CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Gregory-Portland (4-4) is looking to win its first district football championship since 2021. The Wildcats will have to take down one of the top teams in the Coastal Bend the Miller Buccaneers (6-2). The UIL 5A-DII District 14 championship is on the line in their first meeting since 2017. It's the KRIS 6 Game of the Week.
"It means a lot," Gregory-Portland senior quarterback Reed Dooms said. "I mean we played for one last year and we played for one my sophomore year, but we came up short both of those years. We're really looking to senior year get out on top and finally get our district championship."
The Wildcats' rough 4-game losing skid to start the season took a reverse, as G-P has won 4 straight games.
"We had little things we had to fix at the beginning of the season," Dooms said. "We got those fixed and you can see how it's turned out now. I got a great connection with all of my receivers, especially Brandon (Coates). I mean when you have somebody with that much speed it's kind of easy for them to get open and throw the ball to them."
Their offense is super balanced totaling 1,734 rushing yards and 1,724 passing yards.
"Me and him all summer, offseason and every practice we've been working harder each and every day," Coates, a Gregory-Portland senior receiver, said. "Practicing routes, timing and all of that. I think that's really starting to show throughout the season each and every week."
Over the past three weeks Miller has outscored opponents 197-21. The Bucs defense has not allowed more than 23 points to an opponent all season.
"I'm really excited because they give me a lot of looks that I look forward to playing against," Miller senior outside linebacker Jonah Stafford said. "Just covering, hopefully getting a couple of picks and seeing what our guys can do as a defense."
Miller's defensive backs have really stepped up between Charles Williams, Donavon Cristian and Khalil Davis.
"Between those three DB's they've got 11 interceptions in eight games which is incredible," Miller football Head Coach Justen Evans said. "They're playing really good on the back end."
Miller's offense is led by quarterback Trevor Long. He's thrown for 1,817 yards, 24 touchdowns and only 1 interception. Give credit to his top two targets Eathan Vela and Corey Holmes.
"I'm looking for my receivers to ball," Long, a Miller senior quarterback, said. "I'm sure every week they do that, so you know I'm just looking for them to ball. If they give us a live box then I know Broderick (Taylor) will take care of the rest of it."
G-P's defense has been put to the test against running backs. Last week against Carroll they did not allow a rushing touchdown.
"Our defense has been playing really, really good since the Alice game," Gregory-Portland football Head Coach Brent Davis said. "We kind of got that fixed and found out what we needed to do there. We're wearing all red. It's going to be red out (for homecoming), so pack the stands."
Miller and Gregory-Portland will kickoff on Friday at 7 p.m. at Ray Akins Wildcat Stadium. Catch the highlights on week 10 of the Friday Night Fever.
Last year these two teams were not in the same district and Miller won their title. G-P fell short to Flour Bluff.
