Lone Star begins another push toward a state final on Thursday night at the Ford Center at The Star, and three more Frisco ISD football programs open the Class 5A playoffs a night later.
The Rangers (10-0) play North Richland Hills Birdville (7-3) at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Division I bi-district round, according to pairings published by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Star Local Media after district certification on Saturday. Frisco (7-3) returns to the same stadium at 7 p.m.
Friday for a Division II game against Colleyville Heritage (6-4). Reedy (6-4) travels to North Richland Hills Richland (9-1) for a 7 p.m. Friday Division I game at the Birdville Fine Arts/Athletics Complex, and Panther Creek (7-3) visits Argyle (9-1) at 7 p.m.
Friday at Argyle ISD Stadium in Division II.
Lone Star brings the clearest résumé of the four. Its MaxPreps schedule shows a 552-156 scoring margin and just one game decided by fewer than 14 points, a 35-30 win at Melissa on Sept. 25. The Rangers finished 7-0 in district after a 58-7 home win over McKinney North on Nov. 5.
Last season stopped one game short of a title: Smithson Valley won the 5A Division I final 28-6, and Lone Star finished 15-1.
Birdville can score, with 432 points in 10 games, but its losses map the gap it has to close. The Hawks fell 63-35 to Richland on Oct. 9 and 49-31 at Highland Park on Oct. 30, then finished fourth in their district at 3-3.
That same Richland team stands in Reedy's way. Richland's only loss was a 45-42 home defeat to Highland Park on Oct. 2. Reedy arrives on a two-game winning streak after beating Heritage 58-28 and Centennial 49-7, and its season includes a 31-28 win at McKinney North and a 17-14 nonconference win at Frisco on Sept. 3.
The Lions' four losses came against Lovejoy, Prosper Walnut Grove, Melissa and Lone Star.
Frisco finished second in its district at 6-2, and both district losses were nearly coin flips: 16-14 at Anna on Oct. 2 and 26-24 against Emerson in the Nov. 6 finale. In between, the Raccoons won four straight, including 33-20 at Celina and 35-10 at Panther Creek.
Playing at home in the Ford Center gives Frisco a familiar setting against a Colleyville Heritage team that went 6-4.
Panther Creek's draw is the steepest on paper. Argyle is 9-1, and one of its wins was a 70-37 result against Highland Park on Sept. 18. The Panthers bring a road record worth noting, 5-0 away from home this season, and they closed with a 42-0 win at Memorial. Their three losses all came in district play, to Anna, Celina and Frisco.
