Houston Cypress Falls (8-2) vs. Bellaire (6-4), 7 p.m. Thursday, Pridgeon Stadium, Houston Katy (9-1) vs. Houston Elsik (2-8), 6:30 p.m. Friday, Legacy Stadium, Katy Missouri City Ridge Point (9-1) vs. Houston Dobie (6-4), 7 p.m. Thursday, Mercer Stadium, Sugar Land Houston North Shore (10-0) vs. Deer Park (8-2), 7 p.m. Thursday, North Shore HS

Despite having losing records, a handful of Dallas-area teams have punched their tickets to the playoffs, proving that a challenging regular season doesn’t always rule out a postseason run. While these four teams face long odds in their opening matchups, an upset victory isn’t out of the question.