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Dee Johnson (3)

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Dee Johnson (3) cross the goal line to complete a 38-yard TD pass from Collin Drake. Laylon Spencer (7) provided a seal block that allowed Johnson access to the corner pylon.

No. 1 Ennis falls flat to Wolves; Four second-half turnovers, D-line gashed

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In a season that began with a return of the scripted helmet logo from the three state championships under Head Coach Sam Harrell, to a stunning 42-28 loss to unranked Mansfield Timberview, Ennis’ dream of another crown ended with a resounding, unscripted finish. It wasn’t supposed to end in such a fashion.

Ennis-Timberview clash in Midlothian

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Friday at the Midlothian Bowl two teams with a taste for big time football will go head-to-head in the Area

Round, the winner continues to play, the loser abruptly calls it a season.

No. 1 ranked Ennis (9-0) and Timberview (9-1), who bolted to near identical Bi-District triumphs, the Lions by 49-0 over Liberty, the Wolves breezing past Kimball, 49-7, will play for a chance to advance to the third round. The victor meets the Lovejoy (11-0) vs. Everman (5-6) winner next week.

Comings and goings

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Ever-moving like a grasshopper in a hen house, tailing athletes and coaches requires a GPS system or a current search engine. Or, as alltime great sports journalist, the late Blackie Sherrod used to open a similar style column, he would begin… “scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to...”

Region II reduced from 16 to 8 teams

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Region II, with four of the state’s Top Ten teams, saw each of them advance on the first weekend of playoff games. No. 1 Ennis and No. 2 Aledo hammered opponents, while No. 8 Lucas Lovejoy and No. 10 Frisco also won their Bi-District openers.

The 16 teams in each region were reduced to eight, slicing the overall figure from 64 to 32. After this weekend there will be just 16, four in each region. Here is a recap of Region II’s games last weekend:

Bi-District Results

Ennis 49-0 Liberty

Ennis 49-0 Liberty Timberview 49-7 Kimball

Ennis Drubs Liberty with 49-0 Veridct

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Scoring the first seven times they had the ball, No. 1 ranked Ennis clobbered Frisco Liberty, 49-0, on Friday in a Class 5A Bi-District playoff game at Lion Memorial Stadium.

Senior quarterback Collin Drake accounted for all six touchdowns in the first half, two on runs of six and nine yards, and four through the air on throws of 11 to Laylon Spencer, 26 to Karon Smith, 11 on a swing pass to Dee Johnson, and 19 to Ashton Ehly.

Sudden Impact Players

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Should the No. 1 ranked Ennis Lions make a deep run in the Class 5A playoffs, they will need key players performing at a high level. To win their sixth championship, they must win six straight playoff games.

Several Ennis buffs were asked which six players, three on offense and three from the defensive unit, could carry the maroon-clad team up to Pride Rock as the 2020 Jungle Kings. Here are their Six-Pack of King Cats.

Dondre Johnson

The Ennis Lions will win state if these key players play with consistency:

OFFENSE

Lights, camera, action: It’s Prime-Time!

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Many observers believe the 2020 state football champion will arise out of the 16-team field that is Region II of Class 5A. Of course the last two years has seen Aledo win their eighth and ninth state titles. This year they suffered a 27-17 setback at home to Class 6A Cedar Hill (7-1) on Oct. 16.

From the start of the season until now, Aledo has been ranked No. 2 behind front-running Ennis. The Lions, 8-0, are the favorite, though the their path to the final four is littered with landmines.

Which Class 5A region is toughest?

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Sixty-four teams are entering the Class 5A Division II state playoffs next weekend, 16 in each of the four regions. Which one most resembles a gauntlet for teams to survive?

It’s Region II, which includes No. 1 Ennis and No. 2 Aledo, has four teams ranked in the Top Ten. Region III has three. Whoever emerges out of Region II will face Region I, with two in the Top Ten, in the state semifinals. Region IV has but one team among Dave Campbell’s Top Ten list.

Sweet 16 Lions unbeaten, host playoff

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When Jay Tullos, head of EISD schools, handed the District 8-5A championship trophy to Head Coach Sam Harrell on Thursday following a 56-3 rout of Greenville, it was the 16th time an Ennis football team went undefeated in the regular season.