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Many Texas residents like a good old-fashioned buffet.

Well this weekend represents a virtual smorgasbord of high school football action as the first round of the University Interscholastic League’s postseason commences.

Several schools ran the table and went undefeated during the regular season.

The Woodlands improved to 10-0 with a 45-8 victory over New Caney and the Houston area’s No. 1-ranked Class 5A team will face Klein Forest (7-3) Saturday at Klein Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

After advancing to the Class 5A Division I state championship game last season, Hightower concluded a 10-0 regular season with a 38-13 win over Willowridge in the District 23-5A championship game. The Hurricanes and all-everything linebacker Shaun Lewis take on Galveston Ball (5-5) Saturday in Alvin with a 2 p.m. kickoff.

Klein Collins wrapped up a 10-0 campaign with a 24-21 victory over Klein Forest. Picked to finish in the middle of the district standings by several preseason prognostications, the Tigers will engage Conroe Oak Ridge Friday at Klein Memorial Stadium (7:30 p.m.).

Jack Yates returned to form during the 2009 season and came within a missed extra point of finishing the regular season unbeaten. The 9-1 Lions will start the postseason against the same opponent they faced to begin the regular season. Booker T. Washington and Yates will tangle Saturday at Delmar Stadium with a 4 p.m. kickoff.

Angleton, the top-ranked Class 4A school in the Houston area, carried a 9-0 record into the regular-season finale against Manvel and took a 14-0 lead on the Mavericks before succumbing 28-17. The 9-1 Wildcats will host Rosenberg Terry (7-2) Saturday at 2 p.m.

Perhaps the most unlikely playoff qualifier to earn a berth in the postseason overcame losing its first five games of the regular season. Five weeks into the 2009 high school football season, Houston Sterling found itself 0-5 with ominous dark clouds circling overhead.

Yet Raiders head coach Dwayne Colbert believed he saw a silver lining.

“We led four of those first five games at halftime. I kept telling the players that all we needed to do was put together two good halves and we could start winning some games,” Colbert said. “In the first five games, we didn’t score in the second half.”

Sterling won its next five games, including a key victory over Booker T. Washington at Delmar Stadium, to secure a playoff berth out of District 22-4A. Colbert taught and coached at Washington for 18 years prior to becoming the head football coach at Sterling several years ago.

“I try not to make much out of facing Booker T. But my players know it’s a big game anytime we play them,” Colbert said. “When we scored in the second half against them, I felt that was a good omen.”

Instrumental in the uprising for Sterling has been the stellar performance provided by running back Kenneth Duckworth. In the final game of the regular season, Sterling defeated Kashmere 27-7 to improve to 5-5 on the season.

Duckworth rushed for 210 yards on 28 carries and scored two touchdowns in the victory. It was another typical Duckworth performance coming down the stretch.

In the Raiders’ 32-6 win over District 22-4A rival Furr, Duckworth rushed for 111 yards on 18 carries and began the game’s scoring with a 34-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Two weeks later, Duckworth accounted for 158 rushing yards on 21 carries in a 30-13 victory over Worthing. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound junior added TD runs of 18 and three yards in the game that clinched a playoff berth for the Raiders.

“The coaches told us that we could end the season with a sad story or we could end it with a good story,” Duckworth said. “We wanted to make it a good story.”

Duckworth says he believes the seed was planted for the season’s dramatic turnaround in the midst of its lowest point – a 14-12 loss to Phillis Wheatley during homecoming week.

“Even though we lost, it was a breakout game for me with two touchdowns,” he said. “I knew it was in me. I just had to pull it out.”

Raiders quarterback Darnelle Jones connected with Duckworth on a 55-yard TD pass to open the game’s scoring. Later in the first quarter, Duckworth sprinted 69 yards for a score and finished the game with 129 rushing yards on 18 carries. However, the bottom line was a two-point loss.

Subsequent Sterling victories would follow over Furr, Washington, Worthing, Scarborough and Kashmere.

Other key players for the Raiders during their resurgence have been two-way performer Brandon Thomas (linebacker/fullback), wide receiver Montra Scott, defensive back Devonte Williams, linebacker Gary Piper, receiver Andre Wafer and safety Darrell Bowers.

Thomas, Piper, Williams and Bowers recorded interceptions in the victory over Kashmere.

Sterling takes on a familiar opponent Friday at Delmar Stadium (5:30 p.m.) when the Raiders take on Westbury.

“We played them early in the season in one of those games that we led at halftime and couldn’t do much of anything in the second half,” Colbert said. “They’ve got quick-strike capabilities and can score from anywhere on the field.

“In order to win, we’ve got to play mistake-free football. It would also help to match their scoring in the second half,” Colbert said.

Darrell Ardison

Defender