Football Friday Night: Five Points Ahead of Week 5
Another weekend of high school football in the city of El Paso, as some teams gear up for the start of district play, while others wrap up their non-district slate. We are in the thick of the season and there have already been some surprises in week five. Let's dive into it.
Follow 600 ESPN El Paso all evening for live scoring updates of all the scheduled games. Listen in to our alternate stream—600 ESPN 2—to listen to the newest edition of Football Friday Night, hosted by Beau Bagley and Paul MacKinnon. All of the photos following the game are provided by Prep 1.
Standings in El Paso
1-6A | District | *Pct. | *PF | *PA | W-L | Pct. | PF | PA | Strk |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pebble Hills | 1-0 | 1.000 | 29 | 28 | 2-2 | 0.500 | 109 | 115 | 2 W |
Eastwood | 0-1 | 0.000 | 28 | 29 | 2-2 | 0.500 | 152 | 118 | 2 L |
Americas | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0-3 | 0.000 | 50 | 135 | 3 L |
Coronado | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0-3 | 0.000 | 14 | 85 | 3 L |
Eastlake | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 3-0 | 1.000 | 121 | 41 | 3 W |
Franklin | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 1-2 | 0.333 | 93 | 107 | 1 W |
Montwood | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 1-2 | 0.333 | 82 | 88 | 1 W |
Socorro | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 1-2 | 0.333 | 86 | 79 | 1 W |
2-5A STANDINGS | W-L | PCT. | PF | PA | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CANUTILLO | 2-1 | 0.667 | 77 | 72 | 1 W |
YSLETA | 2-1 | 0.667 | 96 | 119 | 1 L |
HORIZON | 1-2 | 0.333 | 103 | 92 | 1 L |
HANKS | 1-2 | 0.333 | 81 | 150 | 1 W |
PARKLAND | 0-3 | 0.000 | 69 | 113 | 3 L |
5A-1 | W-L | Pct. | PF | PA | Strk |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Del Valle | 3-1 | 0.750 | 149 | 108 | 1 L |
Chapin | 3-2 | 0.600 | 164 | 110 | 2 W |
Bel Air | 2-2 | 0.500 | 118 | 102 | 1 W |
El Dorado | 1-3 | 0.250 | 81 | 133 | 1 W |
2-5A-2 | district | *Pct. | *PF | *PA | W-L | Pct. | PF | PA | Strk |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Burges | 1-0 | 1.000 | 28 | 22 | 3-2 | 0.600 | 188 | 124 | 2 W |
Jefferson | 0-1 | 0.000 | 22 | 28 | 3-2 | 0.600 | 180 | 111 | 2 L |
Andress | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 2-1 | 0.667 | 87 | 74 | 1 L |
Austin | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 2-2 | 0.500 | 83 | 114 | 2 L |
Bowie | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0-4 | 0.000 | 67 | 164 | 4 L |
El Paso | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0-3 | 0.000 | 61 | 148 | 3 L |
Irvin | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 2-2 | 0.500 | 131 | 111 | 1 L |
1-4A | W-L | PCT. | PF | PA | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
RIVERSIDE | 3-0 | 1.000 | 169 | 46 | 3 W |
MOUNTAIN VIEW | 2-1 | 0.667 | 102 | 55 | 2 W |
CLINT | 2-1 | 0.667 | 84 | 81 | 2 W |
FABENS | 1-1 | 0.500 | 72 | 33 | 1 W |
SAN ELIZARIO | 0-3 | 0.000 | 14 | 136 | 3 L |
Friday September 24 Schedule
- Montwood (1-2) at Franklin (1-2)
- Eastlake (3-0) at Americas (0-3)
- Del Valle (3-1) at Parkland (1-3)
- Mountain View (3-1) at Canutillo (3-1)
- El Dorado (1-3) at Ysleta (3-1)
- Horizon (1-3) at Bel Air (2-2)
- Lubbock Cooper (3-1) at Hanks (1-3)
- Socorro (1-2) at Coronado (0-3)
- Andress (2-1) at Bowie (0-4)
- Irvin (2-2) at El Paso (0-3)
- La Mesa (2-2) at Fabens (1-3)
- San Elizario (0-4) at Cathedral (3-1)
- Clint (2-2) at Big Spring (2-1)
- Riverside 4-0) at Monahans (4-0)
Here are Five Points before kickoff
Thursday Night Rundown
- Pebble Hills 29 - Eastwood 28
- Burges 28 - Jefferson 22
- Chapin 43 - Austin 13
Huge props to Pebble Hills and head coach Mark Torres. Not only did the Spartans rally back in this game, but they also went for a two-point conversion that won them the game late in the fourth quarter.
Torres trusted players like Gael Ochoa and Jacob Ledesma to get the job done against the Troopers. The Spartans open up 6A with a massive win, while the Troopers are left to regroup for next week.
In another pretty competitive Thursday game, Jefferson hung in with Burges until the Mustangs broke away with a two-touchdown lead late in the game. Despite a late Silver Foxes touchdown and two-point conversion, Jefferson ran out of time in their comeback effort against the Mustangs. Burges took home the 28-22 victory to open up their district slate.
Big props to the Chapin Huskies for handling Austin in the second half, as they raced away with an impressive 43-13 win ahead of their district slate.
Game of the Week: Montwood at Franklin
Daren Walker is back.
As KTSM reported today, Walker returned to Franklin following a medical leave. Assistant coach Leigh McWhorter had been the interim coach during this time. Meanwhile, the Cougars had a strong 41-21 victory over Andress two weeks ago and they will enter district play with a bit of fire.
Quarterback Cameron Byrd has thrown for 786 passing yards and nine touchdowns. Senior tailback Miles McWhorter has totaled 432 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns in three games. Franklin is doing this without their standout running back/linebacker Stephen Powers, who is still out with an injury.
They'll face a tough Montwood team on homecoming weekend. The Rams beat Burges two weeks ago, 29-13, while hanging with Midland (41-24) and San Angelo Central (34-29) before ultimately falling in the end.
Prediction: Franklin 56 - Montwood 50
Dark Horse Game of the Week: Del Valle at Parkland
Parkland might still be the best 0-3 team among Coronado, Americas, Bowie and El Paso—each winless in the city. The Matadors lost a close one to Eastwood (35-20) and fought back against Andress (24-20). Eastlake was the only team that handled the Matadors this year (36-13). They juggle between quarterbacks in Josef Minjarez and Brian Albarran.
But the story on Parkland's offense is junior receiver DJ Crest-Daniels.
Along with the one-handed grabs, the wideout has totaled 410 receiving yards on 23 catches (17.8 yards per catch) and four touchdowns. He's an absolute baller.
They'll host a pissed-off Del Valle team that feels like they should've won that overtime game against Canutillo last week (34-28, OT). The Conquistadores won three straight against 1-6A opponents like Coronado, Pebble Hills and Americas earlier this year. Expect their running back in Kristian Martinez—who was relatively quiet against Canutillo—to have a bounce-back game this week.
Prediction: Del Valle 28 - Parkland 21
Can Americas Be the Second Spoiler of the Week in 1-6A?
Hey, Pebble Hills did it and played spoiler to Eastwood. Why can't Americas do the same against the hottest team in town? The Trailblazers are a young squad that is learning each week. Sophomore quarterback Mark Moore (376 passing yards, two touchdowns & three interceptions) shares time with Antonio Hernandez (181 passing yards, one touchdown). They're a relatively balanced offense and they were able to put up points against Del Valle two weeks ago.
But not this week.
Eastlake is the best team in the city and head coach Ruben Rodriguez has done some nice things with this squad. Quarterback Sebastian Rendon (700 passing yards, nine touchdowns) and ATH Elijah Uribe (309 rush, 214 receiving, seven touchdowns) are two of the best in 1-6A.
Prediction: Eastlake 45 - Americas 17
Does Riverside Stay 5-0 After This Week?
I can't wait for this huge test that the Rangers have this week. They take on Monahans after winning their first four games of the year. I really like the tandem of quarterback Angel Munoz (518 passing yards, eight touchdowns) and running back Jose Guardado (634 rushing yards, eight touchdowns). Now they'll face another unbeaten team this week out of town.
Monahans cruised past Clint in week one (49-17) and beat Andrews (35-20), Big Spring (28-13) and Fort Stockton (28-21, OT) leading up to this week.
If the Rangers win this week, the chances of going 10-0 are right in front of them.
Prediction: Riverside 28 - Monahans 27