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Texas high school football playoffs: 2023 UIL 6A Division II bi-district roundup

Best opening round finishes in Class 6A Division II across Lone Star State

Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports

As the opening round of the Texas high school football playoffs continued across the Lone Star State, SBLive Texas is keeping tabs on the latest scores, top storylines and best performances throughout the bi-district round.

Lake Travis scored the week's big upset, sending previously-undefeated Vandegrift home on a 34-yard field goal with a second left.

>> MORE #TXHSFB BI-DISTRICT: CLASS 6A | CLASS 5A | CLASS 1A-4A

In the first round, parity only continued from there in a week that saw high-scoring slugfests, memorable individual performances and one game that never seemed to want to end.

The bi-district round runs through Saturday, the area round is Nov. 16-18, regionals are Nov. 23-25, the regional quarterfinals Nov. 30-Dec. 2, setting up state championship week: semifinals and finals Dec. 7-9 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Here are six Class 6A Division II bi-district games you should not have missed:

BEST OF THE BRACKET: CLASS 6A DIVISION II

DJ LAGWAY, WILLIS ERUPT INTO AREA ROUND

DJ Lagway and Willis are still scoring big in the postseason. 

Sophomore corner Jermaine Bishop Jr. hauled a pick-six back late at the Wildkats (11-0) continued its undefeated season. 

Lagway, the 5-star Florida commit, completed 20 of 33 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns opposite no interceptions, and rushed for 121 yards on 10 carries and three touchdowns for the Wildkats.

Willis plays Tomball Memorial in the area round.

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COPPELL ENDS GUYER'S SEASON

The Cowboys are dancing in playoff win celebration for the first time in six years. 

Coppell rode a stellar outing from junior QB Edward Griffin and a defense that turned Guyer over on downs six times to a 35-21 win on Friday night at Buddy Echols Field in Coppell. 

Griffin completed 17 of 25 pass attempts for 353 yards and five TD passes. How's that for a playoff debut?

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NORTH FORNEY HOLDS OFF GARLAND

North Forney withstood a relentless rush attack to keep its postseason trip alive. 

Kasen McCoy hit Isiah Mayfield for a six-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to give North Forney the deciding lead, 28-21, late on Friday. The Falcons built a two-touchdown halftime lead, which Garland steadily erased in the 

A fourth quarter Garland touchdown tied the game, and it eventually went to overtime. had a shot in Falcons territory in overtime, but North Forney forced a turnover on downs on 4th and 19 on its own 34.

The Falcons (9-2) play Cedar Hill in the area round on Friday. The Longhorns are coming off of a 62-0 shutout of Weiss.

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OAK RIDGE SHUTS DOWN DEKANEY

Oak Ridge stormed back and senior defensive end Favour Awodoyin blocked a 51-yard Dekaney field goal attempt in the final moments secured a 29-28 War Eagles win — and avenging the same matchup in the same round in 2022 that ended in a Dekaney win.

Oak Ridge (8-3) faces Tomball in the area round.

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MCNEIL EDGES BOWIE

For McNeil, its first playoff appearance since 2004 lives another round. 

Sophomore kicker Bryce Wilson booted a 25-yard field goal t hrough the uprights with around a minute to go to complete a furious fourth quarter comeback. 

It was all Bowie early, as Rowen Wells caught a pair of deep balls from Cruz Tello to build a two-touchdown lead, but McNeil stormed back late with 17 unanswered and held on to win 17-14.

The win sets up an area round matchup with No. 11 ranked Cibolo-Steele.

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HOUSTON HEIGHTS PUSHES PAST MEMORIAL

Heights scored more points in a playoff game than ever before in a 42-20 win over Memorial on Saturday. The win books Heights a return trip to the Region III, Class 6A-Division II area round.

Heights built a two-score lead and turned a fumble recovery by senior linebacker Jaylon Bihms into a short touchdown run a few plays later to pull away late.

Heights (8-3) faces Hightower in the area round on Friday at Hall Stadium in Missouri City, a rematch from the same round in 2022.

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx

MORE #TXHSFB BI-DISTRICT ROUND:

Best Texas high school football playoff performances in 2023 bi-district round

Texas high school football playoffs: 2023 UIL Class 5A bi-district roundup

Texas high school football playoffs: 2023 UIL Class 6A Division I bi-district roundup

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Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports
ANDY BUHLER, SBLIVE SPORTS

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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