High school football predictions for Week 2: We’re on fire

Maybe you weren’t aware of this little fact. The mythological King Midas and these weekly high school football picks have something in common.

Everything each has touched turns to gold.

OK, so now that you’re done rolling your eyes, we can at least prove our worth because of the start we had to the 2017 season. We went 13-1. The only loss was Haltom to Grand Prairie, a game that wasn’t settled until the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

We also had some good fortune. Keller Central had to hang on at the end to beat Birdville, 17-16. Carroll rallied past Broken Arrow (Oklahoma), 21-14, with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Keller Timber Creek used a strong second half to beat Irving Nimitz, 36-21.

But you never know long that golden touch is going to last. This is a “what have you done for me lately” type of industry. It’s back to work for this week.

Last week: 13-1

Season: 13-1 (.929)

Week 2

Flower Mound (1-0) at Keller Fossil Ridge (1-0); 7 p.m. Thursday, Keller ISD Athletic Complex, Keller: Welcome back Panther wide receiver Stefan Cobbs, who had 180 receiving yards and three scores in an impressive 49-14 rout of Arlington Lamar. The Jaguars dominated an outmanned Dallas W.T. White last week. However, there are better athletes at Fossil Ridge for Flower Mound to contend with.

Prediction: Keller Fossil Ridge 38, Flower Mound 22

Keller Central (1-0) at Richland (1-0); 7 p.m. Thursday, Birdville Fine Arts/Athletic Complex, North Richland Hills: Both of these programs won’t enjoy their first Friday night game until next week. Richland’s offense has some issues to address with its running game. The passing game is fine. However, the Chargers may not have enough answers.

Prediction: Richland 34, Keller Central 21

Montgomery (0-0) at Euless Trinity (0-1); 7 p.m. Friday, Pennington Field, Bedford: This is the opener for Montgomery, but the original foe for the Trojans was to be Spring Westfield, which had to cancel due to Hurricane Harvey. Montgomery is a playoff-caliber team in District 12-6A and features two-way threat Alex Nunn, who piled up 1,000 yards of offense last year. Trinity has to regroup following a pretty humbling 38-7 loss at Tulsa Union last week.

Prediction: Euless Trinity 27, Montgomery 17

Trophy Club Byron Nelson (0-1) at San Angelo Central (1-0); 7 p.m. Friday, San Angelo Stadium, San Angelo: This could be the weekend’s biggest mismatch. The Bobcats are one of the best programs in the state and can score in bunches. They scored 42 at Abilene last week. The Bobcats had a tough night scoring only six against Sachse. Nelson is on the road for the second straight week.

Prediction: San Angelo Central 45, Trophy Club Byron Nelson 10

Haslet V.R. Eaton (1-0) at Frisco Reedy (1-0); 7 p.m. Friday, Ford Center at The Star, Frisco: A great moment for the Eagles as they play their first game in the home of the Cowboys. This was a great game last year that Reedy won 43-38. Reedy, which is also in its second varsity year, won impressively against Frisco Independence last week.

Prediction: Frisco Reedy 30, Haslet V.R. Eaton 25

McKinney North (1-0) at Justin Northwest (1-0); 7 p.m. Friday, NISD Stadium, Justin: In 2016, this game served as the coming out party for the Texans. They shocked the world with 69 points. That probably won’t happen this time. But there is enough offense for the Texans to keep it going.

Prediction: Justin Northwest 45, McKinney North 33

Keller (0-1) at McKinney (1-0); 7:30 p.m. Friday, Ron Poe Stadium, McKinney: Give the Indians credit because their offense was pretty good against a solid Abilene Cooper team. However, going on the road against a team in McKinney that scored 47 points the week before might be too tall of an order.

Prediction: McKinney 45, Keller 38

Azle (0-1) at Keller Timber Creek (1-0); 7:30 p.m. Friday, Keller ISD Athletic Complex, Keller: What Falcons coach Kevin Golden learned about his team Saturday was that his defense closed. That’s a good sign. The Hornets are reeling following a 34-10 loss at Grapevine. It won’t get any better this week.

Prediction: Keller Timber Creek 39, Azle 10

Haltom (0-1) at Dallas Sunset (1-0); 7:30 Friday, Kincaide Stadium, Dallas: A valiant effort by the Buffalos last week against Grand Prairie came up short. Sunset opened with an impressive 43-7 win over Dallas Sunset. However, the Buffalos are a better opponent than Conrad. Haltom will make strides from Week 1 to Week 2.

Prediction: Haltom 35, Sunset 20

Hurst L.D. Bell (0-1) at North Crowley (1-0); 7:30 p.m. Friday, Panther Stadium, Fort Worth: The mysterious game on the card. The Blue Raiders were outmatched last week against Coppell. North Crowley handled a decent Class 5A team in The Colony. This appears to be a matchup of even teams. For whatever reason, we’re going to give Bell a chance to steal this.

Prediction: L.D. Bell 24, North Crowley 20

Carroll (1-0) at Arlington Martin (1-0); 7:30 p.m. Friday, Maverick Stadium, Arlington: Credit the Dragons. They were their own worst enemies with four turnovers but overcame them in a 21-14 win at Broken Arrow. The Warriors blew out Dallas Skyline in the opener. Carroll new running back T.J. McDaniel (106 yards in his debut) is the difference.

Prediction: Carroll 29, Arlington Martin 19

Frisco Heritage (0-1) at Colleyville Heritage (1-0); 7:30 p.m. Friday, Mustang-Panther Stadium, Grapevine: Joe Willis will probably continue to evaluate his quarterback position between Jagger LaRoe and Landry French. The Panthers just ran into a wall in Aledo’s defensive line. Frisco Heritage will not present the same problems.

Prediction: Colleyville Heritage 41, Frisco Heritage 15

Grapevine (1-0) at Abilene Cooper (1-0); 7:30 p.m. Friday, Shotwell Stadium, Abilene: Last year, the Mustangs stunned Texas High School football when they put 61 points on the Cougars. Everything clicked. But Cooper has 13 returning starters, including eight on offense. This is where the new front seven on Grapevine’s defense gets tested. It could get pretty tough. Mustangs quarterback Alan Bowman better have his teammates ready to answer every time.

Prediction: Abilene Cooper 40, Grapevine 26

Burleson Centennial (0-1) at Birdville (0-1); 7:30 p.m. Friday, Birdville Fine Arts/Athletics Complex, North Richland Hills: Both of these teams lost to really good opponents last week. The Hawks fell short against Keller Central. Centennial lost to Saginaw Boswell. The question for the Hawks is if Lon Holbrook’s team can come up with enough offense.

Prediction: Burleson Centennial 34, Birdville 24

Let’s win them all!

This story was originally published September 4, 2017 at 5:58 PM with the headline "High school football predictions for Week 2: We’re on fire."