Posted: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:30 PM - 8,629 Readers

By: Rick Cantu

Anyone who witnessed Friday's Giddings-La Grange game should send a thank-you card to both teams for reminding us why football is special in Texas.

La Grange coach Wayne Walker said the experience was memorable, despite being on the wrong side of a 36-32 score. The game had a little bit of everything: big plays, a strong comeback by the winning team, a packed stadium, and a struggle that wasn't decided until La Grange quarterback Josh Schneider's last-second pass to the end zone fell incomplete.

Anyone who bought a ticket left Leopard Stadium knowing they had witnessed a good show. Speaking of good shows, it got me thinking of the best story lines of the season. Here is one man's opinion of the top 10:

No. 10: Canyon Lake, boasting the school's first senior class, has grown up in a hurry. The team that got accustomed to 60-0 drubbings is 5-3 after Friday's 48-27 victory in Llano.

No. 9: Seriously, who figured Lake Travis would be undefeated after eight games? Give credit to junior Michael Brewer, who replaced the greatest quarterback in state history (according to Texas Football magazine). Garrett Gilbert is still the standard of passers, but Brewer's stats are amazing: 24 touchdown passes, one interception, 8-0 as a starter.

No. 8: Central Texas has an abundance of exciting quarterbacks. Lake Travis' Brewer and La Grange's Schneider top the list that includes Bastrop's Josiah Monroe, Giddings' Connor Wehr, Killeen's Michael Cummings and Burnet's Dillon Chafin.

No. 7: Luling dedicated the rest of its season to head coach Robert Dean after he died last month. Luling, 1-4 at the time of his death, has won three straight games to even its record and become a playoff contender.

No. 6: McCallum was devastated by the death of head coach Pat Honeycutt last offseason. After losing their first two games this year, the Knights have won five straight and lead District 26-4A at 3-0.

No. 5: If defense wins championships, check out Belton. The Tigers (7-1) had consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1978 and held A&M Consolidated to one first down for an entire game.

No. 4: Del Valle (7-1) is back. Led by quarterback Jozef Cortez and running back Aaron Chisholm, the Cardinals are 3-0 in 17-4A and have a winner-take-all game against Hays, also 3-0, on Friday.

No. 3:The toughest district in Texas? One could make a case for 25-3A, which boasts three teams in the state's top 10 poll: No. 8 Sealy (8-0), No. 9 Giddings (7-1) and No. 10 La Grange (7-1).

No. 2:Bob Shelton, who eclipsed 300 victories last year, was inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame this summer. Coaching with the same fire he had at the beginning of his career 45 years ago, the Hays coach has his team fighting for another district crown after starting the season 0-5.

No. 1:Bastrop is 8-0. I repeat, Bastrop is 8-0.

*  Story Contributed by: Rick Cantu