PUNCHING PLAYOFF TICKET

CLASS 1A SIX-MAN ROUNDUP: DII’s seventh-ranked Iredell faces undefeated Three Way for District 11-1A, DII head-to-head title showdown; Walnut Springs, Kopperl, Morgan, Cranfills Gap eliminated

Going into the final two weeks of the 2024 Texas high school football season, four of the five Bosque County six-man football squads have already been realistically eliminated from postseason contention.

But the Class 1A, Division II’s seventh-ranked Iredell Dragons have already punched their ticket to the playoffs for the third straight season in District 11-1A, DII. And when the Dragons (3-0 in district, 7-2 overall) visit the undefeated Three Way Braves (2-0, 8-0) at 7 p.m. Friday, the two teams will square off in a head-to-head championship showdown as Iredell will be looking for its second straight district title.

While Iredell posted a convincing 70-24 victory over the Kopperl Eagles last Friday night, the Braves will be coming off an open week after dominating Kopperl, 58-8, two weeks ago.

“Momentum is on Three Way’s side,” Iredell head coach Luis Guereca said. “They will be coming into the game undefeated, it’ll be a home game for them, and they had a bye week last week. They’ll be ready to play. We will be ready.”

Elsewhere under the Friday night lights in Bosque County, Kopperl (0-2, 4-3) will be hitting the road to take on the Morgan Eagles (0-2, 2-6) at 7:30 p.m. Friday as Kopperl attempts to move past back-to-back losses to Three Way and Iredell.

“They are the favorites in our district for good reason,” said Kopperl head coach Ken Davis of Iredell. “We had a few good moments, but the Dragons experience and depth were more than we could handle. We hope to get back in the win column against Morgan.”

Morgan will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak coming off a disappointing 62-13 loss to the Bluff Dale Bobcats last Friday night.

“Kopperl, like us, is hungry for a district win,” Morgan head coach Alan Berrio said. “They’ll be coming off a tough loss as well, so we expect a competitive game. Our goal is to clean up our play, reduce turnovers, and see some solid execution on both sides of the ball. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to bounce back and give our home fans something to cheer for.”

Closing out the challenging regular season at home against the Mullin Bulldogs (0-2, 2-6) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, the Cranfills Gap Lions (0-3, 0-9) hope to end the season on a positive note. The Bulldogs will be coming off an open week after losing to Evant, 54-6, two weeks ago.

“Unfortunately, a lot of things are not going our way this year,” Cranfills Gap head coach Josh Raulston said. “But we are finishing strong and know Mullin won’t be easy. They’ve been playing well, and we are needing to clean up a ton of mistakes before we can even fathom a win.”

In Class 1A, DI action, the Walnut Springs Hornets (0-2, 3-5) will wrap up the regular season on the road playing the Milford Bulldogs (1-1, 4-4) at 7 p.m. Friday. The Bulldogs will be coming off an open week after a 64-14 loss to Avalon, while the Hornets try to shake off last week’s 54-8 loss to Avalon in search of their first district win.

“Milford will be tough and quick,” Walnut Springs head coach Richard Dye said. “And we’ll have to be hitting on all cylinders to beat them.”

Photos by WENDY OROZCO & SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS