Class 4A State Championship Previews

Class 4A Division I State Championship

Waco Midway (12-2) vs. Lake Travis (15-0) Friday 8:00pm Cowboys Stadium, Arlington: The drive for five could end in a record setting fifth consecutive state title for Lake Travis, standing in the Cavaliers way is a very underrated Midway squad. Midway has been quite impressive the past three weeks rolling past Denton Ryan, Wichita Falls Rider and Tyler John Tyler. Last week Midway pummeled Tyler John Tyler 51-20, the Panthers defense stepped up and contained a potent JT offense while the ground game churned out 349 yards of offense. B.J. Kelly had 106 yards rushing and three touchdowns, while DeCharr Greer chipped in 109 yards and two touchdowns. Lake Travis won their 29th consecutive playoff game (yes 29 straight) last week blowing away Pearland Dawson 45-14 in a penalty filled affair. QB Baker Mayfield had a big game throwing for 231 yards and four touchdowns, two of those scoring passes went to Colin Lagasse. The SMU commit who topped 100 yards receiving also ran for a pair of touchdowns. The Lake Travis defense has been the difference once again this year and their task this week is to contain the Midway ground game, they should be up to the task and their offense is simply too good and in state title games they've shown they have the ability to step up in the biggest moments. Stepp's Pick: Lake Travis by 16

Class 4A Division II State Championship

Aledo (13-2) vs. Manvel (15-0) Saturday Noon Cowboys Stadium, Arlington: Aledo will be going for their third straight state championship this week against an unbeaten Manvel squad out of the Greater Houston area. The Bearcats put together another impressive effort routing Corsicana 68-28 last week. Johnathan Gray again led the way for Aledo rushing for 218 yards and five touchdowns in the win, while Michael Mann gave the Bearcats plenty of balance with a pair of touchdown receptions including a hail mary on the last play of the first half that triggered Aledo blowing what was once a close game wide open. The Bearcats offense has been on an absolute roll but they could possibly be tested this week against a big and fast Manvel defense led by DL Taiwan Johnson. The Mavericks needed a crazy last minute sequence to escape the Alamodome with a 31-28 win over Corpus Christi Calallen. Manvel got a touchdown pass from Shane McCarley to Kaylon Melancon with 2:38 to go and then after an interception the Mavs moved into field goal range (helped by a roughing the passer penalty). The Mavs converted the kick and are playing for their first ever state title. Manvel is a better defensive team than Aledo's faced in a few weeks, but even against good defenses Aledo has shown a penchant for putting up big numbers. Stepp's Pick: Aledo by 24