Every Game Matters Now

Recap Week 6

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

EAST TEXAS – We’ve passed the midway point of the season and we’re now barreling towards the postseason. Every game matters now and slip ups may cause a team to slip completely out of the playoff picture.

Last week, the Lovelady Lions and Westwood Panthers were off, giving them time to rest up for the remainder of the season.

The Grapeland Sandies were in action, however, as they welcomed the Alto Yellow Jackets to Sandie Stadium for both team’s District 11-2A DII opener.

The Yellow Jackets are much improved from last year’s team and it showed on Friday night. The Sandies were their own worst enemies as turnovers and mistakes allowed Alto to pull away from Grapeland in the second half as the visitors won by a final score of 49-14.

The Sandies now have an overall record of 3-3 and a district mark of 0-1.

Just up the road in Elkhart, the Crockett Bulldogs faced off against the Elkhart Elks. It was a back-and- forth affair between the Elks and Bulldogs throughout the first half and into the third quarter. Crockett finally managed to pull away from Elkhart in the final period of play and hung on for the 41-30 win.

The Bulldogs now have a 3-3 overall record and a 2-0 mark in District 9-3A DI.

The Elks are also 3-3 overall, but have a 0-2 record in District 9-3A DI.

The Palestine Wildcats were the only other area team in action last Friday as they welcomed the Mabank Panthers to Wildcat Stadium for a Homecoming contest.

Mabank took the early first quarter lead but Palestine came back to go ahead by halftime. After the break, the Panthers reclaimed the lead and went up by 10. The Wildcats cut the margin to three, but that was as close as Palestine would get as they fell by a final score of 33-30.  

The Wildcats now have an overall record of 2-4 and a mark of 0-2 in District 9-4A DI.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].