With district races facing the final Friday night of the 2023 Texas high school football regular season, the state’s Class 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A teams battle for playoff berths as Top 10 rankings predict postseason
With district races heading into the final weekend of the 2023 Texas high school football regular season, playoff spots remain up for grabs as each game carries postseason implications under the Friday night lights throughout the Heart of Texas. As a result, the state’s Top 10 polls for Class 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A predict favorites for state titles.
With eight Heart of Texas teams — China Spring, Stephenville, Lorena, Tolar, Mart, Abbott, Jonesboro and Oglesby — remain steadfast in their positions among the state’s elite with convincing wins, while a few more stand on the outside looking in at their respective Top 10 polls.
The sixth-ranked Stephenville Yellowjackets (3-0, 7-2) solidified their position by thrashing Alvarado, 34-7, while the defending state champion China Spring Cougars (3-1, 7-3) held at No. 9 in the Class 4A, Division I state rankings following a 68-52 victory over Waxahachie Life.
Without representation in the Class 4A, DII Top 10 rankings, the Heart of Texas kept five teams in the smaller two classifications, while the Lorena Leopards (4-0, 6-2) held firm to the No. 7 spot in the Class 3A, DI poll handing Troy a convincing 49-22 loss. But the previously-undefeated Whitney Wildcats (6-1, 8-1) fell to the Grandview Zebras (7-0, 8-1), 40-32 as both teams remained unranked in the Class 3A, DII poll.
Despite a strong presence in the Class 2A polls, the undefeated Axtell Longhorns (5-0, 9-0) remain overlooked among top teams in the Heart of Texas from Class 2A, DI. But in the meantime, the third-ranked Tolar Rattlers (5-0, 8-1) just keep on winning, crushing Goldthwaite, 61-6, while the perennial powerhouse Mart Panthers (5-0, 9-0) remained undefeated and held on to second in Class 2A, DII by defeating District 10-2A, DII runner-up Dawson, 31-13.
In six-man football, the Abbott Panthers (4-0, 9-0) held at No. 3 by easily disposing of another district challenger Penelope, 50-0, while the Jonesboro Eagles (3-0, 8-1) stayed at No. 5 with a convincing 48-22 victory over district contender May. The Oglesby Tigers (1-0, 8-0) held as the second-ranked team in Class 1A, DII with a 64-27 district victory over Calvert.
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football has published the state’s most respected Texas high school football rankings for decades, and became the official rankings provider for the Associated Press starting in 2019. The rankings are compiled by the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football staff, and weekly rankings are revealed live on “Texas Football Today” every Monday at 12:15 p.m. at TexasFootball.com/Live.
Check out the complete pre-season state rankings going into Week 9 in all classifications on the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football website: Dave Campbell’s Texas Football – Texas High School Football State Rankings
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