One thing is for certain, there will be a team from the South Plains playing in the high school football state semifinals next week. There could be two.
With that in mind, here's a look at who's waiting on the other side. In the interest of not getting ahead of myself, I'll save any potential Lubbock-Cooper semifinal preview material for next week.
Roosevelt (13-0) and Abernathy (12-1) tangle once again Friday after the Eagles won a 58-56 thriller during district play Oct. 22. This time, it's for the Region I-3A Division II championship. If it's anything like the first meeting, the fans at Jones AT&T Stadium are in for a doozy.
I don't know if there's a favorite in the Region II final, but I'd give Gunter a slight edge if I had to pick. The Tigers (13-0), the defending regional champion, take on fellow unbeaten Holliday (13-0). For what it's worth, Gunter finished No. 2 in the final state rankings and the Eagles were No. 4. Then again, Childress was in between them and lost in the first round, so take those numbers with a grain of salt.
It's the sixth consecutive trip to the state quarterfinals for Gunter, which won the 2019 title. The Tigers also won the state championship in 2016 and reached the title game in 2017. All that to say, it's a program that won't be intimidated by the bright lights.
Neither will Holliday. The Eagles have reached this round in two of the past three seasons. And they'd love to exact some revenge.
Gunter eliminated Holliday in three consecutive years from 2017-19, including in the regional final the latter two seasons.
This year's Tigers are doing what Gunter does. The pistol offense, led by quarterback and Texas Tech commit Hudson Graham, averages 53.4 points per game. The team has scored at least 41 in all but one game, when it scored 28 in a 22-point win over Whitesboro, still alive itself in 3A D-I.
The Tigers have scored 62 points in each of their first three playoff games. But the defense has been doing its share, too.
The 20 points allowed in Gunter's third-round win over Dublin last week were the most all season. Seven times this year the Tigers have allowed seven points or fewer.
Holliday got past Bells 21-14 in the regional semifinals. The Eagles defense has proven to be stout, allowing 12.1 points per game. The team gave up its most points two weeks ago in a 35-28 win over Leonard.
So Holliday is certainly battle-tested, too. The Eagles have been in tight contests and come out on top. Gunter hasn't been pushed in that way.
The Tigers have won every game by at least three scores, and their closest game was nearly three months ago. That speaks to the dominance of Gunter, but it would be interesting to see how the team reacts if Holliday is able to stay in the game late.
And if you're into things like comparing results against common opponents, the Tigers beat district mate Bells 41-14 on Sept. 30. The Eagles actually beat Bells twice, the first time was 27-14 on Sept. 17.