With three games remaining in the 2023 Texas high school football regular season, the Meridian Yellowjackets find themselves fighting an uphill battle in their quest to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Despite a valiant effort by the Jacket defense, the Wortham Bulldogs wore down Meridian, powering their way to a convincing 48-10 victory last Friday night at Jacket Stadium.

Despite riding a three-match winning streak, the Meridian Lady Jacket volleyball found out the hard way what it will take to challenge for the Class 1A volleyball state championship. Coming off a convincing straight set victory in their District 18-1A opener last week, the Lady Jackets could not find an answer for the top-ranked and defending district champion Blum Lady Bobcats last Friday night.

The five Bosque County six-man squads may no longer have a district all their own, but that doesn’t keep the rivalries from carrying on through non-district games. And certainly, the favored Morgan Eagles visiting the Walnut Springs Hornets on Homecoming Night produced a wild and exciting showdown with a postseason atmosphere.

Historically, making the Texas high school football playoffs has always been an expectation for the Clifton Cubs. Fresh off an open date in the schedule and fully loaded, the Cubs embark on a tough District 13-3A battle in hopes of returning to the Class 3A, DII postseason for the second straight season.

Wrapping up the first round of District 17-3A competition with a dominating victory, the Clifton Lady Cubs find themselves right where they want to be as they turn into the home stretch of the 2023 Texas high school volleyball season. But make no mistake about it, they want more.

Facing a bigger and faster team expected to challenge for the Class 2A, Division II state championship, Meridian proved no match for the top-ranked and undefeated powerhouse Panthers as Mart mauled the shorthanded Yellowjackets, 64-0, last Friday night at Mart ISD Athletic Complex. With the Jackets playing without three injured starters in the District 10-2A, Division II opener, Mart (1-0 in district, 5-0 overall) piled up 568 yards of total offense as Panther junior quarterback De’Montrel Medlock tossed four touchdown passes and ran for three more scores.

Winning back-to-back matches heading into District 18-1A competition, the Meridian Lady Jacket volleyball team began its surge at just the right time. And after an unexpected delay last Friday, the momentum carried the Lady Jackets to a district opening victory.

As the Clifton Lady Cubs volleyball team wraps up the first round of District 17-3A competition firmly in third place, the Lady Cubs hope to head into the second round with some momentum as they take aim at seventh-ranked Grandview and 17th-ranked West. By winning 13 of their last 16 matches, the Lady Cubs (3-2 in district, 1812 overall) host the Tolar Lady Rattlers (11-12) for a non-district clash at 6 p.m.

Making quick work of the Lingleville Cardinals, the 16th-ranked Iredell Dragons won their fourth straight game to an explanation mark on their dominant position as the cream of the crop in Bosque County six-man football. Morgan bounced back for an impressive victory as the Eagles geared up for a run at another playoff berth, but the young and surprising Kopperl Eagles dropped their second game of the season -- two loses by a total of two points.

Making their third straight road trip to wrap up the non-district schedule, the Clifton Cubs found out the hard way that there’s no place like home. Although Clifton led the entire game and held a 10-7 advantage through most of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs forced a late Clifton turnover that proved costly as Millsap capitalized to score in the final two minutes of the game to pull off a dramatic 14-10 come-from-behind victory over the Cubs on Homecoming Night at Bulldog Stadium.