Six Galveston County teams have qualified for the University Interscholastic League football playoffs this season.
Ball High, Clear Springs and Dickinson qualified in Class 5A, while Friendswood and Santa Fe qualified in 4A. Hitchcock also made the playoffs in Class 2A.
Ball High
The Tors (5-5 overall, 4-3 district) are making its first playoff appearance since 2006. The Tors reward — a first-round matchup against defending state semifinalist Fort Bend Hightower.
Ball was put in the Division I-5A (big school) bracket, despite having the enrollment of a 4A school this season. The reason the Tors still went big school is because when the last realignment was done in the 2008, Ball had a larger enrollment than both Springs and Dickinson.
Ball will take on Hightower at 2 p.m. Saturday at Alvin Memorial Stadium.
Clear Springs
The Chargers (8-2, 6-1) clinched the outright District 24-5A title and the top seed from the district in the Division II-5A bracket.
Springs will take on Fort Bend Elkins at 6 p.m. Saturday at CCISD’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Springs coach Clint Hartman said he actually wanted to play at a neutral location but lost a coin flip with the Elkins coach. Hartman won the next flip, though, to have the game on the Chargers’ home field.
Dickinson
The Gators (6-4, 4-3) are in the playoffs for the third straight year, getting the No. 2 seed from the district in the Division II-5A bracket.
Dickinson will face Fort Bend Willowridge, the 23-5A surprising district runner-up, at 2 p.m. Saturday at The Rig in Pearland.
Last season, playing out of the same postseason seed, the Gators advanced to the regional semifinals before falling to eventual state champion Katy.
Friendswood
The Mustangs (7-3, 5-2) meet a familiar foe in the first round of the Division I-4A playoffs.
Friendswood will host Lamar Consolidated at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Henry Winston Stadium. It’s the first home playoff game for Friendswood at the stadium.
Friendswood and Lamar have faced off in the postseason two of the previous three seasons. Last year, Friendswood won the matchup and went on to win the Region III-4A title. The squads have won the last two region titles.
Santa Fe
The Indians (6-4, 3-4) are in the playoffs for the third time in school history, thanks to a lucky coin flip Friday night.
Santa Fe will take on El Campo at 7 p.m. Friday at West Columbia.
The Indians won in a three-way tiebreaker against Manvel and Texas City for the final playoff spot from 24-4A, when Santa Fe coach Jay Buckner won the coin toss. He won another toss Friday, making Santa Fe the home team for the playoff contest.
The Indians have not ever won a postseason game.
Hitchcock
The Bulldogs (4-4, 4-1) are in the postseason for the third consecutive season. They will face Taft in a Division I-2A game at 6 p.m. Saturday at El Campo.
Hitchcock has won its first round playoff game the past two seasons.
TAPPS
Two county school qualified for the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools playoffs.
O’Connell (5-4, 3-1) will host its first playoff game since 2001, when it takes on Bryan Brazos Christian at 7:30 p.m. Friday on the island.
Bay Area Christian (5-5, 4-1) also will host a playoff game, taking on Bryan St. Joseph at 7 p.m. Friday.
