High school football teams across the country are pushing deeper into the autumn schedule this week, with West Texas squads preparing for Week 8 while programs across Florida, Ohio and North Carolina move into Week 9 action.
West Texas matchups set for Week 8
In the Lubbock area, a wide array of public, six-man and private school programs will take the field this week, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Kickoff times across the region are slated primarily for 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Key 11-man public school pairings include Lubbock High hosting Amarillo Caprock, while Monterey travels to Amarillo Tascosa. Frenship will host Frenship Memorial, and Lubbock-Cooper welcomes Coronado. Other area games feature Bushland visiting Shallowater, Seminole traveling to Big Spring, and Brownfield heading to Denver City.
The region’s robust six-man schedule features several evening contests, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported. Aspermont hosts Jayton, Westbrook takes on Borden County, Chillicothe hosts Guthrie, Crowell welcomes Motley County, Turkey Valley plays Paducah, and Lazbuddie meets Lorenzo. Southland is also scheduled to host Wellman-Union.
Among private schools, Trinity Christian travels to Flower Mound Coram Deo. In TAPPS Six-Man District 1 Division III play, Plainview Classical visits Christ the King for an afternoon start, Midland Holy Cross hosts Kingdom Prep, and Lubbock Christian hosts Andrews.
Florida rankings shift amid storm delays
In Florida, teams in the Gainesville region enter Week 9 after recent schedule disruptions caused by Hurricane Isaias forced three contests into makeup dates on Monday, Oct. 12, according to The Gainesville Sun. Those delayed games included South Marion at Bell, Trenton at Branford, and Gainesville High at Lake Weir.
The Florida High School Athletic Association rankings via MaxPreps showed movement ahead of an upcoming update scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15, The Gainesville Sun reported. Columbia holds the top spot in Class 4A and sits at No. 11 overall in Florida heading into an away matchup with Jacksonville-Ed White. Buchholz and Hawthorne each experienced a drop in their strength of schedule metrics, though Hawthorne remains undefeated at 8-0 ahead of a heavyweight showdown against unbeaten Hardee.
Bradford, which is also 8-0 after capturing the Class 2A-District 5 championship against Newberry, hosts Jacksonville-University Christian this week. Meanwhile, Santa Fe is positioned to chase a top-four regional seed when it takes on Dunnellon in Class 3A-District 5 action.
Undefeated clashes in Ohio and big slates in North Carolina
Central Ohio programs are heading into Week 9 of the Ohio High School Athletic Association calendar. The schedule is headlined by a marquee City League showdown between Columbus South and Columbus West, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Both teams carry unblemished 8-0 overall records and 5-0 records in City-South division play.
Other notable central Ohio games include Upper Arlington hosting Dublin Coffman, Olentangy Liberty visiting Hilliard Davidson, and Watterson traveling to face Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit.
In North Carolina, dozens of programs across the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and independent ranks are set to kick off Week 9, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times. Key matchups on the extensive slate include Hough traveling to South Mecklenburg, Weddington visiting Porter Ridge, and Charlotte Catholic playing at Marvin Ridge.
As regular seasons draw closer to November across all four states, outcomes this week will finalize district crowns and determine home-field advantages for the upcoming state playoffs.
