A little background …
Kennedale is in Class 4A football. There are 185 teams in Texas in Class 4A. Class 4A is divided in two division just for football with the larger schools (94) in Division 1 and the smaller schools (91) in Division II. Kennedale plays in D1. {{more: continue … }}
The playoffs includes the top 64 teams by taking the top 4 from each district in Division 1. For first round purposes the 1st place teams from one district are is matched up with the 4th place teams from other districts. Then the 2nd place and the 3rd place teams from different district are matched up
After the first round (bi-district) there was one upset in the top seed category. 1st place La Feria was upset by 4th seed Rockport 19-14. Most first place teams won and usually by large margins as Kennedale did Friday winning 56-12 over Ranchview.
In the second round (area), winners of the 1st seed vs 4th seed games line up against the 2nd and 3rd place winners. Which means that usually it is a 1st seed vs a 2nd seed, which is the case with Kennedale vs Van today at the Star in Frisco. But, judging 2nd and even on occasion 3rd seed teams can be tricky.
Consider Van …
Van (10-1) made their first appearance in the AP Top Ten in week 3 this and remained in the top 10 until the Vandals lost to district rival Kaufman in the next to last game of the season. Both teams have identical records of 10-1 and both won their bi-district game last week. Kaufman won over Anna 48- 31 and Van defeated Princeton 35-28. So there is not a lot of difference in this case between the two teams. Kennedale has to assume that playing Van is equal to playing a #1 seed which doesn?t usually happen until the third round.
Biggest test since West Orange-Stark game seven weeks ago ?
Van has been here before. Last year the Van Vandals (12-2) made it all the way to the state quarterfinals before losing to yours truly, the Kennedale Wildcats. Kennedale won that game 34-28 but there was nothing easy about it. It took a big comeback effort by Kennedale who was behind 21-7 at the half before storming back and completely controlling the game in the second half.
Van has gone 12-2, 7-5 and 10-1 the past three years. They were predicted to win District 8-4A this year. Quarterback Garrett Moseley is a senior this year and a key to their successful offense. Last year he amassed 2,785 passing and 1,680 in rushing yards along with 60 touchdowns. He is not afraid of taking the ball himself to make things happen. Van has 11 returners off that 12-2 team last year.
Kennedale has not faced a serious challenge since their overtime loss to #2 West Orange-Stark 23-20 in week 5. When you factor out the Division II teams that are included in the AP 4A poll, Kennedale moves into at 3 way tie with Argyle and Midlothian Heritage and Van is in the #8 slot according to Lonestar Gridiron poll that covers just DI schools in Class 4A.
This year Van quarterback Garrett Moseley is having another great, passing for 2,291 yards with 26 TDs and five interceptions. He has hit on 56 percent of his passing attempts, 136 of 244. He is also the leading rusher for Van, dashing for 1,344 yards and 18 touchdowns on 164 carries (8.2 average per carry).
Davonta Johnson (Sr) has added 562 yards and nine TDs on 90 carries with Elijah Rankine adding 427 yards and four touchdowns on 56 totes.
Gus Brewer (Sr) leads the Vandals with 44 receptions for 795 yards and eight TDs. Following Brewer are Bray Doring (35-604, 6 TDs), Ethan Robinson (31-483, 8 TDs) and Rankine (22-421, 6 TDs).
Defensively, Ridge Preston (Jr) has four interceptions, along with two fumble recoveries, 39 tackles and 44 assists. Others with interceptions include JJ Kellum, Marcos Orozco, Beckett Preston and Xavier Williams.
Jake Kellam (Sr) is the leading tackler with 62 tackles, 40 assists, four sacks, two fumble recoveries and nine tackles for loss.
What the future has in store of the winner of this game ?
As it stands now, after the area game the projected challenger is Midlothian Heritage (11-0) in the third round and then in the quarterfinals it is projected to be Kaufman. The 5th round (semifinals) pits the winner of Region I against the winner of Region II which should be Argyle (11-0). Unless, you are a believer in Lubbock Estacado (10-1) from Region 1.
