Brook Hill Hosts Houston Northland Christian In Opening Round Of TAPPS D-II Playoffs

TAPPS Division II

Bi-District Playoff

Houston Northland Christian Cougars (4-6)

Vs.

Bullard Brook Hill Guard

7 p.m. Friday

Herrington Stadium, Bullard

Coaches

• Northland Christian: David Nelson
• Brook Hill: Bobby Brasher

Last week

• Northland Christian: defeated Houston Cypress Christian, 65-42
• Brook Hill: defeated Tyler All Saints, 40-13

Next week

• Winner plays Tyler Bishop Gorman-Hoston Second Baptist winner in state quarterfinal round.

Playmakers

Brook Hill

• QB Grant Hanks, Sr., 6-2, 170 (127 of 205, 2,133 yards, 26 TDs, 6 INT)
• WR Chase McDermott, Sr., 6-0, 180 (36 catches, 606 yards, 2 TDs)
• RB Kris McCune, Soph., 6-0, 180 (172 yards, 3 TDs last week versus All Saints in first start)
• LB Alex Hale, Jr., 6-3, 165
• LB Blake Maddox, Sr., 6-1, 210
• DL Parker Clark, Jr., 6-2, 175 

• QB Michael Masarella, Soph., 6-3, 195 (137 of 260, 2,126 yards, 18 TDs, 10 INTs, 155 carries, 1,027 yards, 15 TDs)
• RB Chandler Smith, Jr., 5-6, 170 (179 carries, 1,109 yards, 17 TDs)
• WR Hunter Pace, Soph., 5-9, 145 (50 catches, 737 yards, 4 TDs)

Just the facts

• Brook Hill secured a good playoff bracket by tying for first place in TAPPS Division II, District 2 with Dallas Christian. A head-to-head win gave the Guard the first seed from District 2.
• Northland Christian finished in a tie for second place in District 4, but finished the year with the league's fourth seed. It did beat Houston Lutheran South Academy in a 53-47 game. Lutheran South won the first seed from District 4.
• The Cougars have an explosive offense. Sophomore quarterback Michael Massarella has more than 3,000 total yards, the team has a 1,000-yard rusher in addition to the quarterback and five receivers all well over 200 yards.
• Brook Hill has dealt with the injury bug. Leading receiver Seth Brasher and leading running back Gabe Lucio suffered season-ending injuries two weeks ago. The offense performed fine last week against All Saints with running back Kris McCune making his first offensive start.

Key matchup: Brook Hill's overhauled offense versus Northland Christian's defense. Considering leader receiver Seth Brasher and leading running back Gabe Lucio have been shut down due to injuries, the Guard are turning elsewhere for answers.

Bobby Brasher's team drew a good first round opponent. Northland Christian is a high-scoring scoring team, but its defense has been consistently lit up when opponents have been able to match the tempo.

Brook Hill should not have any problems matching the offensive pace Northland Christian will try to set. Quarterback Grant Hanks turned in a very good regular season behind a strong offensive line and the supporting cast can stand alone in the absence of their receiving and rushing leaders.

Chase McDermott has been an excellent second option receiver all season and his numbers have increased to reflect Brasher's since Brasher was sidelined two games ago. Running back Kris McCune ran for 172 yards and three touchdowns in his first start against a very defensively oriented Tyler All Saints team.

If Brook Hill sets or matches the high-flying Cougars offense, it has the clear defensive advantage. The Guard defensive unit averaged about 20 points given up per game to Northland Christian's 40.6 points allowed per game.