TNG Division 1 Bracket: Ranking the Offenses and Defenses (Reg. Semis)
Ranking the offenses and defenses 1-16 in the Division 1 field
Let’s now take a look at the Division 1 bracket, specifically, and how all 16 teams remaining rank in adjusted offensive and defensive scoring. We’ll look at how the teams compare to each other this season, but also against last season and their 3-year average on this side of the ball. First, some deeper context around the top offenses and defenses then the full 1-16 list below!
The Offenses
Spring Westfield is almost a touchdown better than the #2 offense in the Division 1 field. Their AOS of 28.9 means that they score some four touchdowns more than what their opponents allow versus all other competition. They always have exceptional skill talent, but in comparing the improvement in this year’s numbers versus last season, it’s clear how much of an impact QB PJ Hatter has made following his transfer in from Klein Oak in the offseason.
The Chaps of Austin Westlake are “down” versus the ‘21 Cade Klubnik led Chaps, but still a very formidable unit at #2. This was to be expected when you lose one of the top signal callers to ever play Texas High School football, however holdovers RB Jack Keyser, WR Jaden Greathouse, WR Keaton Kubecka, and the offensive line are more than most in the state can handle.
North Shore has undergone a bit of a change in approach with the midseason injury to starting soph QB Kaleb Bailey. They now line up WR David Amador at quarterback and he does a great job of using his legs to put a lot of stress on the opposing defense with his overall athleticism. RB Choo Choo Johnson, soph RB D’Andre Hardeman Jr., junior WR Terrence Guillory, and the list goes on. This is an offense that stands to be great for a long time.
The Woodlands is currently around a field goal better offensively than they were last year and some ten points better than their 3 year average. The improvement can be attributed to junior QB Mabry Mettauer, who stands tall at 6’6, and the overall improvement he’s made from sophomore to junior year as a passer and athlete. Surrounding Mettauer is a deep group of talented skill players in WR/RB Arkez Gomez, WR/RB Jason Williams, WR Branson McShaffry, WR Patrick Rabel, WR Quannel Farrakhan Jr, RB Jacoby Mitchell, WR Jackson Bolender, and WR Shane Walker. This is an offense which thrives on getting behind defenses for big plays and also uses its wealth of skill talent, with a bit of creative design, to make up for the lack of a true feature running back.
While the Duncanville Panthers are behind last year’s offensive pace by a little over a touchdown (see graphic below), they still possess great talent at every position. Junior RB Caden Durham is the engine that powers this offense. He is coming off of a 309 yard, 5 touchdown performance against DeSoto just a couple weeks ago. Sophomore QB Keelon Russell is coming on strong and has weapons like senior WR Lontrell Turner and soph WR Dakorien Moore, among others
The Defenses
Humble Atascocita is the first of two District 21 teams that impressively sit atop this list. Coming into the year, no one outside of Humble would’ve predicted it’d be Atascocita garnering the top spot over district rival North Shore. What makes this defense so tough is that it starts right up front with all 375 pound two-gapper Samu Tuamanupepe who collapses just about every pocket he faces. If you scheme to go around him, you have top 2-3 linebacker in the state in Jadon Ducos patrolling the middle of the second level. Ducos is very fast sideline to sideline and doesn’t miss. The secondary is also full of first off the bus looking athletes.
Talk about edge benders capable of single-handedly blowing up offensive gameplans, Duncanville’s junior edge Colin Simmons does just that. This unit has held all but three opponents to 10 or less points and two of those happened during blowout junk time. Length, size, and speed that perhaps no one can match from front to back. Just a couple weeks ago, these guys completely dismantled a DeSoto offense that entered that contest as the #1 offense in AOS.North Shore has been a mainstay at or near the top of any top defenses list for a long time now and this year is no different. You can see in the table below that they’re right at the level of the last three year’s Mustang defenses that all walked away with rings on their fingers, ‘nuff said. Just a wonderful combination of size, speed, football IQ, and scheme year in and year out. The individual talent in the secondary has to be tops in the state with Jayven Anderson, Jacoby Davis, and soph Devin Sanchez.
Speaking of units with rings on their finger, we shouldn’t be at all surprised to find Austin Westlake right here. The front seven is once again anchored by 6’6 edge terror Colton Vasek who holds up just as well against the run as he does getting after the passer. Someone with his size and talent has the ability to completely wreck offensive game plans at this level and he usually does just that. What makes them so difficult to face is that the rest of the guys outside of him in that front seven specifically are very good, too, and they’re still riding two years worth of supreme confidence that they’ll shut down whomever lines up across from them.
Prosper was a solid defense one year ago and hit another gear from day one this season. Just like the few above them in this list, the Eagles are among the most well drilled defensive units you’ll see. The numbers certainly back that up, as they held good offenses like Rockwall and Denton Guyer to their lowest offensive outputs of the year. These aren’t isolated cases either, McKinney and Allen both struggled too.
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