There is no school this week across Killeen ISD, but there are football games –– five of them –– Friday night.
Two KISD squads have home tilts while three will hit the road as district play continues and the season reaches Week 8.
District 8-5A-I
Leander Rouse at Chaparral
7 p.m. Friday, Searles Stadium
The Bobcats (2-4, 0-3) are on home turf for the second consecutive Friday, aiming to halt a three-game skid with the Raiders (2-4, 1-2) in town.
Chaparral held Leander scoreless through two-plus quarters and led the visiting Lions last week 7-0 before surrendering the final 19 points in an eventual defeat.
Rouse also has intentions of stopping a short backward slide following back-to-back losses to Cedar Park and Georgetown.
District 12-6A
Temple at Killeen
7:30 p.m. Friday, Buckley Stadium
The Wildcats (4-2, 1-1) visit the Roos (0-7, 0-3) to rekindle a long rivalry that took a brief two-year break when Killeen played in Class 5A from 2022-2023.
The Kangaroos –– led by quarterback D’Angelo Ingram and an explosive group of receivers, including Raymond Howard who had his biggest game of the year last week (111 yards, two TDs) against Shoemaker –– have the district’s top passing offense with more than 324 yards per game.
Temple’s defense is second behind Midway, yielding 335 yards and 26 points a night.
Harker Heights at Copperas Cove
7:30 p.m. Friday, Bulldawg Stadium
The Knights (5-2, 3-0) are the team to beat right now in 12-6A. The two-time defending champions have won three in a row to start league, defeating opponents by an average margin of 34 points.
Heights’ previous two outings, during which it scored a combined 126 points and allowed 30, have been particularly convincing.
Last week against Bryan, running back Kaden Butler surpassed 1,000 yards for the season and now sits a close second (1,137-1,013) behind the Vikings’ Jevalen Wade. Butler’s backfield mate, Zy’Riyan “C2” Evans had four total TDs a week ago, and Tyler Johnson leaped to the district’s top spots in receptions (54) and yards receiving (782). Quarterback Hudson Humble has a 5-to-1 TD to interception ratio while completing 79.5 percent of his passes.
Shoemaker at Bryan
7:30 p.m. Friday, Merrill Green Stadium
The Grey Wolves (4-3, 1-2) found their footing last Thursday versus Killeen and can continue their upward climb through the standings in an important road test against the Vikings (3-3, 1-1).
Shoemaker’s run defense (129.7 yards allowed per game) is the district’s best, and that could come in handy against Bryan, which features 12-6A’s most effective rushing attack (298.5 yards).
District 10-5A-II
Ellison at Waco
7 p.m. Friday, Waco ISD Stadium
Ellison (3-3, 1-0) did itself a solid by routing Belton in the teams’ district opener last week. The victory gave the Eagles a leg (wing?) up on chasing down one of the four playoff spots. They can make a leap in that direction this week against the Lions (2-4, 0-1).
While Ellison’s offense continues to produce quality numbers (465 yards, 42 points per game), the defense delivered its best two performances in back-to-back games, allowing 28 points to Odessa High in the non-district finale and a season-low 19 to the Tigers a week ago.
