Top 25 Games of 2016

It's been a couple of years, but Lufkin and The Woodlands will renew acquaintances in district play later this season. The District 12-6A bout should go a long way in determining the league champion. The clash, set for Sept. 30 at The Woodlands, checks in at No...

The Newton Eagles will certainly be tested by the time the competitive District 10-3A Division I action begins. Several elite programs dot Newton's non-district schedule, including its Week 2 opponent, Silsbee. This inter-class showdown checks in at No...

If Liberty-Eylau, Nacogdoches and Center can't it done, maybe Atlanta can be the team to slow Gilmer's roll. The Buckeyes are already making their fourth appearance in our countdown of the top 25 games of 2016. Their Oct. 28 date with the Rabbits in Atlanta checks in as the 13th-most anticipated matchup of the upcoming regular season...

For the previous two seasons, the district championship came down to the clash between traditional state powers John Tyler and Ennis. No longer aligned in the same district, these two square off in an anticipated non-district matchup on Sept...

It was one the better games no one expected to see the last time Gilmer and Center got together. The Buckeyes roared out to a 27-7 lead late in the third quarter in last season's rainy, Class 4A Division II third-round playoff game the day after Thanksgiving. Then they scored on a two-point conversion out of the swinging gate formation to add insult to injury. Then, Center quarterback Kyle Parks r

When the 2016 football season kicks off in a couple of weeks, there will be plenty of great games on the first Friday night. One of those is Atlanta at Henderson on Aug. 26, which checks in at No. 16 on ETSN.fm's list of the top 25 games of 2016...

Dallas Christian runs TAPPS Division II, District II. The past two years, Dallas Christian has come within a game of running the state. Dallas Christian will travel a dangerous place Sept. 23 for its district opener against Tyler Grace Community.

Want to see two teams near midseason form in Week 2? Carthage at Liberty-Eylau is the game for you. A rare contest between the Bulldogs and Leopards on Sept. 2 checks in as the 18th-best game as ETSN.fm counts down the top 25 games of the regular season. The two teams last met in the 2011 playoffs.

Rivalries don't come much more intense and closely-contested as Longview-Lufkin. The Lobos travel to Lufkin for the season opener on Aug. 26 for the teams' fifth meeting since the beginning of 2014. It ranks No. 19 on ETSN.fm's list of the top 25 games of 2016...

Harmony is a team trending up this preseason on the heels of a Class 3A Division I area round game playoff appearance, a drop to 3A Division II and a nice performance earlier this summer at the Texas State 7-on-7 Championships. Do the Eagles have what it takes to knock down two-time defending state champion Waskom when the lights turn on at Longview's Lobo Stadium for a Saturday night showdown...