About Southlake Carroll: Southlake Carroll is 31-0 since entering

5A. They are the two time defending District 7-5A champion, and the defending Division II state champion. Last year, they defeated Smithson

Valley in the state championship (which knocked off Katy to get to the state championship.

About Katy: Katy lost only one game all season long and that was to the # 1 ranked Lufkin Panthers. They are no stranger to the state championship game and to being the underdog. Last year they lost to Smithoson Valley, 24-20, in the semifinals.

Carroll's Offense: If anything, they are accurate and well balanced. If

you stop the pass, they can run. Aaron Luna and Chase Daniel have been effective runners, and have used these skills in the playoffs. If you stop

the run, you have to deal with the pass. Gary Richardson is a TPX All-Area wide receiver. If you play back, they will kill you with the swing passes

and screen passes. It is hard to stop this offense without an effective blitz. But even then, they have all-state linemen like Adam

Ulatoski.

Katy's Offense: Katy will run the ball first and pass the ball to keep the opposing defense honest. During the regular season they rushed for 179 yards a game and passed for 117 yards a game. Leading the ground attack will be James Aston who rushed for 1279 yards and 15 touchdowns on 228 carries. Though not a flashy runner he gets the job done and makes the plays when needed. At quarterback is senior Ben Johnson who passed for 865 yards and 8 touchdowns while completing 58 of 133 passes. Though he will not complete a high percentage of passes he has made the big plays when needed and is dangerous if the defense gets complacent. On the offensive line you have several show stoppers starting with Joseph

Longacre. Two other talented seniors are center Zac Ravenberg and Frank Comito. They are typical Katy offensive linemen who are technically sound and can beat a defender on technique alone.

Carroll's Defense: Bend, but don't break is the motto for the Southlake

Carroll defense. The past two weeks have been their shining performances. After being criticized all year for being a weak link, they

have really played team defense the past two weeks against Irving and Allen. They are susceptible to a big, speedy running back (Like DeMyron

Martin) but they shut down a small, speedy running back (Jamaal Evans). You will have to execute on third down. Southlake Carroll will

get their points. A few stops on defense will be all they need.

Katy's Defense: The Tigers' defense had problems this season allowing 289 yards per game and allowing 193 yards rushing per game. However they use the bend don't break technique as can be seen that they allowed only 15.5 points per game. You can run against the Tigers, their two best players in the front seven are Tate Stewart (DL) and Paul Thornton (LB). The strength of Katy is in their veteran secondary that features all-everything Ryan Mouton and mainstay Michael Parker. Katy should slow down the Carroll passing attack but the question is can they contain Chase Daniel and Aaron Luna? The defense will have to come up with their best performance of the season to win.

Carroll's Special Teams: No one in the state will have a better special

teams unit than Carroll. The big factor in Southlake Carroll's success has been field position. When punting, they tend to net over 40 yards a

punt. Kickoffs regularly make you start at the 20. Occasionally, Hartley will "pooch" it between the 5 and the goal line, causing even longer

fields. Hartley is a threat to kick a field goal at 60 yards out. Kickoff and punt return units for Southlake are stellar, usually resulting in 60-65

yard fields on kickoffs and about midfield on punts.

Katy Special Teams: Would you expect anything but stellar special teams play from Katy? Start off with punter Brandon Szymczyk who averages just under 40 yards per punt. For special mention who harken back to Ryan Mouton who averages 21.75 yards per PUNT return. Will Thompson also ventures back there and he averaged 16.11 yards per return. Mouton also returns kick-offs averaging 24.5 yards per return.

Carroll's Intangibles: They have a 31 game winning streak. They have a

great coach. They don't want to lose. They haven't lost in 5A. They have an aura of superiority in their walk. They have history, tradition and

good fan support.

Katy's Intangibles: They know how to win and to get to the big games. They have perhaps the best coaching staff in the city and play fundamentally sound football. Their fans are very knowledgeable and travel well so they will have a good turnout at the game.

Matt's Pick: Southlake Carroll 37, Katy 21

Alan's Pick: Southlake Carroll 35, Katy 17