Top 25 Games of 2018: No. 12 Liberty-Eylau vs. Argyle

Liberty-Eylau plays a tough schedule in 2018.

The Leopards find themselves in a district with Gilmer, Pleasant Grove and Pittsburg, making games with those schools mandatory. They also play defending state champion Carthage in non-district.

But perhaps the toughest test the Leopards will face comes from outside East Texas. Liberty-Eylau will meet Argyle in a Sept. 28 non-district match in Sulphur Springs.

Argyle enters the season as No. 1 in Dave Campbell's preseason 4A D-I poll and for good reason. The Eagles return 15 starters from a teams that went 12-1 a season ago. Linebacker Chase Petter, the reigning 4A defensive player of the year, returns along with quarterback Hayden Clearman and running back Noah Lang. Argyle will once again be a tough team and it's respectable for the Leopards not to shy away from scheduling them.

Liberty-Eylau will have a new quarterback as Isaiah Cross is set to move from receiver. He'll still have plenty of targets, including Dazawion Cooper, who finished just shy of 1,000 yards receiving in 2017.

If Liberty-Eylau can pull off an upset, it would put the Leopards on the map heading into District 6-4A D-II.