It's a cross-town rivalry on Friday night as Rockwall faces Rockwall-Heath to begin district play in week 5 of Texas High School Football. Both teams are coming into the season with incredible wins under their belts and only one loss each. VYPEDFW takes a dive into what the fans should expect for the district opener:
Rockwall Yellowjackets (3-1)
The Yellowjackets have started the season with an incredible set of wins. Not only did the Jackets win by multiple scores against Cedar Hill (42-29) and Dallas Jesuit (75-28), but they posted a huge 59-35 win over Austin Lake Travis who has proven themselves to be one of the top teams in the state year after year. Last week, though, Rockwall traveled to Highland Park where they faced a strong Scots team and fell 52-31. In last week's loss, quarterback Braedyn Locke completed 66% of his passes for one touchdown and 133 passing yards while junior Zach Hernandez posted 163 rushing yards on 19 carries for one touchdown. Aiden Meeks scored one rushing touchdown.
On the season, Locke has 1,175 passing yards and 11 touchdowns but has thrown six interceptions. Meanwhile, junior Noble Johnson has racked up almost 500 receiving yards on 22 catches with six touchdowns of his own. Between Locke, Hernandez (who has 607 rushing yards on the season with 91 carries and seven touchdowns), and Johnson the Jackets have offense covered, but there's more to their game than that. Fans should also keep an eye on seniors Brennan Ray and Caden Marshall who have put up not only great numbers for Rockwall this year, but big plays as well.
Rockwall-Heath Hawks (3-1)
The Hawks have also posted big wins on the season so far (56-49 over Timber Creek, 62-21 over Red Oak, and 70-35 over McKinney North). Their one loss on the season came in a week 2 matchup against Southlake Carroll- another strong team that has proven themselves to be one of the best football programs in the state year after year. Last week, Rockwall-Heath traveled to McKinney where they took on McKinney North and really flexed their offensive muscles. The Hawks have one of the best quarterbacks in the DFW area- if not the entire state in Josh Hoover. Hoover was key in the Hawks' win over McKinney North throwing for 265 yards and three touchdowns with a 73% pass completion. Jordan Nabors posted 111 receiving yards on seven catches with one touchdown while Jay Fair scored two touchdowns of his own on four catches for 58 receiving yards. Zach Evans led in rushing with 130 yards on 130 yards on 15 carries for three touchdowns while Brittan Snider and De'Airrius Bell both scored two touchdowns each.
On the season, Hoover has over 1,200 passing yards with 13 touchdowns and a 74% completion rate while Evans has 454 rushing yards on 62 carries with eight touchdowns of his own. Nabors has posted 471 receiving yards on 22 catches with five touchdowns while Fair has posted 355 receiving yards on 19 catches and four touchdowns.
What To Expect:
While both teams have a loss on the season, both losses come against some of the biggest teams in the state. If these losses say anything about the teams it's that both teams are ready to fight until the final whistle. Expect a high-scoring game as both offenses have been at peak performance throughout the 2021-22 season so far. Fans can also expect to see big plays coming out of both defenses.