Super Centex high school football podcast

• Let's hype up La Vega-Celina, a No. 3 vs. No. 1 clash — one of the top matchups in the state. The Pirates dominated Kennedale 41-3 in Week 1, but Celina is a different beast. What does La Vega need to do to spring the upset? And how beneficial are these kinds of tough nondistrict games in the long run?
• Now that we've had a moment, is there an outcome or a big stat performance from Week 1? China Spring RB Chrishon Gregory went of...

The Trib team is back to preview Week 1 of the 2025 Waco and Central Texas football season:

• Who in Central Texas has the best shot to win state?
• Predict a surprise team: Who might emerge out of nowhere this year?
• Which Week 1 matchup are you most excited about?
• After all's said and done, how much can you tell from just one week? Can you confidently predict a team's fortunes based off it?
• It's a weird week with Baylor playing Auburn ...

• Chad and DJ both got to see La Vega up close at The Pfield last week vs. Sealy in the regional final, a game it won 48-30. What impressed you guys most about the Pirates' performance?
• Wimberley is a tough, tough team. The Texans have scored 60 or more points in 3 of their 4 playoff games. Will this be the toughest test yet for La Vega's defense on Friday night in Georgetown?
• When you pull out a game like Hamilton did last week, 1...

• Great defense is just fun to watch, so of the seven Centex teams we have left in the playoffs — La Vega, Marlin, Hamilton, Axtell, Bremond, Abbott and Oglesby — who are some of your favorite guys to watch?
• The Hamilton Bulldogs face the Axtell Longhorns in an enticing Friday-night matchup this week in the region final. These two teams met in the playoffs two years ago with a 35-21 Bulldogs win, and undefeated Hamilton is now hav...

• They say it's tough to beat a team twice in a season, and the La Vega Pirates will test that theory as they face off with West Orange-Stark on Friday in Magnolia. We've talked about the Pirates being a sleeper team for Jerryworld — what is it about the Pirates that suggests they could knock off the Mustangs this time?
• We still have seven teams alive in the playoffs in Class 2A: Hamilton, Axtell, Crawford, Marlin, Bremond, Mart a...

• The playoffs are finally here. And we get some really good matchups right out of the gate. What's the best local matchup this week in the first round?
• Gatesville coach Aaron Hunter is fond of calling running back Rayshon Smith "the most underrated player in Central Texas," but he's probably not the only one. Who else is flying under radar, probably unfairly?
• The playoffs are tons of fun, as we all know, with neutral-site games an...

• It took long enough, but La Vega has finally made it into the state rankings at No. 10. Obviously there are stout teams in Class 4A Div. II like Carthage, West Orange-Stark and Bellville, some of whom are in the Pirates' region. So what does a path to Jerryworld look like for La Vega?

• If it's Week 11, that means a lot of games have playoff implications, including West-Whitney, which is a longtime rivalry. Who you got in this one...

• It's been quite a painful season in Central Texas, as the Super Centex All-Injury Team includes Cash Pullin, Carlos Talton and Donovan Jones of the Midway Panthers; London Smith and JD Bell of the University Trojans; Whitney's Jontae Johnson, China Spring's Matthew Battles, West's Coy Klish and Axtell's Levi Leathers. Of the guys on the shelf, is there one who's most indispensible and if one of these guys were to return, would he...

• It's election time: That means stump speeches — but in this case, we're going to stump for the Super Centex awards. Yes, this is a bit premature — there's still a lot of football to play, including deep playoff runs on the horizon — but if the season ended today, who would get the nod for Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year?

• The Game of the Week, or maybe Game of the Year, i...

• In the history of classic football rants, Dennis Green's reigns supreme: "They are who we thought they were! And we let them off the hook!" A lot of interesting scores came out of the first full week of district play last week. Who was who you thought they were? And were there any surprises?

• In the 21st century, there has been no more consistently good Centex rivalry than China Spring-La Vega. The Pirates are clearly the di...

1. Quality games abound across the board this week as district play gets into full swing. Who can really elevate themselves as a contender if they were to win this week?

2. Right now we have 8 public schools ranked in the statewide polls: Robinson, Hamilton, Mart, Abbott, Jonesboro, Aquilla, Oglesby and Iredell. But which unranked team do you think is likely to go deepest in the playoffs?

3. Is there any district out there th...

Brice Cherry, Chad Conine and DJ Ramirez are back for more #TribFridayNight football on the Super Centex podcast.

• Last year, three of our “C” schools – China Spring (8-4), Crawford (6-5) and Chilton (13-2) – combined to go 27-11. This year they’ve struggled to a 2-12 start to the season, including an 0-5 mark for the Pirates. But they’ve all got good coaches and some promising players, plus tough nondistrict scheduling, and t...

• It's district time already for a few local loops, including 12-6A (Midway, Temple et al), 7-2A (Axtell, Bosqueville, Dawson, Valley Mills, Itasca, Italy, Rio Vista) and also 10-2A (Mart, Bremond, Chilton, Wortham, Frost, Hubbard, Meridian, Goldthwaite). Which of these districts do you expect to be most competitive? 

• District play kicks off with a bang with No. 1 Mart facing No. 4 Bremond. This is seemingly the de facto ...

• We have eight Centex 11-man teams who are undefeated: Midway, University, Connally, Groesbeck, Troy, Hamilton, Axtell and Bosqueville. Survivor draft time: Who would you take to be 10-0 at the end of the regular season? 

• On the flip side, Crawford is in a very unusual 0-3 position, and the Pirates face Axtell this week, meaning 0-4 is a real possibility. Crawford has had 10 double-digit winning seasons since 2010 and a...

Brice Cherry, Chad Conine and DJ Ramirez are back for more #TribFridayNight football on the Super Centex podcast. 

• We've got a dream Centex matchup Thursday with China Spring playing University at Waco ISD Stadium. These are two teams that don't often meet, which makes us wonder: What face-off would you like to see in a "fantasy" matchup?

• Back to reality: Is China Spring capable of pulling off the upset? Or is it an ...

Brice Cherry, Chad Conine and DJ Ramirez react to the opening-week action of 2024 on #TribFridayNight football on the Super Centex podcast. 

• Mart, China Spring and Lorena all lost in Week 1. All three of these local programs are accustomed to deep playoff runs. Which of these 0-1 teams do you think is likely to go the deepest in 2024? 

• It was a good start for first-year head coaches in Week 1, including at Midwa...

Brice Cherry, Chad Conine and DJ Ramirez are back for another action-packed season of #TribFridayNight football on the Super Centex podcast. 

1. What questions do you have that you might learn the answers to in Week 1? 

2. With a high-profile top 10-type matchup, China Spring-Franklin is one Week 1 highlight of two heavyweight teams who were denied 3-peats last year. Who is better equipped to go 1-0? 

3. Wha...

1. We blinked, and here it is. We have two undefeated teams playing for state championships this week in Mart and Oglesby. Yet both are underdogs. Let's start with No. 2 Mart first, who will face No. 1 Albany again, just like last year. It was 41-21 Albany last year, viewed as a big upset. Will payback be the factor that pushes Mart over the hump?

2. Neither team has played a lot of close games this year, with the Panthers having to...