T

he theme of this years

State Fair is Deep in
the Heart of Texans,
and considering all of the
deep-fried food available, that
could refer to cholesterol. But
the theme actually honors the
states rich culture.
Abig part of that culture, of
course, is high school football.
So as we reach the midpoint of
the regular season, and with
Texans immersed in the fairs
24-day run, its time to pay
tribute to both. With help
fromsome Texas State Fair fa-
vorites, heres a look at the cur-
rent high school football land-
scape.
Pig races
Whenthe pigs take off from
the cages, its fun, chaotic, and
most of all, unpredictable. The
same description fits the races
in District 9-5A (with the sev-
en Frisco schools, Little Elm
and The Colony) and 10-5A
(with schools fromMcKinney,
Wylie, Lovejoy, Prosper, Deni-
son and Sherman). Each dis-
trict will get four playoff
berths, and entering Thursday
night, each had six teams with
district records of .500 or bet-
ter.
Deep-fried what?
Over the years, the fair has
brought us just about every-
thing fried, including bubble
gum, cactus bites and jelly
beans. Most times, the concoc-
tions are like this years Den-
ton, Forney, Terrell and Flower
Mound Marcus teams: sur-
prisingly good. The four teams
were a combined 6-15 at this
stage last season, and this year
they are 18-3. Two weeks ago,
Marcus (4-2) had a fourth-
quarter lead against Allen be-
fore falling to the two-time de-
fending state champs.
Auto show
The combination of glitzy
cars and blue-collar trucks
makes the auto show a fair go-
er favorite. For football teams,
an offense that balances flash
and smash, and therefore
adapts well to opponents, is
important. In recent years,
teams such as Allen, DeSoto,
Cedar Hill and Southlake Car-
roll have done it well. This sea-
son, four local teams Allen,
Denton Guyer, DeSoto and
Lake Dallas average at least
500yards of offense and get no
more than 60 percent of the
total from rushing or passing.
Their combined record is
20-2.
The livestock exhibits
Breeding and raising ani-
mals can be rewarding, but it
takes patience and know-how
to earn a blue ribbon or a big
payday. Building a champion-
ship defense also requires pa-
tience and strategy, and the re-
ward could be a state title. Of
the eight local UIL teams that
allow less than 14 points per
game, only one has a losing re-
cord. Five are undefeated:
Highland Park (10.2 points per
game), Euless Trinity (12.3),
Pilot Point (11.4), Red Oak Life
(12.0) and Kennedale (13.6).
The Midway
Most of the rides at the fair
are both thrilling and disori-
enting, which is a good de-
scription of the first half of the
football season. Five weeks
from the start of the playoffs,
the two largest classifications
(now 6A and 5A) look more
wide open than at any time in
the last 10 years. That should
make the playoffs just as excit-
ing as any ride that spins you,
drops you and reminds you
that you just ate fried chicken
ina waffle cone.
Big Tex
Inthis case, lets go with Big
North Tex.
Teams from North Texas
won five of the six largest
crowns last year, with Allen
and Cedar Hill in 5A, Denton
Guyer and Aledo in 4A and Ar-
gyle in 3A Division II. In this
weeks state rankings, the top
four in 6A are from Dallas-
Fort Worth and half of the top
four in 5A and 4A are local.
Sometimes the toughest
competition is right next door.
Follow Matt Wixon on Twitter at
@mattwixon.
Midway through, seasons been a wild ride
David Minton/Denton Record-Chronicle
Allen junior
David Feli-
ciano may
have lost his
helmet on
this hit by
Denton
Guyers Trey
Woods (8),
but the two-
time defend-
ing state
champions
have held
formwith a
6-0 record in
an otherwise
topsy-turvy
season.
Time is right for a fair
assessment of
unpredictable results
C11 10-10-2014 Set: 22:42:28
Sent by: elewis@dallasnews.com Sports CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
The Dallas Morning News SportsDayDFW.com Friday, October 10, 2014 11C
FRIDAYS GAMES
DISTRICT 4-6A
Arl. Bowie at North Crowley ............................7:30
Arl. Martin at Weatherford .............................7:30
FWPaschal vs Arl. Lamar ................................7:30
(at Arlingtons Cravens Field)
DISTRICT 5-6A
Justin Northwest vs Keller Central ..................7:00
(at Keller ISD Athletic Complex)
Keller vs TC Byron Nelson ...............................7:00
(at Northwest ISD Stadium)
Keller F. Ridge vs Denton Guyer .......................7:00
(at Dentons C.H. Collins Athletic Complex)
DISTRICT 6-6A
Allen at Hebron .............................................7:30
Flower Mound vs Lewisville ............................7:30
(at Lewisvilles Goldsmith Stadium)
Plano East vs Plano ........................................7:30
(at Planos John Clark Stadium)
Plano West at FM Marcus ...............................7:30
DISTRICT 7-6A
Haltomvs Coll. Heritage .................................7:30
(at Grapevines Mustang-Panther Stadium)
SL Carroll vs Richland .....................................7:30
(at Birdville Fine Arts/Athletic Complex)
DISTRICT 8-6A
Cedar Hill at Duncanville .................................7:30
Mansfield at DeSoto ......................................7:30
S. Grand Prairie vs Grand Prairie ......................7:30
(at Grand Prairies Gopher-Warrior Bowl)
DISTRICT 9-6A
Carr. R.L. Turner vs Irving MacArthur ...............7:30
(at Irving Schools Stadium)
Irving at Jesuit ..............................................7:30
DISTRICT10-6A
Highland Park vs Mes. Horn ............................7:30
(at Mesquites E.H. Hanby Stadium)
Mesquite vs Rich. Pearce ................................7:30
(at Richardsons Eagle-Mustang Stadium)
Richardson vs Lake Highlands .........................7:30
(at Wildcat-Ram Stadium)
DISTRICT11-6A
Tyler Lee vs Gar. Lakeview ..............................7:30
(at Garlands H.B. Johnson Stadium)
DISTRICT 5-5A
FWBrewer at Denton .....................................7:00
DISTRICT 6-5A
Birdville at Lake Dallas ...................................7:30
Grapevine vs FWDunbar .................................7:30
(at Fort Worths Clark Stadium)
DISTRICT 9-5A
Frisco Centennial vs Frisco Lone Star ................7:00
(at Toyota Stadium)
Little Elmvs Frisco Liberty ..............................7:00
(at Frisco ISD Memorial Stadium)
DISTRICT10-5A
Lovejoy vs McKinney North .............................7:30
(at McKinneys Ron Poe Stadium)
McKinney at Sherman ....................................7:30
Prosper vs Wylie East .....................................7:30
(at Wylie ISD Stadium)
Wylie at Denison ...........................................7:30
DISTRICT11-5A
Conrad vs Thomas Jefferson ...........................7:30
(at Alfred J. Loos Complex/Couch Field)
Hillcrest vs Bryan Adams ................................7:30
(at Forester Field)
North Dallas vs Carr. Creekview .......................7:30
(at Carrolltons Standridge Stadium)
DISTRICT12-5A
Mes. Poteet vs Forney ....................................7:30
(at Forneys City Bank Stadium)
North Forney vs Rockwall-Heath .....................7:30
(at Rockwalls Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium)
South Garland at Royse City ............................7:30
Terrell vs West Mesquite ................................7:30
(at Mesquite Memorial Stadium)
DISTRICT13-5A
Samuell vs South Oak Cliff ..............................7:30
(at Kincaide Stadium)
Seagoville vs Adamson ...................................7:30
(at Sprague Athletic Complex/Jones Field)
DISTRICT14-5A
Mans. Legacy vs Arl. Seguin ............................7:30
(at Arlingtons Wilemon Field)
Mans. Timberview vs Mans. Lake Ridge ............7:30
(at Mansfields Vernon Newsom Stadium)
Red Oak at Lancaster ......................................7:30
Waxahachie vs Mans. Summit .........................7:30
(at Mansfields R.L. Anderson Stadium)
DISTRICT15-5A
Greenville at Sulphur Springs ..........................7:30
DISTRICT16-5A
Corsicana at Nacogdoches ...............................7:30
Ennis at Whitehouse ......................................7:30
DISTRICT 3-4A DIV. 2
Anna at Celina ...............................................7:30
Bonhamat Aubrey .........................................7:30
Krumat Bridgeport ........................................7:30
DISTRICT 4-4A DIV. 2
Ferris at Godley .............................................7:30
Venus vs Madison ..........................................7:30
(at Pleasant Grove Stadium)
DISTRICT 5-4A DIV. 2
Gilmer at Melissa ..........................................7:30
Nevada Community at Canton .........................7:30
DISTRICT 5-4A DIV. 1
Springtown at Kennedale ................................7:30
DISTRICT 6-4A DIV. 1
Carter at Sanger ............................................7:30
Pinkston at Wilmer-Hutchins ..........................7:30
DISTRICT 7-4A DIV. 1
Quinlan Ford at Princeton ...............................7:30
DISTRICT 8-4A DIV. 1
Kaufman at Crandall .......................................7:30
DISTRICT 4-3A DIV. 1
Ponder at Paradise .........................................7:30
DISTRICT 5-3A DIV. 1
Pilot Point at Callisburg ..................................7:30
Pottsboro at Farmersville ...............................7:30
DISTRICT 6-3A DIV. 1
Caddo Mills at Life Oak Cliff ............................7:30
Life Red Oak at Sunnyvale ...............................7:30
SPC SOUTH
Bell. Episcopal at Episcopal Dallas ....................7:00
Hou. St. Johns at Cistercian ............................7:00
SPC NORTH
Arl. Oakridge at FW All Saints .........................7:00
FWTrinity Valley at St. Marks ........................7:00
OKC Casady at FW Country Day ........................7:00
Tulsa Holland Hall at Greenhill ........................7:00
TAPPS1-I
Arg. Liberty Chr. at Midland Christian ...............7:30
Bishop Lynch at John Paul II ............................7:30
Prestonwood Chr. at Bishop Dunne ..................7:30
TCA-Addison at FWNolan ...............................7:30
TAPPS1-II
Arl. Grace Prep at Arl. Pantego Chr. ..................7:30
Grape. Faith Chr. vs FM Coram Deo ...................7:30
(at Coppell Middle School West)
Parish Episcopal at FW Southwest Chr. .............7:30
TAPPS 2-II
Carr. Prince Peace vs Shelton ...........................7:00
(at Bishop Lynch)
Dallas Christian at Frisco Legacy Chr. ...............7:00
TAPPS1-III
Coll. Covenant at Ama. San Jacinto ..................6:00
FWCalvary Chr. at FWTemple Chr. ..................7:30
TAPPS 2-III
First Baptist vs McKinney Chr. .........................7:30
(at McKinney North)
Gaines. State at TC-Cedar Hill .........................7:30
Irv. The Highlands at Garland Christian .............7:30
Lutheran at Waco Reicher ...............................7:30
NONDISTRICT
Dachse at A+ Academy ...................................7:30
Kenn. Fellowship at FW Lake Country................7:30
SIX MAN
Lakehill at Fairhill ..........................................4:30
Waco Methodist at Dallas Academy .................7:30
SCHEDULE
High school
picks
ADAM
BOEDEKER
Denton Record-
Chronicle
PAT
DONEY
Ch. 5
MARCUS
MURPHREE
SportsDayHS
editor
GREG
RIDDLE
SportsDayHS
editor
MEGAN
RYAN
SportsDayHS
writer
CORBETT
SMITH
SportsDayHS
writer
MATT
WIXON
SportsDayHS
columnist
Highland Park vs. Mesquite Horn Highland Park Highland Park Mesquite Horn Highland Park Highland Park Mesquite Horn Highland Park
Keller Fossil Ridge vs. Denton Guyer Denton Guyer Denton Guyer Denton Guyer Denton Guyer Denton Guyer Denton Guyer Denton Guyer
Justin Northwest vs. Keller Central Justin Northwest Keller Central Justin Northwest Justin Northwest Keller Central Justin Northwest Justin Northwest
Keller vs. Trophy Club Byron Nelson TC Byron Nelson Keller TC Byron Nelson Keller TC Byron Nelson Keller Keller
Allen at Hebron Allen Allen Allen Allen Allen Allen Allen
Plano West at Flower Mound Marcus FM Marcus Plano West Plano West Plano West Plano West Plano West Plano West
Plano East vs. Plano Plano Plano Plano Plano Plano Plano Plano
Flower Mound at Lewisville Lewisville Lewisville Flower Mound Lewisville Lewisville Lewisville Lewisville
Southlake Carroll vs. Richland Southlake Carroll Southlake Carroll Southlake Carroll Southlake Carroll Southlake Carroll Southlake Carroll Southlake Carroll
Mansfield at DeSoto DeSoto DeSoto DeSoto DeSoto DeSoto DeSoto DeSoto
Cedar Hill at Duncanville Cedar Hill Cedar Hill Cedar Hill Cedar Hill Cedar Hill Cedar Hill Cedar Hill
South Grand Prairie vs. Grand Prairie S. Grand Prairie S. Grand Prairie S. Grand Prairie S. Grand Prairie S. Grand Prairie S. Grand Prairie S. Grand Prairie
Carrollton R.L. Turner vs. Irving MacArthur Irving MacArthur Irving MacArthur Irving MacArthur Irving MacArthur Irving MacArthur Irving MacArthur Irving MacArthur
Richardson vs. Lake Highlands Lake Highlands Lake Highlands Lake Highlands Lake Highlands Lake Highlands Lake Highlands Lake Highlands
Mesquite vs. Richardson Pearce Mesquite Mesquite Mesquite Mesquite Mesquite Mesquite Mesquite
Frisco Centennial vs. Frisco Lone Star Frisco Centennial Frisco Lone Star Frisco Lone Star Frisco Centennial Frisco Centennial Frisco Centennial Frisco Centennial
Little Elmvs. Frisco Liberty Frisco Liberty Little Elm Frisco Liberty Frisco Liberty Frisco Liberty Frisco Liberty Frisco Liberty
Mesquite Poteet at Forney Mesquite Poteet Mesquite Poteet Mesquite Poteet Mesquite Poteet Mesquite Poteet Mesquite Poteet Mesquite Poteet
Terrell vs. West Mesquite West Mesquite West Mesquite West Mesquite West Mesquite West Mesquite West Mesquite West Mesquite
Prosper vs. Wylie East Wylie East Wylie East Wylie East Wylie East Wylie East Wylie East Wylie East
Lovejoy vs. McKinney North McKinney North McKinney North McKinney North Lovejoy McKinney North McKinney North McKinney North
Seagoville vs. Adamson Seagoville Seagoville Seagoville Seagoville Seagoville Seagoville Seagoville
Mansfield Timberviewvs. Mansfield Lake Ridge Mans. Timberview Mans. Timberview Mans. Timberview Mans. Timberview Mans. Timberview Mans. Timberview Mans. Timberview
Mansfield Legacy vs. Arlington Seguin Mans. Legacy Mans. Legacy Mans. Legacy Mans. Legacy Mans. Legacy Mans. Legacy Mans. Legacy
Red Oak at Lancaster Lancaster Lancaster Lancaster Lancaster Lancaster Lancaster Lancaster
Waxahachie vs. Mansfield Summit Mans. Summit Mans. Summit Mans. Summit Mans. Summit Mans. Summit Mans. Summit Mans. Summit
Carter at Sanger Sanger Sanger Sanger Sanger Sanger Sanger Sanger
Prestonwood at Bishop Dunne Prestonwood Bishop Dunne Bishop Dunne Prestonwood Prestonwood Prestonwood Prestonwood
Argyle Liberty at Midland Christian Midland Christian Argyle Liberty Argyle Liberty Midland Christian Argyle Liberty Argyle Liberty Midland Christian
TCA-Addison at Fort Worth Nolan TCA-Addison FW Nolan FW Nolan TCA-Addison TCA-Addison FW Nolan FW Nolan
Last week 20-10 (.667) 22-8 (.733) 18-12 (.600) 21-9 (.700) 20-10 (.667) 24-6 (.800) 24-6 (.800)
Season record 131-49 (.728) 131-49 (.728) 127-53 (.706) 136-44 (.756) 120-60 (.667) 141-39 (.783) 134-46 (.744)
Shaded box indicates leader
Football Week 7
ings, the late turnaround put
Wakeland (5-1, 3-1) near the top
of the table. The loss was a bitter
blow for The Colony (4-3, 2-3),
finally healthy after missing as
many as seven starters in losses
to Frisco Heritage and Frisco.
As opposed of fighting for a
playoff berth, Wakeland gets a
shot at taking a share of the dis-
trict lead next week, against
Frisco Centennial.
FRISCO A single play can
turn the course of a season.
After a failed fourth-and-
goal by Frisco Wakeland with
four minutes remaining gave
The Colony a chance to seal the
game with a few first downs
from its power-rushing game,
Wakeland senior Addisson Me-
digovich forced a fumble on the
next play.
Wakeland scored a play lat-
er, holding on for a 13-12 win at
Frisco ISD Memorial Stadium.
All we needed was one big
play, Medigovich said.
Medigovich broke his as-
signment on the game-chang-
ing play, not following the tight
end as The Colony tried to load
up its right side.
They tried to get an unbal-
anced set, and I took a guess be-
cause theyd done it three other
times, Medigovich said. There
was a gap between the quarter-
back and the running back, and
Idove to try to rip the ball out.
He got quarterback Andrew
Lotz before the handoff, strip-
ping the ball for teammate Tan-
ner Euting to recover. With the
ball on The Colonys 8-yard-
line, Wakeland scored on a
sweep pass from Noah Ander-
son to Cole Hutchens to take a
13-12 lead.
Anderson a wide receiver
who had played quarterback
earlier in the season set up
Wakelands first score, finding
Justice Williams on a similar
sweep pass on the opening drive
of the third quarter. Brent Altie-
ri later scored on a 5-yard run for
Wakelands first lead, 7-6.
The Colonys very physical,
and were somewhat of a finesse
team, Anderson said. We dont
really have that power game
that they did. So we needed a
few big plays.
Both teams combined for
nine punts with five three-
and-outs in the first half. Only
a bit of brilliance by The Colony
running back Khalil Banks kept
the game from being scoreless,
taking an off-tackle run 52 yards
for 6-0 lead, thanks to a well-
timed stiff arm.
Instead of falling into the
jumble of teams fighting for po-
sition in the District 9-5A stand-
It goes through Centennial,
Wakeland coach Marty Secord
said. Theres no doubt about it.
Everybody understands that in
our organization because
theyve been the reigning dis-
trict champs.
Follow Corbett Smith on Twitter
at @corbettsmithDMN.
Fumble sets up winning TD
FRISCO WAKELAND 13, THE COLONY 12
Andy Jacobsohn/Staff Photographer
Frisco Wakeland defensive back Darius Jack (6) breaks up
a pass intended for The Colony wide receiver Brenden
Nelson (16) on a fourth down in the fourth quarter.
Senior Medigovich
forces turnover to
propel Wakeland to win
By CORBETT SMITH
Staff Writer
corbettsmith@dallasnews.com
The Colony ........................ 6 0 6 0 12
Frisco Wakeland ................ 0 0 7 6 13
TC Khalil Banks 52 run (kick failed)
FW Brent Altieri 5 run (Colten Schwalbe kick)
TC Khalil Banks 3 run (run failed)
FW Cole Hutchens 8 pass from Noah Anderson (run
failed)
TC FW
First Downs.................................... 14 9
Rushing Yards ......................... 48-204 23-66
Passing Yards................................. 50 177
Passing...................................... 5-9-0 12-24-0
Punts-Avg ..............................5-33.00 6-34.00
Penalties .................................... 2-15 7-45
Fumbles-Lost ................................ 1-1 0-0
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing FW: Brent Altieri 14-66, Jay Orji 1-3, Jimmy
Wilkins 5-2, Aaron Gentis 1-0, Team Stat 2--5, TC:
Khalil Banks 26-127, Andrew Lotz 12-42, Josh Chow
4-17, Darius Mitchell 5-17, Myles Benning 1-1.
Passing FW: Jimmy Wilkins 10-22-0-130, Noah An-
derson 2-2-0-47, TC: Andrew Lotz 5-9-0-50.
Receiving FW: Justice Williams 3-76, Cole Hutchens
4-49, Noah Anderson 3-29, Brent Altieri 1-17, Addis-
son Medigovich 1-6, TC: Tate Alanis 1-14, Myles Ben-
ning 1-14, John Heim 1-8, Darius Mitchell 1-8, Khalil
Banks1-6.
HIGH SCHOOLS
MATT WIXON
mwixon@dallasnews.com