Wildcats Crack Top 25 After District Opening Win
The start to the Texas High School football season has been a great one for the Sulphur Springs Wildcats, answering every test that’s been in their way so far. After a 4-0 preseason in which the Wildcats were able to play with the lead the entire way, their first big test of the year came in last week’s district opener when they were tasked with hitting the road to face the #13 ranked Aubrey Chaparrals.
In the grand scheme of things, rankings mean very little do a Texas High School football team. While recognition for their success is nice, it’s usually nothing more than something for fans and media outlets to talk about.
Each week, Dave Campbell’s Texas High School Football puts out their weekly rankings, updating them based on performance. Despite making back-to-back trips to the postseason and opening their season with four consecutive wins, the Wildcats were on the outside looking in of the Top 25 each week.
In this week’s update, Sulphur Springs was finally given some recognition, thanks in large part to a huge 35-14 road victory over the previously ranked #13 Aubrey Chaparrals to open district play. Now, sitting at 5-0 and coming off a big statement victory, the Wildcats saw themselves make the biggest jump of anyone in 4A D1 jumping all the way to #16.
A huge narrative around this season, not just for the Wildcats, but for all teams in District 7-4A, have been how tough the district is. With this weeks update to the rankings, the district now features five teams in the Top 25 of the Dave Campbell’s computer rankings.
Celina finds themselves sitting atop the rankings at #1, after arguably the biggest statement win in all of Texas last week. The Celina Bobcats opened district play by traveling to the then #2 ranked Frisco Panther Creek and blowing them out by a final score of 42-7.
Despite the huge 35-point loss at home, the Panthers didn’t fall far, still coming in at #5 in this week’s update to the Computer Rankings. Aside from their district opening loss, Panther Creek has looked incredible, beating their first four opponents by a combined score of 189-33. They will look to pick themselves back up and get back into the win column with a road trip to Paris this week.
Jumping 16 spots from #32 to #16, the Wildcats are now the third-highest-ranked team in District 7-4A. Sulphur Springs is still a perfect 5-0 and have done so in dominant fashion, averaging 38 points per game, while only allowing an average of 14.6 points per game.
Just three spots behind them are the district rival Wildcats of Paris, who climbed six spots from #25 to #19. While they may have been passed by Sulphur Springs, Paris had a huge statement win of their own in the district opener, beating previously ranked #5 Lake Dallas on the road. The game came down to the wire, with Paris ultimately able to hang on and win by a final score of 28-23.
Finally, the Falcons of Lake Dallas find a way just to sneak in, entering the week ranked #24. Their home loss to Paris saw them fall all the way from #5 in the Dave Campbell’s Official Rankings to #24 in the weekly computer rankings.
The weekly computer rankings don’t stop at the Top 25 however, as they go on to rank every single team in the state. Just two of the seven teams in the district find themselves outside of the Top 25, though one of them isn’t far off.
Aubrey took one of the largest tumbles of anyone in the state, falling nineteen spots from #13 to #32 after the home loss to Sulphur Springs. While they are more than capable of climbing back into the Top 25, they have a tough task ahead, having to travel to #1 ranked Celina this week.
The other remaining team in the district is the Braves of Nevada Community, who had a bye last week and will open district play this week with a home match against Lake Dallas. With a record of just 1-3, Community currently sits as the #81 ranked team in the state.
At exactly the halfway point of their season, the now #16 ranked Sulphur Springs Wildcats will get some well deserved rest this week, before resuming district play with a home game against #1 ranked Celina next week. The Wildcats remaining schedule for the season is as follows:
Friday, Oct. 11 vs #1 Celina
Friday, Oct. 18 @ #19 Paris
Friday, Oct. 25 vs Community (Senior Night)
Friday, Nov. 1 @ #24 Lake Dallas
Friday, Nov. 8 vs #5 Frisco Panther Creek
