If history means anything, the Frenship football team will find itself in the third round of the playoffs for the 10th time in the last 11 years.

History, however, had nothing to do with the Tigers’ regular season. If it had, they might not be as appreciative of the chance to get to the third round or as focused on the second round as they are going into today’s 5 p.m. CST Area playoff clash with El Paso Chapin at El Paso Irvin’s Memorial Stadium.

“We came out after that last round in bi-district all pumped and excited,” junior quarterback Brandon Hanslik said. “We want to keep that going and play the year out. Everybody is having a good time now and we know we can play good football and we know this is how we were playing before district. We have high hopes, now.”

Through the first 18 quarters of District 4-4A play, the Tigers (7-4) had scored just eight touchdowns, and as a result were 1-3 and trailing at halftime of the regular season finale against San Angelo Lake View.

From halftime of that game to now, however, the Tigers have scored nine touchdowns, getting back in gear with their best all-around effort of the season in last week’s 42-13 bi-district win against Palo Duro.

“I would agree that was our most complete game this year,” head coach Brad Davis said. “We executed well in all phases of the game, had very minimal mistakes, our defense was outstanding and I thought our offense played really well. We got the thing rolling and got into a rhythm and were able to score. We feel good about the overall team effort and about the outcome.”

The outcome has the Tigers in the Area round, where they are 9-0 in 10 appearances against seven different El Paso schools – but never Chapin (9-2), the champion of District 1-4A that Davis calls the best 4A team in El Paso “by far.”

But when it comes to the Area round, no team has been as dominant as Frenship. Of the Tigers nine victories in the round since 1999, three have been by shutouts, and the Tigers have allowed just 13 points total in their past five appearances.

“We’ve always been able to play well in this round,” Davis said. “We’ve had some good teams with some good kids, and maybe the matchups in some of the games had something to do with it. There were a couple of times we played teams I thought had just as good talent as we did, but our kids just played better that particular day. I can’t pinpoint why we haven’t lost in this round to El Paso teams before.”

And given what it took for the Tigers to get there in 2009, they’re sure not planning on starting now.

But the Huskies have their own ideas about advancing to the third round for the first time since 2005. Head coach Rene Hernandez, in his 10th season at the school, has his team past the bi-district round for the first time in three years thanks to a senior class that has taken its share of lumps the past two seasons.

“When (this class) took over we started nine sophomores and they’re seniors now,” Hernandez said. “They’ve grown up with this staff and grown with this team and grown as leaders, and now they’re role models. They took the younger kids under their wings and willed us to the point we’re at right now. These kids can’t do any more than what they’ve done for us already and we’re extremely proud of them for where they’re at. They deserve everything they’ve gotten and they’ve given us a fighting chance.”

Offensively, Chapin’s focus is on quarterback Anthony Campuzano, who has thrown for 1,587 yards and 12 touchdowns with nine interceptions, and running back Cori Sanchez, who has gained 1,672 yards and scored 26 TDs.

Chapin’s defense has been stout, allowing just 146 yards and 10.2 points per game. The Huskies pitched three shutouts in district play – albeit to teams that did not make the playoffs – then turned that defense loose on Canutillo, holding the Eagles to just seven points.

“We’re undersized, but we’ve been that way in El Paso with most teams we’ve played,” Hernandez said. “The kids have gotten over that because they know they’ll be that way anytime they step on the field.”

Davis said Chapin tries to overcome its size with numerous stunts but is confident in his offensive line and running game, especially after it rushed for 327 yards and five of six touchdowns against Palo Duro. Running back Bobby Huey, who has 1,252 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the year, has 319 of those yards and six of those touchdowns in the past two games.

“I think we’re all playing as a team right now and everyone’s doing their job right,” Hanslik said.

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