The college football season may be over, but there is still high school football left to be played. More specifically, one team from the Lone Star State, either Southlake Carroll or Westlake will have the chance to win the Texas 6A-D1 state championship later tonight.
Facing off in this must-see battle at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, are Ohio State commit Quinn Ewers and Rivals250 junior Cade Klubnik. Ewers is labeled as the No. 1 overall prospect in the nation, while Klubnik checks in as the ninth-ranked pro-style quarterback on Rivals.
Ewers and his Southlake Carroll (12-1) teammates have a tough task ahead of them as Westlake (13-0) has won 23 consecutive football games. Westlake tasted victory in this type of situation back in 2019, when they won the Division 6A-D2 state championship.
A lot of pressure will be put on Ewers' shoulders to carry his team offensively as his upcoming opponent has allowed just 72 points all season. That comes out to just under six points allowed per contest, an impressive feat.
The Dragons are hoping to continue the momentum they started exactly one week ago. Despite a relatively pedestrian performance by Ewers (44 percent completion for 168 yards and one touchdown), Southlake Carroll defeated the powerhouse Duncanville Panthers 34-27.
Ewers certainly had a bad game, by his standards, last week, but his 2020-2021 campaign leads me to believe he'll bounce back strong today. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder has thrown for 2,091 yards on 67.3 percent completion for 25 touchdowns to just three interceptions.
This was all in just seven games as Ewers missed nearly two months with an undisclosed injury, so those numbers could have certainly been more gaudy.
Before you watch the game, check out what Rivals recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman previously said about Ewers' skill set to get an idea of what to expect from the five-star tonight.
"Ewers has a massive arm with a smooth, natural delivery and accuracy to place the ball anywhere on the field," Spiegelman wrote. "He has fantastic timing with his passes and has a knack for evading pressure both inside the pocket and as he ventures outside of it.
"Ewers is increasingly mobile, which is where his background on the baseball diamond shows, and even more importantly than that, he maintains poise throughout games."
When the game is scheduled to kick off: 7:00 p.m. Central Time/8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
How to watch: TV: Fox Sports Southwest, Livestream: Fox Sports Go
How to listen: Texan Live
If you are not able to access any of these providers, then that is no worries. BuckeyeGrove will be watching the game and providing game updates on both The Horseshoe Lounge and a story on the front page.
Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.
