2014 Playoff Bracket--Road to the Championship

[102and4]

Well, we now know who will be playing in the final in Zephyr next Saturday: TAPPS returning champs San Antonio Castle Hills and last year's TCAL State Champs (and TAPPS newcomers) Waco Live Oak. The teams both 45'd their opponents this weekend and are probably each anticipating a much closer game in the finals.

Predictions?

 

[6man4me]

Castle Hills win by 45

No way Castle Hill 45s Veritas.

I was beginning to think you were correct on your "No way Castle Hills 45s Veritas" prediction because I vastly underrated the Veritas onside kicking game. Veritas added a possession early in the game with a perfectly executed onside kick which resulted in 8 points and then returned a CH onside kick for a touchdown for 8 more points. Those 16 points nearly allowed Veritas to hold off Castle Hills to a win by less than 45. They also had 2 more onside kicks that were executed perfectly and could have resulted in added possessions. But even with the superb onside kicking game, they were not quite able to deny Castle Hills the 45 point win.

 

[6man4me]

Well, we now know who will be playing in the final in Zephyr next Saturday: TAPPS returning champs San Antonio Castle Hills and last year's TCAL State Champs (and TAPPS newcomers) Waco Live Oak. The teams both 45'd their opponents this weekend and are probably each anticipating a much closer game in the finals.

Predictions?

Only two like opponents this season with both Live Oak and Castle Hills 45ing Dallas Lakeview while Live Oak beat Cedar Park Summit by 49 and Castle Hills beat them by 41. Most impressive game to me is the fact that Live Oak only lost to Calvert, a tough UIL team that is still playing, by 12 points. Live Oak has been a powerhouse in TCAL for the last 5 years and always features a multi-faceted attack which is hard to defend. I think Live Oak will take a 2 touchdown lead into half time but the Castle Hills power running attack will wear them down in the 4th quarter. My prediction is a Castle Hills win by 64-58.

 

[SWRaider]

Castle Hills will roll Veritas. when they played earlier Castle Hills was without the stud and he is probably worth 45 points just by himself.

Waco Live Oak will roll Denton Calvary my half.

Waco Live Oak vs Castle Hills for the championsip

45?
Maybe...I drove through the rain to see Castle Hills play this past weekend. Orange was good and came out strong...even leading for most of the 1st half but Castle Hills shut them down at about mid-way through the 2nd quarter. It was bad weather but #5 (I think he's 23 now) was impressive - but not 45 points worth. He's got a good team around him. Don't get me wrong...he's incredible and had multiple indescribable runs. But if I remember correctly they shared the wealth out there with 3 or 4 other teammates scoring multiple times too. #10 ran the ball more than #23 did and he's an old school bruiser. #3 carried some of the load too as did #1 (maybe 3 times). Any of the other running backs were just as effective behind that line. One of those boys on the line, the center, is beyond huge...he's gotta be north of 350 pounds. I think they could put just about anyone back there to run the ball behind that line.
I guess what I am trying to say is this isn't a one man show out there at Castle Hills....they are pretty solid in the run game. They didn't throw much Saturday due to the weather (I assume) however when you can pound the ball like that you probably don't need to throw it much.
I do think Castle Hills wins...I'll save my Finals prediction until after I see the Waco/Denton game! Headed North to see it this Saturday...best time of the year!

Welp, I said #5 was worth 45 points by himself and wouldn't you know. The first times these 2 teams met #5 didn't play and Castle Hills lost.
#5 plays in the semis and has over 500 yards and CH wins by 45. I'm not very good at math, but I think I was pretty close.
If Waco Live Oak can contain #5 they will win, if they can't then CH wins by 2 scores

 

[Game Traveler]

Castle hills wins by 30. Waco Live oak cant stop that running game.

 

[SWRaider]

Castle hills wins by 30. Waco Live oak cant stop that running game.

Have you seen Live Oak play?
The game will certainly be won and lost based on whether or not live oak can stop the run.
I don't think CH will be able to stop the Live Oak offense. They can run or throw from both tight and spread. Live oak has played a great non district schedule that included Calvert, Allen Academy, Lometa, Waco Methodist. CH has played a soft schedule this year and last and it will hurt them come Saturday

 

[freeagent]

If Live Oak can stop Dante Johnson, they will probably win.

But it's much harder than it looks. One hint ... stay on offense as long as you can. The 40-second play clock can be your friend.

 

[falcor]

I went to see Castle Hills again... traffic on I-35 was a nightmare and I figured Waco would handle Denton anyway.
So, humble pie for me regarding #5 (8 this week). He ran like a man among boys...I don't know that I could even describe it. He has some excellent blocking though...it's not all him but when it counts he can make 2, 3 or even 4 guys all miss on one play. And often it took 2, 3 or 4 to bring him down. He scored 7 rushing and threw for 2 more (by my count). Between him and #10 they accounted for nearly all of the points as #10 does it all...kicking, catching, blocking, rushing
Veritas did jump up 16-0 early but Castle Hills stayed calm cool and collective as they just hammered away. They have some BIG boys out there. #17 looks incredibly intimidating, #90 is enormous, #10 looks like an ox, #1 is stout, #14 is tall and built, and #5/23/8 is a freak of nature. Even #44 scored...and he's strong too (and judging by his sideline behavior very passionate)! And that's just the guys that I can remember who played...they have sideline kids that must be young and look to be equally large... And the "not as big" boys can all play too. Defensively, #3, #4 and #6 all look about the same size but are all very good defenders and have zero fear. They all 3 stuck their head in on multiple tackles. That defense is good...it had some mistakes early on but did enough to get the job done.
A fan in the stands told be that they have an incredible strength and conditioning program and it shows. Those boys are apparently well coached, well rounded, and seem like just good kids. I don't remember a play during the game where they were not helping the other team up after a big hit.

So, I'm going to go with Castle Hills IF they do what they've done the last 2 games...block, let #5 run and not give up anymore big plays on defense. If Castle Hills gets 3 or more stops on defense they win hands down...no one can stop them on offense.
If they do all of that... they win by 18.

 

[6man4me]

Castle hills wins by 30. Waco Live oak cant stop that running game.

CH has played a soft schedule this year and last and it will hurt them come Saturday

Now this is an interesting comment, and in my opinion very uninformed.

Last year Castle Hills played in and won District 3, which was easily the toughest district in Division 2. District 3 placed 3 of the 4 teams in the semi-finals last year and the two teams in the championship game. How does playing and beating Freddy twice and Seguin Lifegate twice a soft schedule? Add to that very tough district schedule, a very good Kerrville team that was in Division 1 last year. How does someone win a state championship and play a soft schedule when the last four games were playoff games? With that rationale, then the entire Division was soft last year.

This year they again played in the toughest District in Division 2 based on number of teams in the playoffs and how far those teams advanced. Two of the teams in their District made it to the semifinals. Castle Hills also played an excellent SA Feast team that will be playing in their 5th straight state championship game this weekend and a Seguin Lifegate team that made it to the State Quarterfinals game in Division 3 and won a state championship just two years ago. Six of their ten regular season opponents were playoff teams which means of their 13 games this year, 9 have been against playoff teams. The combined record of the teams they play this year is 83-67. which is not too shabby considering that 11 of those 67 losses were to Castle Hills. This website has them beating the #3 and #4 teams in Division 2 to advance to the state championship game.

If your argument is that Live Oak has played a tougher schedule then that could be argued, but in no way have they played a soft schedule. I would like to see any justification for that comment.

Their schedule the last two years will not hurt CH. Playing in the best district in the Division both years is a benefit. What may hurt them is the outstanding program Waco Live Oak has built over the past 5 or 6 years, the outstanding Live Oak players that are very well coached, the great balance of running and passing they display on offense and the two things that all great teams possess - excellent blocking and tackling. Their blocking and tackling is very reminiscent of what I consider the two best non-UIL six man teams over the past ten years - Fredericksburg Heritage and San Antonio FEAST. An additional note, not only have Freddy, FEAST and Live Oak built great programs, but from the contact I have had with all three programs, they do it the right way demanding the players display excellent sportsmanship and conduct.

Good luck to both Live Oak and Castle Hills. I think it will be a great game.

 

[SWRaider]

If you want to look at district schedules this year, I would agree that Castle Hills was in a tougher district this year, but the non district schedules this year and the teams schedules last year are not even comparable. That is my argument. The toughest teams that CH played this year would be Veritas and FEAST, the rankings on here have those teams ranked #89 and 65; on maxpreps they are ranked 83 and 36. Veritas and FEAST are their only top 100 opponents.
The toughest opponents that WLO has played are Calvert (#9 and #9) , Allen Academy (#23 and #35)

If you look at last year there isnt even a question
Last year CH played KOLH (ranked #83 and #96) Seguin Lifegate (ranked #77 and #79) Fredricksburg Heritage (ranked#72 and #77)
Last year WLO played Stephenville FAITH (ranked #68 and #87) Allen Academy (ranked #35 and #65) Gordon (#48 and #47) Waco Methodist (#19 and #45) SA FEAST (#29 and 42) and Calvert (#16 and #19)

So yes Waco Live Oak has played a much tougher schedule.

 

[6man4me]

If you want to look at district schedules this year, I would agree that Castle Hills was in a tougher district this year, but the non district schedules this year and the teams schedules last year are not even comparable. That is my argument…..So yes Waco Live Oak has played a much tougher schedule.

If your argument is that Live Oak played a tougher non-district schedule then just say that. What you said is that CH played a soft schedule this year and last year.

 

[freeagent]

If you want to look at district schedules this year, I would agree that Castle Hills was in a tougher district this year, but the non district schedules this year and the teams schedules last year are not even comparable. That is my argument…..So yes Waco Live Oak has played a much tougher schedule.

If your argument is that Live Oak played a tougher non-district schedule then just say that. What you said is that CH played a soft schedule this year and last year.

Well, I'd beg to differ ... the two toughest districts in TAPPS 6 man are the Dallas D1 district with Rockwall Heritage and Covenant in recent years and D2/D3 district with Freddy Heritage (5-2 in state finals and on way to another) as well as Seguin Lifegate and last year, Castle Hills. Last year, in D2, three of the four teams in the semifinals came from the same district which says a lot for the competitiveness of that district. Tough, strong districts make tough, strong playoff teams.

I may agree that Live Oak played a tougher non-district schedule, but they are going to have their hands full playing a Castle Hills team at full strength ... it takes several (at this level) to bring down Dante, and I've seen a number of times where you think he's stopped and the next thing you see is a blur cutting across the field while the timekeeper is adding points to the board.

I'm sure Live Oak is looking at CH film vs FEAST (Dante did not play in the loss to Veritas). The best way to stop CH is to keep the ball as much as possible, but even that may not work. I remember Lifegate's semi-final game against CH last year ... CH had only 5 or 6 offensive plays all the third quarter but all but one of them were Dante touchdowns.

 

[SWRaider]

Yes IMO Castle Hills has played a soft schedule in comparisson to Live Oak
As far as I know there is not a strength of schedule on here but there is one on Max Preps.
In 2013 Castle Hills had a SOS rating of .4 which ranked 9th out of all TAPPS D2 teams last season
In 2014 their SOS is 2.8 which ranks 7th out of TAPPS D2 teams

In 2013 Waco Live Oak had a SOS rating of 25.8
In 2014 Waco Live Oak has a SOS rating of 12.1

So yes again Live Oak has played a much tougher schedule when compared to CH

 

[falcor]

does it really matter who had the toughest SOS? They are obviously the 2 best teams in the state at this level and they have to play each other Saturday. Who cares about who had it harder/easier!
Side note - does anyone know if TAPPS is selling a weekend pass for all 3 games?

 

[Game Traveler]

Castle Hills will win.

 

[102and4]

Final Score
San Antonio Castle Hills 80
Waco Live Oak 46

Dante Johnston is definitely a difference maker. I think he either ran or passed for all but one of Castle Hills touchdown's today. Everyone on the boards this week said the only way Live Oak would win would be to stop him, and they were right. Stopping him would certainly be a tall order for any six man team.

Live Oak boys after the game said Castle Hills demonstrated great sportsmanship on the field as well, so congratulations to Castle Hills for the win and for having a team of great kids.

10,2&4

 

[falcor]

This is my first year to be around 6-man and I have to say that whatever they are doing at Castle Hills should be bottled up and sold. I have come to understand (from reading the message boards) that they cut their teeth by learning from programs like Seguin Lifegate and Fredericksburg Heritage. Competing against teams like Geneva and FEAST probably helped too. But I don't see any records from Castle Hills prior to 2010...so I'm guessing they have built their program up to back to back state championships in less than 5 years? Incredible! I spent time in the stands just talking to the people of Castle Hills yesterday and can understand why they are being shown the favor of winning right now. Sure, the hard work, right coaches, right athletes (Dante Johnson and company) and a handful of other things that obviously must go your way are vital to pull off something like that but the fans were the epitome of good sports. They are what a Christian school should look like (at least yesterday they were). They cheered their team and all that I could hear was positive.
That being said, it seems like Castle Hills is doing things right from the top down. However, regarding the game. Castle Hills was determined. You could tell from the 1st play of the game when Dante Johnson ran up the middle for a 50+ yard TD. Waco came back converting multiple 4th downs and scored making it 8-6 Waco and then somewhere near the middle of the 1st quarter it was 14-14. But then Castle Hills turned it on...and they were laying down the wood on the Waco boys. It was a physical, physical game and they just wore them down. There were probably at least 6 plays that could have gone either team's way and they all went for Castle Hills. A stripped ball but the RB (#10) was called down. Some dropped passes by Waco, 2 that would have been for TDs. A 4th down measurement. A tipped (multiple times) ball that resulted in a Castle Hills TD. But when it was all said and done there was no answer for #5 Dante Johnson. For example (and there are about a dozen I could reference) on 2 plays back to back he simply took over...one on defense where he caused a fumble on a 4th and goal and then on the very next play he goes 79 yards for a TD. This kid is something special. And he had some excellent help ... the blocking was above average. He threw to 3 other teammates for TDs (#10, #6 and #3) and 2 other boys scored as well. And Castle Hills blocked all but 1 PAT and converted on all but 1 of the PAT they kicked (they missed some 1 point attempts but were around 6/7 on kicks?). Either way, it all adds up and they just didn't relent. Their only offensive mistake was a fumble by the QB who was simply trying to make a play late in the game when Castle was already up by 40. Waco is a good team that just happened to run into a buzzsaw of a team from San Antonio. I suspect that they'll be back next year. As for Castle Hills...wonder what happens now that Dante is gone? Oh, but he does have a younger brother....maybe they just reload and surround him too...we'll see!

Next years way to early predictions:

TOP 4 TEAMS in DII:
Orange CC
Waco Live Oak
Castle Hills
and Austin Veritas (however, I really was thinking about being a homer and going with Cedar Park...not just yet)!

Congrats to all the playoff teams this year and to Castle Hills

 

[freeagent]

Falcor ... I think Castle Hills has only been playing football for 4 years or so, hence the lack of records prior to then. The school and church have been around for many years.

The addition of Dante two seasons ago (he had played for San Antonio Town East in the past, but I understand his family attends Castle Hills church; he had transferred to SA Clark 6A UIL during his sophomore year before enrolling at Castle Hills last year) was probably the major thing that put them over the top, but even in those early years, Castle Hills players and coaches were serious about the game.

 

[goodyear75]

Free agent...thank you for your kind words. Castle Hills is blessed with great coaches and players. The fan base is strong and the school is supportative. Although Dante will be missed, as he is an outstanding young man, I believe the program will continue to be a contender in the years to come. The off season program is a critical part of all the students at Castle Hills for every sport. It is a joy to watch the students participate at all levels of sports. The most important part of any program is to be gracious in losing and humble in victory. God needs to be honored in both winning and losing.