TNG Division 2 Bracket: Ranking the Offenses and Defenses (Reg. Semis)
Ranking the remaining offenses and defenses in the Division 2 field
Let’s now take a look at the Division 2 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 defenses and then the full 1-16 list below!
The Offenses
The Katy Tigers had two down offensive performances to start district play, but outside of those two they’ve posted nothing but 20+ adjusted offensive scoring performances. You likely don’t need us to tell you what the Katy offense looks like at this point, we’ll just confirm that it’s the same Katy you’ve seen for the last 30 years. Mississippi St. verbal commit RB Seth Davis is once again the gamebreaker that dots the I-formation for the Tigers. The offensive line is a really good, big, and a deep unit that is battle tested already against some really good fronts.
Dripping Springs is another example of an offensive unit that has a lot of games together under their belts. Senior QB and Baylor verbal Austin Novosad, along with WRs Kyle Koch (junior) and Garon Duncan have connected for 40+ TDs in their careers together. The combo of senior RB Kade Curry and soph Jack Tyndall don’t garner a ton of headlines, but they’ve produced over 1,000 yards and around 20 touchdowns.
DeSoto Eagles at the top of this list shouldn’t surprise anyone who has been following our offensive leaders all year. The headliner that powers this explosive offense is the junior QB DJ Bailey to Texas verbal commit WR Johntay Cook connection. This duo has connected 45 times and 13 of those have gone for a TD. In the backfield, they employ a committee approach with senior transfer and also Texas verbal Tre Wisner, junior Jaden Trawick, and soph Deondrae Riden Jr.
Byron Nelson enters the playoffs with a very talented, balanced, and highly experienced offensive unit. This core group of QB Jake Wilson, RB Aaron Darden, WRs Gavin McCurley and Landon Ransom has been giving defenses fits now for 2-3 years. These are largely the same guys that put up 36 points in the 3rd round last season during a one score loss to eventual state finalist and top defense, Denton Guyer. Darden is a 1,000+ yard back, McCurley and Ransom are 1,000+ yard, double digit TD type wide receivers.
The Southlake Carroll Dragons enters the playoffs breathing fire in the form of a career four year starter, 7,500+ yard, 105+ touchdown back in Owen Allen. Talk about an absolute machine. In their game a couple weeks ago against a good defensive team in Byron Nelson, Allen ran for over 200 yards and 5 TDs. SLC lost their starting quarterback, senior Kaden Anderson, around midseason, but as long as they have #2 in the backfield, they’ll be just fine. Junior WR Jacob Jordan is really, really good.
The Defenses
Southlake Carroll checks in as the #2 rated defense in adjusted scoring in D2 even with a 4.4 point regression from last year’s standout unit. Similar to Westlake in D1, even though they regressed as expected following some significant graduation losses, Carroll still boasts a phenomenal defense that could carry them deep into the playoffs. This unit sets up in a 4-2-5 and all four across the defensive front have non-stop motors and are able to generate penetration through the middle. When you’re as well-coached as Carroll is defensively, the names on the back of the jersey may change, but the production stays at a high level.
The Vandegrift Vipers have typically been a strong defensive team, but this year’s unit, despite returning few starters from last year, has made a dramatic jump in the defensive ranks statewide, posting greater than an 8-point per game improvement in how they’re able to limit other team’s offenses. Even looking at their 3-year average, this Vandegrift D is well ahead of their typical output. Outside of senior DE and SMU verbal Daemian Wimberly, this isn’t a group that wows with size like some other programs, but they wow with execution and playing great team defense.
Denton Guyer finished the regular season with a 100 grade. Last year’s group would’ve appeared at #6 on this list, they got even better this year and give up roughly five points less per game. When you can pair a quarterback factory (see here) with elite defenses, championship rings are going to quickly follow. That may well be what we’re in the process of seeing here. This unit has been remarkably consistent from week to week, as in no let-downs or underperformances. The studs… 5-star and Notre Dame verbal DB Peyton Bowen, younger bro DB Eli Bowen, and national top 250 LSU verbal DB Ryan Yaites, to name a few. However, this isn’t a defense that’s only carried by the star names, you’re not going to get close to -20 adjusted defensive scoring if that was the case.
Another group of Tigers, though less of a surprise, checks in at #5 in the Division 2 bracket - the Katy Tigers. This Katy defense is performing right in line with how Katy defenses have performed for decades and the year-to-year consistency is as impressive as the magnitude of the performance. This Katy defense is anchored by their depth and quality along the defensive line where 6 different players can play without any dropoff at all. The secondary, led by Utah commit, track and smack safety Jonathan Hall and Arizona commit Arian Parish brings leadership and toughness to the backend of the defense. From a scheme perspective, it’s a unique 3- 4 look the Tigers have offered for a very long time and one that many defensive coordinators/programs around the state have learned from. The bottom line here, it’s a scheme that suffocates opposing run games and forces offenses to pieces together long, clean drives to put points on the board.
Easily the most surprising name at the top of this list are the Dripping Springs Tigers, who jumped right into Class 6A and posted a 99 graded defense compared to all seasons in our database. Not only did they make the class jump look easy, but they improved dramatically as a defensive unit compared to last year’s output. As potent as their offense is, the Drip D has proven to be equally impressive, led by Nathan Prehar anchoring the D-line and Bryson Amrine leading the linebacking corps. In their three biggest games of the year, this unit held Vandegrift to roughly three touchdowns below their offensive average, Westlake to almost FOUR touchdowns below their average, and Lake Travis the following week to a couple touchdowns below their offensive scoring average. This ranking should translate very well to the playoffs.