Proving the experts wrong: These 6A football teams defied preseason predictions
When summer was in full swing and football season was just on the horizon, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football published its 2017 preview edition to provide an outlook for more than 1,400 schools.
Some schools lived up to expectations, while others fell a little short.
On the other hand, there were the schools that apparently received the memo that they were supposed to miss the postseason, but decided to ignore it.
Below are the North Texas Class 6A teams that defied expectations for the 2017 season.
Trophy Club Nelson
District: 5-6A
Predicted Finish: Fifth place
Actual Finish: Fourth place, playoff berth, bi-district win
How they did it: Euless Trinity, Southlake Carroll and Hebron were all supposed earn playoff berths in 2017, but it was Flower Mound Marcus that was picked to claim the fourth and final spot.
When the two teams squared off on Nov. 2, it looked like the experts were right, as the Marauders jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead.
After that, however, the Bobcats rallied and it was all Nelson for the rest of the game, led by a 175-yard rushing effort from Jordan Joiner, which included two touchdown runs.
For its encore, the Bobcats opened up the bi-district round of the playoffs on Nov. 17 with a 28-24 upset of Denton Guyer.
Arlington Lamar
District: 4-6A
Projected Finish: Fifth place
Actual Finish: Fourth place, playoff berth, bi-district win
How they did it: Replacing quarterback Chance Fuller was going to be a challenge for the Vikings heading into the season, but Jack Dawson was up to the task becoming the top-ranked quarterback in 4-6A.
Dawson passed for 2,207 yards and 22 touchdowns and rushed for 260 yards and a touchdown during the regular season, and threw three touchdown passes in Lamar’s bi-district victory over Haltom.
The running back tandem of Michael Bradley and Desmond Moultrie combined for more than 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns, and Bradley had two touchdown runs against Buffaloes in the opening round of the playoffs.
Keller
District: 3-6A
Projected Finish: Fifth place
Actual Finish: Fourth place and a playoff berth
How they did it: The Indians were expected to be improved from their 1-9 mark in 2016, but not quite to playoff caliber.
Sloan Henry stepped into the position of starting quarterback well, passing for nearly 1,700 yards and 20 touchdowns, and receivers Oliver Taylor, Damon Smith, Michael Anderson and Colton Nelson gave Keller and effective passing game, combining for 1,947 yards receiving and 19 touchdowns.
A late-season victory over Abilene, the preseason district champion favorite, was the game that got the Indians their crucial third district win to claim a playoff spot.
Haltom
District: 3-6A
Projected Finish: Sixth place
Actual Finish: Third place and a playoff berth
Why they defied expectations: Haltom has come a long way since going 0-10 in 2014, but with only seven returning starters heading into the season, the Buffaloes were not expected to do much in 3-6A.
Enter Michael Black, a junior quarterback who combined for nearly 2,900 yards of total offense and 30 touchdowns this season.
He led Haltom to a 4-2 mark in district and the Buffaloes defeated Keller and Keller Central, two of the other three playoff teams, along the way.
This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Proving the experts wrong: These 6A football teams defied preseason predictions."