The Indians trailed 28-21 at the break.

One question left unanswered, however, was whether or not the Mavs could deal with a first-class team delivering a first-class full-court press.

The answer to that question would determine how far the Mavericks would go.

It ended in the Region I-2A semifinals on Friday in a 65-42 loss to Idalou.

Hampered by 28 turnovers, including 15 in the first half, the Mavs trailed by 11 at the break and 20 at the end of three quarters.    

Robinson returns for his senior year in 2011, but the Mavs will lose five valuable seniors in Austin Felts, Jarred Moyland, Cory Howie, Marcus Bartee and Billy Bob Brown.

Afterall, Huseman had won state championships at NHS in 2005 and 2007 before being reassigned.

Instead, she took the head coaching job at Roby -- winning her third state title in her first year with the Lady Lions in 2009.

She didn't rub anyone's nose in it -- though she could have. And there were certainly those detractors who claimed that she won the third title due to an abundance of talent already on hand.

Perhaps, perhaps not.

But after losing the majority of that talent, Huseman guided Roby to the regional final this year, where the Lady Lions fell to Turkey Valley on Saturday.

I'd say the lady has been vindicated -- thoroughly.

See you on the road.

Any event in which luck is a common factor, really isn't a sport.

By luck, I mean that a skater can do everything right and have his night ruined by someone who doesn't. 

And it's a common occurrence.

How often have you seen a guy skating along, threating to win a medal, only to get wiped out by someone who failed to keep their feet? How often have you seen the slowest guy in the group win a race because all three of the guys ahead of him crashed into each other?

That's not a sport. 

That's a crapshoot, and frankly, you can keep it.

See you on the road.

If it were seeded, you'd have teams from the Panhandle going against teams from the Gulf Coast in the first round.

Can you imagine a Texarkana/El Paso first-round game? Even meeting halfway would mean a seven or eight-hour bus ride, bare minimum.

But I am in favor of seeding the regions, and let me give you an example of why: Take a look at the Class 2A Region I girls bracket.  Now it's bad enough that Top-10 programs from Wall, Nocona and Shallowater are in the same region ....but here, they're in the same side of the regional bracket!

Ridiculous!

This means that only one of the region's top three teams can reach the regional final. It cheats the teams, it cheats the fans and it cheats the game.

This could easily be rectified by seeding each region.  Yes, the travel would increase, but it wouldn't be a burden.

What do you think?

See you on the road.

If one were to ask me which one of them has the best chance of getting to Austin for the Final Four, I'd say the defending state champion Roby girls in Class 1A Division II and Wylie in Class 3A are the most likely area teams to get there.

I would alo list several teams who have a moderate chance, among them: Early, Merkel, Cisco, Bangs and Ballinger in Class 2A. And the Eula girls can't be discounted in Class 1A-Division I.

Longshots would include 3A Brownwood, 2A Jim Ned and Class 1A Division I Strawn.

How do you see it?

First off, at the 1A and 2A levels, I like the fact that the UIL has split both classes into two separate divisions at the season's outset.

This has been a long time coming, and it should eventually be used from 3A-5A.

There's some extra travel involved, but the new system will pump life into a multitude of programs which have been buried at the bottom of the enrollment game for decades.

Teams like Baird, Ranger, Cross Plains, Hawley, and many others, too numerous to mention, have just been given a level playing field.

Other schools, who have enjoyed playing the role of "bully on the block," will now be playing teams with a similar enrollment.

This is a terrific idea, which will bring a dash of parity in areas where it is desparately needed.

My second thought is on travel.

Though I like the new system and accept that increased mileage is a natural byproduct, I think it is borderline criminal that San Angelo Central is being shipped to the Panhandle again.

A 610-mile round trip for a district game is insane, and you can't tell me that that there isn't some way of shipping SA Central to its old digs in the little Southwest Conference.  

Ridiculous.

West has to concern himself with Anson this week, and Ritchey can't afford to take his eye off an underrated Merkel team.

But as fans, we are free to look beyond Friday night, and it doesn't take long to see that these two programs are again on a collision course, with the district title likely to be decided in Week 7.

Last year's game was nothing short of a classic, with Clyde scoring two late touchdowns to win 20-6 on its home field. The venue switches to Cisco this year, but I'm guessing that the majority of the 6,000 people who showed up for last year's matchup will be on hand again -- perhaps even more.

For those of you who are planning on getting a seat for the rematch, don't forget, the bleachers were jam-packed 90 minutes before kickoff last year, so get there early.

See you on the road.

Final score: San Saba 17, Bangs 14 in overtime -- pushing the Dillos to 5-1 on the year and 2-0 in district play.

Keep in mind, San Saba hasn't had a winning season since 2000. It hasn't sniffed the post-season since 2003, and it had lost to Bangs -- the defending district champs -- seven straight times dating back to 2002 by an average margin of 40-7.

In short, Friday's win was nothing less than huge for San Saba, and might be the biggest victory the Dillos have seen in 10 years.

Congratulations to San Saba coach John Pannell, and a special thanks to his pressbox crew, which went out of its way to make visiting media feel welcome.

See you on the road.

They are: Ballinger's A.J. Keesee, Eastland's Jarred Moylan, Graham's Case McCoy, Coahoma's Josh Paniagua, Big Spring's Tyler Tannehill, Stamford's Hayden Nauert, and Jim Ned's Jordan Gibbs.

Remember the old days when you were considered "pass happy" if you threw for 175 yards per game?

Football is evolving, even at the high school level, with 7-on-7 leagues, professional camps, and of course, the advent of the spread offense.

Do you like the way the game is heading?  Or are you more old-school?

Your opinions are welcome.  

See you on the road.

Good question.

Through the first four games I've covered this season (including one Thursday night contest) the combined tally has been 124-7!

Needless to say, I'm ready to see some competitive football.

Whether or not that will take place tonight is largely up to Bangs (2-0), which has the physical ability to compete with Cisco (3-0).  The question is, do the Dragons BELIEVE they compete with Cisco?

 See you on the road.

Unfortunately, very little went right, beginning with a stubborn storm cell which hovered over the Big Country most of the evening. The strong wind gusts, lightning and rain forced a delay, pushing the opening kickoff to 9:10 p.m., with a second 30-minute delay coming in the middle of the first half.

Then there was the Graham Steers, who limited the Bulldogs to just 96 yards in total offense and five first downs in a 34-0 win.

Not the best of beginnings, but there is reason to take heart.

This Graham team is one of the best 3A clubs in Central Texas, and is certainly one of the 20 best in that classification in the state. The Bulldogs will not face a team this good for the rest of the season.

Clyde will be back.

It is our intention to provide statistical information on every Big Country team. But in order to accomplish this, cooperation from each coaching staff is vital.

A friendly reminder is usually all it takes.

See you on the road.