Regular Season Comes to an End

Three Teams Out, Three Teams In

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

EAST TEXAS – The regular football season came to an end last Friday night. Three area teams will be advancing to the postseason while three will start prepping for basketball.

The Grapeland Sandies, Elkhart Elks and Westwood Panthers will all be watching from home this year while trying to figure out what to do next year in order to make the playoffs.

The Sandies, Elks and Palestine Wildcats all had byes this past week so technically their regular seasons came to an end the week before. Grapeland and Elkhart both finished the year with a 4-6 overall record while Palestine ended the regular season with a 5-5 record. The Wildcats, however, will be advancing to the Bi-District Round of the playoffs.

The Westwood Panthers had a chance to go into the postseason as the #3 seed out of District 9-3A DI if they could beat the Huntington Red Devils. Huntington made a change at the QB position after a loss to Coldspring and it paid dividends as they knocked off Trinity and Elkhart before facing Westwood.

The score was tied at halftime, but a third quarter surge from the Red Devils plus a big defensive stand from Huntington at the start of the fourth proved to be too much for the Panthers to overcome as they fell by a final score of 47-34.

Speaking of Trinity, the Crockett Bulldogs traveled to the home of the Tigers facing the same situation as Westwood – win and you’re in.

The game was a back-and-forth affair throughout. Crockett took an early 23-8 lead only to see Trinity come back before the half to cut the lead to 26-22. The Tigers would take the lead in the third quarter and hold on to it until Crockett’s Antonio Cruz kicked a 42-yard FG midway through the final quarter of play.

The Cruz kick gave the Bulldogs a 29-28 lead they would never relinquish as Crockett slipped into the postseason as the #3 seed out of District 9-3A DI.

The only other team in action this week was the Lovelady Lions. The Lions traveled to Overton to take on an 0-9 Mustang team and it went about as expected.

The Lions scored early and they scored often. Fortunately, the refs ran the clock in the second half or the 43-0 final score could have been a lot worse.

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