High School Football: The Woodlands Highlanders and Sachse Mustangs to collide in a battle of unbeatens

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Not everyone can go through a football season with an empty loss column.

Friday night, when the Sachse Mustangs (11-0) square off against the The Woodlands Highlanders (11-0), someone’s magnificent season will come to an end.

You can see this playoff showdown live, right here, as we broadcast the Nov. 18 game from Waco ISD Stadium with kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m.

What these two teams have in common, aside from their records, is exceptional defensive ability. The Woodlands defense, which gave up 21 points in their playoff opener last week, has been both overpowering and disciplined over the last two months.

The Mustangs closed out their regular season with a pair of shutouts and won their first playoff game 34-13.

This game will also be a showdown between two outstanding quarterbacks.

Mustang junior Jalen Mayden has thrown for about 2,400 yards and 24 touchdowns with only four interceptions. Highlander senior Eric Schmid has thrown for slightly fewer yards at 2,200, but his accuracy is nearly impossible to believe. In the second game of the year, he threw an interception. He hasn’t thrown one since, and for the year he has completed 72 percent of his passes while throwing for 34 touchdowns.

Here's what Eric Schmid and Coach Schmid had to say at a recent Woodlands Online Coaches Show.

Schmid and Mayden are equally dangerous on the ground. Both have run for more than 500 yards; Schmid has eight rushing touchdowns and Mayden has nine.

The overall ground game, usually a reliable strength for the Highlanders, has an unexpected question mark. Leading rusher Jordan Talford left the game in the first half last week with a knee injury that was initially diagnosed as a sprained MCL. It is not clear if he will be available for Friday night's game.

Demonstrating depth and balance, the Highlanders relied heavily on Carlos Ramos when Talford went down, and Ramos had a breakout game. He was our Nov. 11 Player of the Game - you can watch the video here. If Ramos can deliver a similar performance Friday night, he will force the Mustangs to respect the run, which will free up Schmid and his diversified corps of receivers.

The Mustangs top back is junior Christian Cole. He averages more than seven yards per carry and has run for more than 1,100 yards while scoring a dozen touchdowns. Nate Shelton will be the biggest headache for the Highlander secondary. He has 44 receptions, 14 that he took into the end zone, for nearly 1,000 yards.

Want to relive the The Woodlands Highlanders win against Mesquite? Click here.

For game highlights, click here.