After running roughshod over Duncanville, DeSoto and Southlake Carroll during the non-district portion of its schedule, Allen didn’t skip a beat in its district opener.
Despite a valiant effort from Prosper Thursday night at Prosper ISD’s Children’s Health Stadium, the Eagles exploded for 28 unanswered points in the second half to cruise to a 51-21 victory.
Allen has now scored 50-plus points in three consecutive games and has won every game this season by at least 19 points. More importantly, the Eagles are now 1-0 in District 6-6A and already have a statement win over a team widely considered one of the district’s top contenders.
“It feels great. Definitely a team win — all four of them have been,” Allen sophomore quarterback Ty Snell told VYPE DFW. “We came to practice this week and executed, and that all showed tonight.”
Snell certainly did his part. The sophomore sensation finished with 267 passing yards and three touchdowns, completing 80 percent of his passes.
Fellow sophomore standout Zack “Black” Williams continued his impressive season, hauling in his seventh touchdown of the year on a beautifully executed scramble play between him and Snell. And Allen isn’t slowing down.
The Eagles return home next Friday to host Princeton at Eagle Stadium for their second District 6-6A game of the season.
After rolling through four high-profile opponents by an average margin of 28.5 points per game, Allen has quickly established itself as one of the teams to watch as the district race heats up.
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BATTLE OF THE PANTHERS
North Crowley and Duncanville delivered another high-scoring battle in District 11-6A, but it was the Panthers who pulled away in the second half for a 47-30 victory.
The first half was an offensive showcase, with the two teams combining for 553 yards before North Crowley’s defense made the necessary adjustments after halftime.
The Panthers’ ground game was the difference.
G’yrell Smith powered his way to 170 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while Kiante Ingram added 109 yards and two scores. Quarterback Jacob Torres also came up with several big throws, including two touchdown connections with Damarion Mays.
Duncanville quarterback Maximus “The Great” Denson kept the Panthers within striking distance early, throwing three touchdown passes in the first half. Four-star Purdue commit Trenton Yancey added four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.
But North Crowley flipped the script after halftime.
The Panthers’ defense held Duncanville to just 73 yards in the second half, allowing the offense to create separation and secure another statement victory.
With the win, North Crowley improved to 4-0 and remained undefeated, while Duncanville dropped to 1-3.
Another chapter in this growing rivalry — and another big win for North Crowley.
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THE DRAGONS ARE BACK
Southlake Carroll, coming off losses to North Crowley and Allen, was in a rare spot heading into Week 4.
At 1-2, the Dragons dropped out of the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football/Associated Press state rankings. They had not been 1-2 since 2000 and had not lost three games in a row since the 1996 season, losing to McKinney, Coppell and Dallas Highland Park to close out a 4-6-1 season.
The 1996 season was also the last time Southlake Carroll didn’t have a winning record.
Facing a 3-0 Keller Central squad, the Dragons raced out to an early lead and picked up a 35-17 win on Thursday at Keller ISD Athletic Complex.
Dez Bryant Jr. scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and quarterback Hudson Tomcheck had a part in the final three scores to help the Dragons open District 4-6A with a win.
Southlake is now 15-0 all-time vs. the Keller ISD school in Fort Worth.
The Dragons jumped ahead 14-0 behind a 14-yard and 15-yard touchdown run by Bryant Jr., who has moved over from wide receiver to running back. Two years ago, when the Dragons made the run to the Class 6A Division II finals, they made a similar move.
That season, injuries forced Christian Glenn to move from wide receiver to running back. Like Bryant Jr., his dad was also an NFL wide receiver — Terry Glenn.
Bryant Jr. finished with 77 yards after rushing for 69 yards against Allen in his debut at the position.
“He does stuff that you never expect, which I think is what makes him so good,” Tomcheck said. “He'll go up and he'll bounce outside and cut back and go backfield and gain 20 yards. It's just unreal …. like it's stuff you never expect, which I think is one of his big strengths.”
Southlake led 14-0 after the first quarter and led 21-3 at halftime.
Tomcheck had a touchdown run late in the second quarter.
Keller Central (3-1) pulled within 21-10 in the third.
The teams traded turnovers in the third quarter — the Keller Central turnover was an interception by Carroll’s Ty Moody near midfield.
Southlake Carroll had to punt and Tyler Cooper couldn’t get a punt off and tried to run. The Chargers swarmed him and he fumbled. Farodd Meling picked it up and ran it back 35 yards for a touchdown.
Suddenly, the Chargers had pulled within 21-10.
Six plays later, a 12-yard touchdown pass from Tomcheck to Illinois pledge Brody Knowles extended the Southlake Carroll lead to 27-10.
In the fourth quarter, Keller Central’s Jerry Dillard and Tomcheck had touchdown runs.
Southlake Carroll returns home to play Haslet V.R. Eaton on Sept. 25. Keller Central stays at home and will host Trophy Club Byron Nelson on Sept. 24.
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BIG WIN FOR RANGERS OVER DENTON
Garland Naaman Forest is 3-1 for the second year in a row.
The Rangers went on the road Friday night and escaped with a 21-17 win over Denton at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex.
Quarterback Braylon Deal, a TCU pledge, ran for three touchdowns in the final non-district game.
Last year, Naaman Forest also started 3-1, but finished with a 5-6 record after a loss in the first round of the playoffs. However, the Rangers were in 6A the past two years and made the playoffs both times with 5-5 regular-season records.
This year the Rangers are in District 6-5A Division I and will start district play at Dallas Highland Park next Friday.
Heading into the district opener, only 4-0 North Richland Hills Richland and Birdville have better records in the district.
“We got 24 hours to celebrate,” Deal said. “Then we get treatment tomorrow (Saturday), and then we game plan for next week and Highland Park.”
The Rangers were down 10-0 early and eventually took a 14-10 lead at halftime after a pair of 6-yard touchdown runs in the second quarter by Deal. The first was set up by a fumbled punt by Denton at the 17-yard line.
Denton took the lead back in the third quarter with 2:58 left in the third quarter.
A trio of punts opened the second half and after pinning the Rangers deep, the Broncos (3-1) got the ball at Naaman Forest’s 41.
Two plays later, the Broncos regained the lead. Quarterback Terrance Lopez hit Sylvester Sims for an 8-yard gain and a facemask call added 15. The next play, Kaiden Credit ran for a 13-yard touchdown.
Naaman Forest answered on the next possession and scored the game's final points on a 6-yard run by Deal with 25 seconds left in the third.
The 68-yard drive featured a 14-yard run and a 17-yard run by Deal. Trevion Dizer added a 12-yard run, and perhaps the biggest play was a holding call on Denton on 4th-and-1.
Two plays after that drive-saving penalty, Deal scored the game-winning touchdown.
Denton, off to its best start since 2016, failed to muster a comeback on the next two drives — one coming off a fumble recovery by Markell Jennings.
Naaman Forest got the ball back with 5:11 and ran out the rest of the clock.
Deal finished with 118 yards rushing and his three touchdowns on the ground were one more than he had in the first three weeks of the season.
Denton struggled with 216 yards of total offense. The Broncos ran for 126 and passed for 90 and finished with 87 yards of penalties.
Terrance Lopez had a touchdown pass to Sylvester Sims in the first quarter for the first-half touchdown. Cris Puga hit one of two field goal attempts in the first half for Denton.
“It's always going to be about us, and we have to learn to understand that and be better,” Denton coach David Beaty said. “It hadn't reared its head at this point, so you don't want to learn that way. But it might be a good thing for us. And I mean, we just gave up 21 points at night. When you give up 21 points to a good team like this, you should win the game. And we weren't able to put the ball in the end zone. We've been scoring 45, 50 points a game, so 17 isn’t enough.”
