“Wildcats crack Top 25 after district-opening win”

It's been a great start to the Texas high school football season for the Sulfur Springs Wildcats, passing every test thrown their way so far. After a 4-0 preseason in which the Wildcats were able to play with the lead throughout, their first big test of the year came in last week's district opener, when they were tasked with getting on the road to face the Aubrey Chaparrals in 13th place.

In the grand scheme of things, rankings mean very little to a Texas high school football team. While recognition for their success is nice, for fans and the media it's usually nothing more than something to talk about.

Every week, Dave Campbell's Texas High School Football releases its weekly rankings and updates them based on performance. Although the Wildcats made back-to-back postseason appearances and opened their season with four straight wins, they were on the outside of the top 25 every week.

In this week's update, Sulfur Springs finally received some recognition, thanks in large part to a huge 35-14 road win over the previously ranked 13th-ranked Aubrey Chaparrals to open district play. At 5-0 and with a clean sweep, the Wildcats made the biggest jump of anyone in 4A D1, climbing to 16th place.

A big narrative this season, not just for the Wildcats but for all teams in District 7-4A, has been how tough the district is. With this week's rankings update, the district now has five teams in the top 25 of Dave Campbell's computer rankings.

Celina is ranked No. 1 after arguably the biggest statement win in all of Texas last week. The Celina Bobcats opened district play by traveling to then second-place Frisco Panther Creek and defeating them by a final score of 42-7.

Despite the massive 35-point home loss, the Panthers didn't fall far behind, still landing at No. 5 in this week's computer rankings update. Aside from the opening loss in district, Panther Creek has put together an incredible performance, taking on its first four opponents defeated by a combined score of 189-33. With a road trip to Paris this week, they will look to bounce back and get back in the win column.

With a 16-spot jump from No. 32 to No. 16, the Wildcats are now the third-ranked team in District 7-4A. Sulfur Springs is still a perfect 5-0 and has done so in dominant fashion, averaging 38 points per game while allowing an average of just 14.6 points per game.

Just three places behind is district rival Wildcats of Paris, which climbed six places from 25th to 19th. While they may have been overtaken by Sulfur Springs, Paris had a big win of its own in the district opener, beating previously ranked No. 5 Lake Dallas on the road. The game came down to the wire and Paris was able to hold on in the end and win with a final score of 28:23.

Finally, the Falcons of Lake Dallas find a way to just sneak in and enter the week ranked 24th. Their home loss to Paris saw them drop from 5th in Dave Campbell's official rankings to 24th in the weekly computer rankings.

The weekly computer rankings aren't just limited to the top 25, but also rank every single team in the state. Only two of the district's seven teams find themselves outside the top 25, although one isn't far off.

Aubrey experienced one of the state's biggest falls ever, falling nineteen spots from No. 13 to No. 32 after the home loss to Sulfur Springs. Although they are fully capable of climbing back into the top 25, they have a difficult task ahead of them as they face No. 1 ranked Celina this week.

The other remaining team in the district is the Braves of Nevada Community, which had a bye last week and will open district play this week with a home game against Lake Dallas. With a record of just 1-3, Community is currently ranked No. 81 in the state.

Exactly halfway through their season, the now No. 16-ranked Sulfur Springs Wildcats will take a well-deserved break this week before resuming district play next week with a home game against No. 1-ranked Celina. The Wildcats' remaining schedule for the season is as follows:

Friday, October 11th against #1 Celina

Friday October 18th @ #19 Paris

Friday, October 25th vs. Community (Seniors' Evening)