Holliday looks to reach semifinals

Several talented Holliday teams have enjoyed successful playoff runs during Terry Wolf's 11-year tenure.

In fact, six times the Eagles have advanced to the state quarterfinals under Wolf's watch. And all six teams have fallen in this round.

When Holliday (10-2) takes the field against Cisco (12-0) at 7:30 p.m. today in Springtown in the 2A Division II quarterfinals, the Eagles will be playing for a chance to advance to the semifinals for only the second time in school history. They'll also be playing for Wolf.

"He deserves it," said senior Sam Shirley, who leads the team with 126 tackles and 12 sacks. "He's a guy with more than 100 wins and his teams have always played hard throughout the years. We want to try and break the curse of never getting to the state semifinals."

Wolf said the Eagles have been riding high ever since Hunter McCain drilled a 51-yard field goal in overtime of their Area round win against Spearman. It showed in last Friday's dismantling of Abernathy, a 33-14 win that Wolf labeled his team's best performance of the year.

But Cisco also enters with confidence having beaten every opponent by at least 10 points, including a 27-14 victory last week over defending state champions Idalou.

The Loboes, who have eliminated Wolf's squads twice since 2006, are always a perennial playoff team much like Holliday and have evidently put last year's 4-6 record behind them.

"They're a team I have a great respect for because of the way they play," Wolf said. "Defensively, they come at you hard and have to make you do things."

The Loboes' offense

has changed a little since the two teams met in the 2009 bi-district round. Cisco isn't an I-formation team anymore, but Wolf said it runs the same type of plays from shotgun.

Quarterback Colton Gale and running backs Hayden Lewis and Mason Reed share ball-carrying duties pretty equally. Lewis and Reed both have surpassed 1,000 yards and have combined for more than 40 touchdowns. Gayle doesn't throw often but has completed 60 percent of his attempts.

Holliday's defense, which held Abernathy to 74 total yards, has been the driving force behind this squad and has forced 41 turnovers this season. Seniors like Shirley, Taylor Hill (107 tackles) and D.J. Boyd (91 tackles, 12 sacks) will be ready for anything Cisco throws at them.

Offensively, quarterback Jacob Cole and Austin Twilligear have rushed for more than 1,000 yards. Shirley is coming off his best offensive output this season (185 yards), but yards will be tough to come by against a Cisco defense that has some size and is fast to the ball.

"We cannot hold anything back," Wolf said. "We've played two great games against them (in the playoffs). We had our chance to be on the right side both times.

"It doesn't look like their team has missed a beat, but we're not intimidated by them."

The winner of this matchup advances to the 2A Division II state semifinals, where either Corsicana Mildred (12-0) or Gunter (10-2) awaits. Holliday's only state semifinal berth occurred in 1996.

Pigskin Prep says: Cisco by 13

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Holliday (10-2)

Beat Windthorst, 35-28

Lost to Breckenridge, 28-21

Beat Iowa Park, 14-12

Lost to Stamford, 35-28

Beat Hirschi, 36-6

Beat Nocona, 28-0

Beat Henrietta, 29-0

Beat Alvord, 28-0

Beat City View, 30-0

Beat Jacksboro, 35-0

Beat Spearman, 23-20 (OT)

Beat Abernathy, 33-14

Cisco (12-0)

Beat Early, 46-14

Beat Clyde, 27-6

Beat Comanche, 43-20

Beat Bangs, 29-19

Beat Hamilton, 31-13

Beat Hico, 44-7

Beat Millsap, 62-0

Beat Rio Vista, 46-0

Beat Tolar, 51-0

Beat Crawford, 48-21

Beat Sanford-Fritch, 61-28

Beat Idalou, 27-14