There are always surprises; teams that were not fully appreciated during the regular season but seen to come out of nowhere and surprise everybody in the playoffs. Who are they? The sleepers of 2024 in 2A and 3A?
Well, Puttbeat has decided not to wait any longer, and prior to the playoffs suggest which teams may be "the sleepers of 2024."
Let’s begin with one of Putt’s favorites, a team that, although it is in a mini=slump may yet claw its way into the crown room: the Franklin Lions of District 11 in 3AD1.
The Lions have already won the #1 playoff spot, but with an unimpressive 6-2 record. Their most praiseworthy win probably has been their 42-21 defeat of Lorena in Week 3. That clear win was followed, however, by two losses, to Celina, 21-59. and to the Legacy school, 41-48.
As unimpressive as those two losses, the Lions still have a great program and this year’s team has until the third week in December to prove that it is close to being as good as the Lions' teams that won a crown each in 2021 and 2022. The Lions of 2023 (14-2) made it to the final, where it lost to Malakoff, 7-14. Mark Fannin is the Lion head football coach; and he’s a good one.
Puttbeat says that 2024 title game in 3AD1 may well be a repeat of last year, Franklin vs. Malakoff.
There’s another very real sleeper in 3AD2, the Holliday Eagles (7-2), whose two losses have been to solid teams, Benbrook, 28-33, and to Jim Ned, 15-17. Thus, the Eagles are but 8 points away from having had a perfect (9-0) season to date. As imperfect as their 7-2 record is, it has been good enough for the Eagles to cinch the #1 district playoffs spot; their bidistrict opponent will likely be either Dublin or Eastland.
In 2AD2, Puttbeat’s sleeper is Collinsville (9-1) of District 8. The Pirates single loss was last week, to another very good Muenster team, 20-34; and it’s the closeness of that encounter which speaks well for the Pirates’ chances in the playoffs. They were 12-2 last year and almost made it to Arlington but were derailed in the regional final by Albany, 52-14, the eventual champion. The Pirates have never won the state football title; maybe, just maybe, this is the year?
2AD1 is always hotly contested. But Centerville is obviously a deep sleeper in the division. The Tigers are #1 in District 12 but must get by Corrigan-Canden on Nov. 8 to claim to district’s top playoff spot. Their only 2024 loss was to Groesbeck, 34-37 in Week 3, Kyle Hardee is the highly respected head coach for the Tigers. Last year, under Hardee, they were 9-3; in 2022, 10-3; and 12-2, in 2021.
As some might describe the Tigers' recent successes, they have been “knocking on the door.” Perhaps they will open it in 2024? First though, the Tigers must defeat Corrigan-Camden to seal the #1 district spot and possibly face Timpson for bidistrict.
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