Friday Night Football Preview - Aug. 26

La Grange vs. Liberty Hill

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Liberty Hill

2015 Records: La Grange was 7-4; Liberty Hill was 10-3.

Last year: La Grange beat Liberty Hill 35-20 led by a 295-yard five touchdown performance by J.K. Dobbins.

Of Note: Seems like Liberty Hill is always  good and this year should be no exception as the Panthers return five offensive starters and seven defensive starters from a team that went to the regional semifinals last year before losing 6-0 to eventual state champ Waco La Vega. The Leps are hoping to throw the ball more this season but this week might be a bad time to start that as Liberty Hill has the defending District 14-4A MVP in defensive back Dyllon Joiner, who had nine interceptions a year ago. Offensively don’t expect to see the Panthers throw the ball much as Liberty Hill continues to run the Slot-T, as they have the last 16 seasons during the tenure of legendary head coach Jerry Vance (who has a 147-42 overall record at the school). This is the third consecutive year La Grange has played a season-opener against Liberty Hill. The Leps also won the 2014 opener 24-7 in Liberty Hill. 

Schulenburg vs. Hallettsville

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Schulenburg

2015 Records: Schulenburg was 5-5 last year. Hallettsville was 9-3.

Of note: The Shorthorns face a really tough season opener as they face an old district rival Hallettsville. The Brahmas only graduated five seniors from last year’s team and return seven starters on offense and seven on defense. The guy to watch for Hallettsville is aptly named quarterback Scooter Adams, who can really run. Meanwhile, Schulenburg is looking for another strong start to their season like the Shorthorns had last season then they won their first three games before things fell apart and they missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Defense should again be the strength of this Schulenburg team, and the ‘Horns are hoping that a shift on offensive philosophy (from the Spread to the Pro-I) will result in more points. Third year starting quarterback Joshua Brown should be a stabilizing force for that offense. 

Flatonia vs. Tidehaven

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: at Tidehaven HS 

2015 Records: Flatonia was 7-6. Tidehaven was 7-5. 

Last year: Last season both these teams opened up against one another with Tidehaven edging Flatonia 20-17. Kyle Etzler ran for a touchdown and Matthew Kozelsky catch a TD pass from Casen Novak in that game.   

Of Note: Flatonia has big expectations this year and the season opener could be one of their toughest of the regular season as the Bulldogs hit the road to face a 3A Tidehaven team that went two rounds deep in the playoff last year. What’s more, the Tigers return two of their biggest weapons from last year, including 1,471-yard rusher Jeff Williams and quarterback Bryce Galvan, who threw for over 1,000 yards last year and ran for almost 500. But the problem for Tidehaven is that they don’t have many other returnees from last year as just four starters are back on offense and two on defense. Flatonia, meanwhile, returns seven starters on offense and six on defense from last years team that went three rounds deep in the playoffs. 

Fayette Co. vs. Mt. Carmel

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Hohlt Park, Brenham

2015 Records: Fayette County was 1-7.  Mount Carmel was 5-4.

Of Note: The Fayette County Panthers played Mount Carmel last year and lost 42-7. The Fayette County Sports Association Panthers are a six-man football team in their second year of existence made up on students primarily from Fayetteville and Round Top-Carmine High Schools, neither of which have a public school football team. The Panthers have more kids playing high school ball than last year. They are, however, looking for more players for their junior high team. Contact head coach C.H. Harvey at (979) 203-6765 for more information.