skills and running the offense very effectively at the QB position last week......he did good.  Of course he's also a major league running threat anytime he has the ball in his hands.  But I think it took away from his abilities by not having Clamon back there as one more threat for the Argyle defense to keep up with.  In any case, I think Garmon as the backup QB for Kaufman may be better than Melissa's backup QB last week #1 Walker Overman(5-8/145/Soph/WR).  I seriously doubt that Overman will start this week's game against Kaufman IF Melissa decides to sit Fennegan this week in preparation for the playoffs next week, but I could be wrong.  It's an interesting development to stayed tuned for, regardless.  We don't know the extent of Clamon's injury for Kaufman either......so that will be something to watch for this week also.

[regaleagle]

Because the Melissa/Terrell game last week was played in Terrell.....Melissa doesn't have a Livestream of that game and I think Terrell does not do a Livestream of their games this year.  So I could only rely on the MaxPreps Recap clips of that game to see the scores in different quarters of the game from the clips.  Melissa also did not release ANY stats of the game like they normally do.......very interesting!  Mum is the word in Melissa so far regarding Fennegan for this week......just to let you know.  Same goes for Kaufman and Clamon.......haven't heard anything about his situation for this week.....or what kind of injury he had last week!  Mum is the word again!  

[regaleagle]

As far as I know......the Argyle/Paris tilt is full steam ahead with all the key components for both teams ready to rumble. Looks like the rainy weather may be cleared up by Friday night gametime in Argyle.......with some cooler temps for that rumble and tumble under the Friday Night Lights.  Paris has never defeated Argyle in football yet.......this will be the 13th meeting between the teams and the most of any opponent in Argyle's history in football except for Celina.  Argyle is 11-4 against Celina, and Celina has more wins against Argyle than any other team in Argyle's football history......just to let you know.  So Paris will be shooting for history come Friday night in Argyle, and for a possible #2 playoff spot if they win.  

[regaleagle]

On a side note.......the Argyle-Celina record may not be updated for this season yet. The record could stand at 12-5 now after this year's game......I really don't know without doing some serious research.  Regardless, Paris is in a very good position this season to come to Argyle with very high expectations for an upset win with the team they have this season, for sure.  Don't let that record fool you......Paris has rounded into a very good football team here late in this season. The Wildcats have the players, the seasoned QB, and a very stingy defense.  They also have speed on both sides of the ball, and an offensive scheme that can eat clock like a hungry bear, LOL.

[Parisian]

Terrell live-streams their home games on YouTube.  You can find both their games vs. Melissa and Paris archived online.

Texas Football has Argyle favored by 23 over Paris and Melissa by 36 over Kaufman, and I can't argue against either line.  It will take lots of favorable breaks and perfect execution for either underdog to spring an upset this week.  Argyle is always such a tough matchup for Paris due to size advantage along the line of scrimmage.

With Argyle expected to move up to 5A next year, this will likely be the final district matchup in this series, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the two continue to meet on the schedule.  Both schools have had a difficult time finding non-district opponents in the past due to geography.  Still, lots of folks, myself included, would not miss the long Friday night road trips.

 

[Texski]

Melissa jumped out to a very early 22-0 lead midway thru the 1st q then went into dis-interested cruise control mode The Cards were inside the Terrell 10 yd line 2 times in 2nd q and came away with NO points.  Missed a FG then Fennegan got sacked and fumbled and never returned.

Terrell  scored 2 TDs in the game. 1st one w/ less than 30 sec left in 1st half and 2nd one on a 26 yd TD run on final play of game with Melissa backups in.

Melissa outgained Terrell 388-198. 125 of those Terrell yards came on the 2 TD drives. The Tigers played physical and spirited on their senior night. They did not roll over despite being down early and IMO would be a playoff team in most all other  4A D1 districts.

Fennigan will play this week against Kaufman this week.

 

[regaleagle]

Okay Folks.......now we know for sure that Fennegan is Ok and will play this week for Melissa.  I have no idea whatsoever what the situation is with Clamon of Kaufman.  Maybe he had a slight injury that they felt needed some time to heal and figured it was best not to stretch things with him against Argyle last week. OR......maybe he's out for this week too, or possibly longer???   I guess we'll find out at gametime in Melissa this week for sure, Huh?  

[regaleagle]

In the Paris-Argyle matchup, I definitely expect a shortened game from what Argyle usually plays.  For Paris, this is the status quo......they operate their offense this way just about every game.  But for Argyle......they like lots of scoring opportunities and for the game to be more wide open offensively.  IMO, Argyle actually plays better this way.......defensive games tend to get their offense out of kilter and bogged down a little too much.  I think there's a happy margin where Argyle can be content running some clock, but it sure seems to be that when they do that, their offense suffers and tends to bog down a little too much.  In summary, I'ma thinkin' that Argyle will attempt this week to open up their offense a little more than they have in the past meetings against Paris......for a couple of reasons.  One......they are still in a process of evolving the offense with Copeland as QB. And secondly.......they cannot afford to allow Paris to be in control of the ball as much as Paris likes to be.  They know full well that Paris can shorten the game and seriously cut the scoring opportunities with their style of play.  They also know that Paris has a pretty darn salty defense to score against. 

[regaleagle]

BTW.......I don't pay much heed to those DCTF guys and their forecasts for our district.  I know more about Argyle and what's going on this district than they do......they have too much to deal with over the whole state to bead in on our particular district.  So those point spreads may look convincing on paper using some kind of formulas......and sometimes they are right in the ballpark......but I don't think big margins late in the season with playoff teams going against each other is really gonna happen.  Paris will be playing for a spot, and a close game is on the docket this week. Of course Argyle just wants to win.......anyway they can.  If they get a comfortable lead, they will play the bench for sure.  Coach Rodgers wants as many players as possible to be ready for the playoffs.

[Parisian]

There have been times this season when Paris looks capable of holding their own against anybody in the state.  Their problem has been consistency over a full four quarters.  If they can pack consistency with them when they take that long bus ride to Argyle Friday, then, yes, this could be a meaningful fourth-quarter finish.  But history says otherwise.  Here are the margins of victory in Argyle's 12-0 record vs. Paris:

20, 38, 33, 46, 24, 11, 37, 20, 12, 21, 21, 28

Although I retired from making the trek to Argyle 3 years ago, I've seen every game in this series.  I respect the Eagles' program and wish them well as they move up to 5A, but I will not miss having them on the district and playoff schedule.

BTW, I'm guessing there's no live video stream for Argyle-Paris.

[d0tc0m]

Argyle typically does a live stream. It's on YouTube, so the live link won't show up until Friday evening. But if you go to YouTube and search Argyle Sports, that's the account that will have the game.

[d0tc0m]

27 minutes ago, Parisian said:

There have been times this season when Paris looks capable of holding their own against anybody in the state.  Their problem has been consistency over a full four quarters.  If they can pack consistency with them when they take that long bus ride to Argyle Friday, then, yes, this could be a meaningful fourth-quarter finish.  But history says otherwise.  Here are the margins of victory in Argyle's 12-0 record vs. Paris:

20, 38, 33, 46, 24, 11, 37, 20, 12, 21, 21, 28

Although I retired from making the trek to Argyle 3 years ago, I've seen every game in this series.  I respect the Eagles' program and wish them well as they move up to 5A, but I will not miss having them on the district and playoff schedule.

BTW, I'm guessing there's no live video stream for Argyle-Paris.

Consistency has always been the missing ingredient for Paris. When Celina played them, the Wildcats looked like world beaters for about a quarter. Lyric Tredwell is a stud, and he'd be a stud on most teams. Hohenberger is really good at QB, but a bit of a head-scratcher in his own right. At times he looks dominant, like he could take over any game. At other times, it's just not there.

If Paris plays up to their ability, they can keep this game close. But I just don't know if they have enough in the tank, overall, even on their best night, to win this game. I think Argyle's offensive adjustments that have been made will be tough for Paris to stop. I'd love to see this be a close game, at least for a half, and the potential is there. But my gut says Argyle puts it away pretty quickly.

[d0tc0m]

As for Kaufman and Melissa ... the Lions were their own worst enemies against Argyle. They have some good looking athletes, and they were able to hit some pretty big plays against Argyle. But the Eagles kept punching back with bigger blows. I think Melissa does the same thing. The Cardinals have really come into their own - like myself and regal and a few others predicted would happen at the beginning of the season - and they look like they'll be a tough out come playoffs.

For this game, though, I think Kaufman comes out fired up, wanting to prove something before the postseason begins, and things look close for a bit. Melissa pulls away, though, and wins this one by 2-3 scores.

[Parisian]

7 hours ago, d0tc0m said:

Argyle typically does a live stream. It's on YouTube, so the live link won't show up until Friday evening. But if you go to YouTube and search Argyle Sports, that's the account that will have the game.

I hope that's right.  Otherwise, I'll be tuning in the audio broadcast while watching Kaufman-Melissa until that game gets out of hand.  I just don't think Kaufman has the speed to keep pace with Melissa.

[d0tc0m]

1 hour ago, Parisian said:

I hope that's right.  Otherwise, I'll be tuning in the audio broadcast while watching Kaufman-Melissa until that game gets out of hand.  I just don't think Kaufman has the speed to keep pace with Melissa.

Agreed.

Although, if Finnegan is out, things could get dicey.

[regaleagle]

If Texski says Fennegan is OK and will play, then that's what the deal is.  I'm really more concerned about Kaufman and why Clamon didn't play against Argyle.  That seems a little odd unless he was really injured.  And then not to hear a peep out of anybody about his situation.  I'm gonna guess they kinda held him out for one of those "nagging" type injuries that can heal up in a couple of weeks.  It could have been something more personal......who knows?  He probably shows up and starts on Friday night in Melissa.  

[regaleagle]

However.......if Fennegan's injury causes him to be less effective, or he takes a hard hit and has to go out again.......then look out!  The truth is that Melissa has the players on defense and offense, but their offense is really schemed and geared for a Qb with Fennegan's skills.  IF for some reason.....even in the playoffs.....he cannot continue, then I think that really, really affects Melissa moreso than it would an Argyle that has seasoned backup Qb's.  Kaufman actually played pretty well against Argyle with RB Garmon at QB.  He's a senior, a great RB, and very athletic.  His passing skills were very impressive for not being a QB......he sure looked and played like a starting QB.  I just think Melissa's #2 at QB is a serious fall off from Fennegan and could present some issues IF Fennegan could not continue.

[d0tc0m]

Oops. I missed the comment above from Texski saying Fennegan would play. If he's in, even at like 70-75%, Melissa wins by a decent margin in my opinion.

[regaleagle]

However.......if Fennegan's injury causes him to be less effective, or he takes a hard hit and has to go out again.......then look out!  The truth is that Melissa has the players on defense and offense, but their offense is really schemed and geared for a Qb with Fennegan's skills.  IF for some reason.....even in the playoffs.....he cannot continue, then I think that really, really affects Melissa moreso than it would an Argyle that has seasoned backup Qb's.  Kaufman actually played pretty well against Argyle with RB Garmon at QB.  He's a senior, a great RB, and very athletic.  His passing skills were very impressive for not being a QB......he sure looked and played like a starting QB.  I just think Melissa's #2 at QB is a serious fall off from Fennegan and could present some issues IF Fennegan could not continue.

[regaleagle]

Okay......the Livestream is now up for both the Argyle and the Melissa games on Youtube.  Kickoff will be at 7:30 pm for both contests.

[Texski]

Fennigan is out tonight. I was told he cleared to to play but being held out.

[regaleagle]

Major development.......but probably better against Kaufman this week than getting hurt and not playing next week.