Marquee game
Brandeis vs. Steele, 7 p.m. Friday at Lehnhoff Stadium: These schools arrived on the local landscape around the same time — Steele in 2005 and Brandeis in 2008 — and found success quickly.
As such, their paths have often crossed. The next encounter will be the sixth meeting. The previous five also were in the playoffs.
Steele (10-0), which recorded its first undefeated regular season since 2015 and claimed its first outright district title since 2016, has won five of the first six meetings, including 31-28 in 2014 and 28-12 in 2012 when the teams met in the state quarterfinals.
Brandeis (7-3), which went 3-3 after opening the season 4-0, defeated Steele 31-16 in the regional final in 2018.

Notable games
Madison at Smithson Valley, 7 p.m. Friday: This rivalry began nearly 20 years ago when the schools first met in a 2002 playoff game in 2002. Smithson Valley prevailed 28-27 that afternoon at the Alamodome and has won 12 of the last 16 meetings in the series. Madison defeated Smithson Valley twice in 2007 — 29-14 during district play and 38-35 in overtime in the Region IV-5A final.
Madison (6-4), which lost to Smithson Valley 28-0 on Sept. 3, has bounced back in a big way since a three-game losing streak midway through the season. The Mavericks have won three straight, a surge that allowed them to capture a playoff berth.
The Rangers (8-2), meanwhile, have lost two of their past three games after a 7-0 start. They lost to Judson 33-32 three weeks ago and Steele 20-6 last week.

Harlan vs. Laredo United South, 7 p.m. Friday at Laredo’s Student Activity Center: These teams square off in the playoffs for the second straight year. Well, sort of. A year ago, Harlan and Laredo United South were supposed to play in a Class 6A Division I bidistrict contest at Gustafson Stadium, but Harlan forfeited a day before they were to play because of multiple confirmed COVID-19 cases or possible close contact within the program.
Hit hard by graduation, Harlan (6-4) finished fourth in District 29-6A. The Hawks will take on Laredo United South (7-3), which is paced by quarterback Luis Cisneros and wide receiver Armando Garza. In last week’s regular-season finale, Cisneros passed for 348 yards and five touchdowns. Garza hauled in eight receptions for 257 yards and four TDs.

Marshall at Eagle Pass, 7 p.m. Friday: This Class 6A Division II bidistrict matchup will be the second time this season that these teams will face off. If the encore equals the original, it could be another thriller.
On Sept. 3, Marshall nipped Eagle Pass 27-26 at Farris Stadium. Eagle Pass rallied from a 21-7 deficit but missed two PATs. That was the difference in the contest.

Tale of the tape
New Braunfels coach Glenn Mangold vs. Johnson coach Mark Soto: Once assistants on former Judson coach Jim Rackley’s staff for three seasons, including as offensive coordinator (Mangold) and defensive coordinator (Soto) on the Rockets’ 2007 state finalist team, they will be on opposite sidelines when their squads meet in a Class 6A Division II first-round game at 7 p.m. Friday at Heroes Stadium.
This, however, won’t be the first time that Mangold and Soto will lead their teams against one another. New Braunfels defeated San Marcos in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 when Soto was the head coach at San Marcos.
Mangold was the offensive coordinator at Madison and Soto was the defensive coordinator at Judson when the teams were in the same district during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The teams played four times during that span, with Madison prevailing 45-28 during the regular season and Judson avenging the setback 24-17 in the playoffs in 2010. In 2011, Judson won 48-7 during district play and Madison won 25-24 in the playoffs.

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1