Playoff implications loom for area teams (Area Previews)

By SCOTT TYLER

Sports Editor



The Oakwood Panthers only have one district loss.

But because only two teams in each six-man football district reach the playoffs, the Panthers are in a must-win situation for the rest of the season.

Oakwood (1-1, 5-2) sits tied in third place with Avalon in District 14, Division I and trail Penelope and Trinidad, who both are undefeated after two district games.

The Panthers are coming off a close loss to Trinidad and Oakwood looks to bounce back Friday night at Coolidge.

The Panthers had their second best offensive game of the season last week, accumulating 392 yards against Trinidad including a season-high 218 passing yards.

Quarterback Travis Eldridge accounted for 158 passing yards and he threw a career-high four touchdowns. Eric Ballard added 60 passing yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 113 yards and two scores.

Wide receiver Kealyne Durham has been the big target in Oakwood’s passing attack. The Panther senior caught six passes for 175 yards and four touchdowns Friday night. On the season, he has 17 receptions for 396 yards and nine touchdowns.

But while the offense was having one of its best night, the defense struggled against Trinidad’s rushing attack. Oakwood allowed a season-high 401 yards including 252 yards and five touchdowns to Marcus Allen, who is one of the top six-man players in the state.

Oakwood hopes to bounce back against a Coolidge team that has lost six straight games since opening the season with a 51-0 win over Prairie Lea. During district play, the Yellowjackets have lost to Penelope 52-6 and Avalon 55-0.

Oakwood and Coolidge have one common opponent this season — Oglesby in non-district play. Oakwood defeated Oglesby 71-46 and Coolidge lost to Oglesby 36-35.



Grapeland at Cross Roads

The Grapeland Sandies come into Friday night needing another win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

But the Sandies also need a little help from last week’s opponent.

Grapeland (1-2, 3-4) travels to Cross Roads (0-3, 1-6) Friday night but the Sandies eyes also could be on the Carlisle-Overton game which will have an impact in the Sandies’ future.

Grapeland needs to win its remaining three games — Cross Roads, Cushing and Cayuga — but the Sandies also need to have Overton defeat Carlisle Friday night.

If Overton wins, that gives the Mustangs and Carlisle three losses each in district, opening the door for Grapeland to control its own future.

But if Carlisle wins, that keeps the Indians at two losses along with Grapeland and the Indians own the tiebreaker, defeating Grapeland by one point in overtime earlier this season.

As for the Sandies, they kept their playoff hopes alive last week with a 35-34 overtime win against Overton.

Grapeland, who had to rally from a 28-6 deficit, got the win when the Sandies held the Mustangs out of the end zone on a two-point conversion run in overtime.

Grapeland quarterback Cameron Boyd led the comeback for Grapeland with 230 passing yards and four touchdowns.

Two of his touchdown passes went to Ta’Coyus Walker, who finished with eight catches for 182 yards. On the season, Walker has an area-high 46 catches for 700 yards.

The Sandies cut down on their turnovers in last week’s win. After turning the ball over 11 times in the first two district games, Grapeland only had one turnover against Overton.

Cross Roads’ only win this season came against Fruitvale, 34-16, in the final non-district game of the season. After letting a lead slip away in a 36-34 loss to Cushing to open district, the Bobcats have fallen to Cayuga and Alto the last two weeks.



Frankston at Arp

The Frankston Indians may have just jumped from the frying pan to the fire.

A week after struggling to find any offense against undefeated West Rusk, the Indians face another undefeated team — the No. 1 ranked Arp Tigers.

Frankston (1-1, 4-3) will have a challenge on defense against an Arp team that rushed for 337 yards against Troup last week.

The Indians’ defense has only allowed 201 yards a game this season but Frankston did give up a season-high 261 rushing yards to West Rusk last week.

Arp (2-0, 7-0) had a pair of 100-yard rushers last week — LaVocheya Cooper had 124 yards and Jerroid Amie had 101 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown run.

The Tigers nearly had three rushers get over the century mark as Michael Wade finished with 99 yards on seven carries and scored three touchdowns.

The Indians look to rebound offensively after being shutout for the first time this season last week against West Rusk.

Before that game, the Indians two of its better offensive performances, gaining over 300 yards in wins over Hemphill and Troup.



Troup at Elkhart

The Elkhart Elks continue to search for their first district win of the season when they play host to Troup Friday night.

Elkhart (0-2, 1-6) is coming off a strong defensive performance in a 7-0 loss to Garrison last week. The Elks held Garrison to only one touchdown and 180 yards of offense.

But the Elks have had troubles scoring themselves, as Elkhart has only three points in two district games — a field goal by Bryce Fillmore — and only 10 points in the last three games.

Troup (0-2, 1-6) enters Friday night with a five-game losing streak. The Tigers lone win this season came against Gladewater Sabine, 20-19.

The Tigers are coming off a 48-14 loss to Arp. Cody LePelley led the Tigers with 61 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Tigers’ other touchdown was on a 8-yard pass from Tyler Davis to Gerry Lydia.

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