The Galveston County Daily News

Three teams, two spots.

It’s a football version of musical chairs for a trio of Galveston County teams heading into the final week of the 24-5A district schedule.

Ball High, Dickinson and Creek are all battling for the final two playoff spots from 24-5A. One will have its season end this week, possibly even with a winning district record.

“I’m definitely happy with us being in the situation we are,” Dickinson coach Warren Trahan said. “We have a chance to get back to the playoffs this year, and that’s what you want at this time of year.”

The scenarios are pretty simple for those final two playoff spots. Ball (5-4 record, 4-2 district) and Dickinson (6-3, 4-2) can each get in with a win. They could also both get in with a Creek loss.

Creek (4-5, 3-3) needs to win and hope either Ball or Dickinson loses in order to get one of those final two spots.

“Our backs are against the wall,” Creek coach Darrell Warden said. “But our backs seem to be against the wall every year and our kids respond. I think we’ll be able to do it again this year.”

Part of the picture could get cleared up Thursday night when Dickinson hosts Clear Springs.

It’s not an easy task for the Gators to win, though. Springs (7-2, 5-1) already has clinched a share of the 24-5A title and can win it outright with a victory.

“On paper, these guys are a lot better than us,” Trahan said. “But I think we can find a way. We are going to play real hard and give them everything we’ve got.

Trahan had the game scheduled for Thursday night before the season, to possibly give his squad an extra day’s rest heading into the postseason.

“If we win, then we can also go scout the team we are going to play in that first round,” Trahan said. “If we get beat, then we’ll probably go to Brazoswood to see if Ball loses and we get in.”

Ball also has a tough task to clinch a spot with a win. The Tors have to travel to Brazoswood and face arguably the hottest team in the district.

Even after a tough home loss to Dickinson last week, Ball coach David Suggs had no doubts his team would be ready for the challenge of playing the Bucs on Friday.

“If you know what is at stake, how can you not be ready?” Suggs said. “I have no doubt our guys will be ready to go.”

Creek has the easiest contest of the three squads, getting to play Clear Lake (2-7, 1-5) at Veterans Memorial Stadium. However, it is hardly is a gimme, considering the Wildcats lost to last-place Alvin last week.

“They are hurt from that loss,” Warden said. “We know we didn’t play well. It was a combination of things that just went wrong.”

One of those was the absence of star receiver C.J. McElroy. McElroy didn’t play because of an injury, and the offense couldn’t get going without their explosive playmaker.

Warden declined to comment on McElroy’s availability for Friday’s game. Even if he does play, the Wildcats still figure to have their work cut out for them.

“There is a lot of pressure on us,” Warden said. “It’s a rivalry game, and I’ve seen a lot of times in this game that the better team doesn’t always win. It’s going to come down to how we respond to the challenge.”

New Record At Creek

With his performance last week, Creek quarterback Jarryd Garza set the new team single-season passing record with 2,099 yards.

Garza is also 120 yards ahead of Springs quarterback Phillip Miller as the duo battles to become the district’s single-season passing king.

Angleton’s Brent Brothers held the previous record with 2,054 yards in 1998.

“That would be a huge accomplishment for Jarryd if he finishes with the record,” Warden said. “There have been a lot of great quarterbacks in this district. He’s fortunate to have good receivers and an offensive line that has matured and gives him time to throw. But if he does finish with the record, it’s an awesome individual accomplishment.”

Sideline Tweets

Can’t make it to the island for the Springs at Dickinson contest? Follow Sports Editor Joshua Buckley on Twitter at twitter.com/joshua

buckley for updates from the sidelines.

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District 24-5A Schedule

Thursday

• Springs at Dickinson, 7 p.m. (Radio 1540 AM KGBC)

• Alvin at Brook, 7 p.m.

Friday

• Ball at Brazoswood, 7 p.m.

• Lake vs. Creek, 7 p.m.