Days before the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) football playoffs were set to start, an announcement regarding one of the tournament’s top seeds has blown up the expected bracket.
The TAPPS Executive Board ruled on Nov. 3 that Argyle Liberty Christian School had used an ineligible player this season and must forfeit the games he played.
That means the top-seeded Warriors will not be part of the playoffs.
The Warriors were set to play Austin St. Michael’s Prep on Nov. 6 in the first round.
The decision also led to a major change to the Division I playoff schedule. To give the remaining teams time to adjust and prepare for new opponents, TAPPS decided to delay the start of the Division I playoffs one week, which moves the state championship game back to Nov. 28.
New bracket
- Austin St. Michael’s Prep vs. Dallas Parish Episcopal
- Plano Prestonwood Christian vs. Lutheran South Academy
- Frisco Legacy Christian Academy vs. San Antonio Central Catholic
- Addison Trinity Christian Academy vs. Houston St. Thomas Catholic
Previous bracket
- Austin St. Michael’s Prep vs. Argyle Liberty Christian
- Frisco Legacy Christian Academy vs. Lutheran South Academy
- Dallas Parish Episcopal vs. San Antonio Central Catholic
- Plano Prestonwood Christian vs. Houston St. Thomas Catholic
The 411
The Warriors were 8-2 this year and were set to play Austin St. Michael’s on Friday. They lost to UIL school Celina, 35-34, and then in week 1 to Midland Christian, 66-63.
Liberty Christian hired Josh Martin to take over as the head coach before this season. He most recently was an assistant special teams and tight end coach at the University of Nebraska.
He’s also worked as a tight ends coach at SMU, a graduate assistant at Arizona State and an offensive line coach at Tarleton State.
He was also an offensive coordinator/quarterback coach at Little Elm High School.
Quarterback Crews Messer threw for 2,980 yards and 40 touchdowns this year. Running back Correll Buckhalter Jr. is also one of the top players in TAPPS as well. He ran for 1,541 yards and 25 scores on the ground and 3 receiving touchdowns. The roster also features Cooper Witten, an Oklahoma pledge who is a two-way star but projects to be a linebacker in college.
The Background
Argyle Liberty Christian won the TAPPS Division II title in 2023 and then won the TAPPS Division I title in 2024 under current interim Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jason Witten.
Witten stepped down as the head coach after last season to take a job with the Sooners.
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