Winning a district opener can create excitement for high school football teams.
Snyder and Hermleigh did that last week, but Ira must regroup. Borden County will open district play Friday.
Snyder defeated Big Spring in the District 3-4A Division 1 opener and got the advantage in the playoff chase. Four teams will qualify for the playoffs.
The district’s four representatives will play a team from District 5-4A — Argyle, Burkburnett, Decatur, Gainesville, Sanger and Wichita Falls Hirschi — in the bi-district round.
Snyder is off this week and will return to action Oct. 27 at Wylie.
Hermleigh didn’t clinch a playoff berth with a win over Ira last week and the loss did not eliminate the Bulldogs, but it’s going to be a tougher road to the playoffs.
Hermleigh is off Friday before beginning a three-game stretch with O’Donnell, Borden County and Klondike. The Cardinals will play at O’Donnell Oct. 27.
The Bulldogs will host O’Donnell Friday.
Borden County is the defending state champion and remains the No. 1 team in the sixmanfootball.com Class 1A Division 1 poll.
The Coyotes won all six non-district games by halftime, outscoring their opponents, 366-46. Borden County will play at Klondike Friday in its district opener.
The district’s two representatives will play a team from District 6-1A— Garden City, Sterling City, Robert Lee and Westbrook — in the bi-district round.
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The Snyder Lady Tiger volleyball team will host District 5-4A leader Wylie at 6:30 p.m. today.
Snyder is in third place, a half-game behind Brownwood. The Lady Tigers will play at Brownwood Friday and finish the regular season by hosting Big Spring Oct. 24.
The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs.
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Local cross country teams will compete at regional meets Monday.
The Snyder boys’ team will be among the field at the Region 1-4A at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock.
Borden County’s girls’ and boys’ teams advanced to the Region 2-1A meet at Angelo State University. Five runners qualified for the regional.
Ira’s Hunter McCowen and Isaac Cabrera and Hermleigh’s Colton Messick and Tyler Thompson will run in the boys’ race. Ira’s Ainsley Manning qualified for the girls’ race.
The top four teams and runners who are among the top 10 finishers on a non-advancing team will also qualify for the state meet.
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High school girls’ basketball teams will begin afterschool practice Wednesday.
The opening scrimmages are scheduled on Oct. 28. Snyder will host Albany while Ira scrimmages at Roscoe. Hermleigh and Baird will scrimmage in Hawley. Borden County will participate in a three-team scrimmage Seagraves and Brownfield in Seagraves.
High school boys’ teams may begin afterschool practice Oct. 25.
Larry McCarty is the sports editor of the Snyder Daily News. He may be contacted at mccarty@snyderdailynews.com. Results of local teams and breaking news will be posted on the Snyder Daily News Facebook page.