GAMES
RANKINGS
Duncanville quarterback Maximus The Great Denson will look to get the Panthers over the .500 mark this week facing Crowley.
The Top 10 Games to Watch in Week 8 of DFW High School Football
Thursday, Oct. 15
Dallas Highland Park at Carrollton Creekview at Standridge Stadium
Highland Park goes on the road again in district play, riding a 3-game winning streak. The Scots sit alone in District 6-5A Division I and will face a 1-5 Creekview team. Interestingly enough, both teams are coming off wins against Carrollton R.L. Turner. The Mustangs beat Turner, 21-7, two weeks ago and were idle last week. Highland Park posted a 62-7 win last week against Turner. Got to give the edge to the Scots in this one.
Allen at Prosper Rock Hill at Children’s Health Stadium
Allen will roll into this game as the new No. 1 team in Class 6A in the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football/Associated Press, and MaxPreps has the Eagles ranked the No. 1 team in the entire country. The Eagles (6-0, 3-0 District 6-6A) are led by sophomore quarterback Ty Snell, who has thrown for 1,155 yards with 18 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Rock Hill is 3-3 and 1-2 in district, losing the past two against Prosper Walnut Grove and Prosper.
Denton Ryan at Keller Fossil Ridge at Keller ISD Athletic Complex
After two weeks of District 3-5A Division I play, the Raiders from Billy Ryan High School are in first place with a 2-0 mark. Five teams are 1-1, while Saginaw is winless. The Raiders, 5-1, will travel to face a 1-5 Fossil Ridge squad. Ryan has won four in a row, with the first of that streak a loss that was flipped to a win following the Lewisville eligibility issue. New coach Shane Tolleson, who came over from Waxahachie, will look for the Raiders to extend their 7-game winning streak against the Panthers.
Friday, Oct. 16
Carrollton Hebron at Lewisville at Max Goldsmith Stadium
The winner of this game will have a share of first place in the District 5-6A race. The two teams, along with Denton Braswell, are tied for first place with 3-0 district marks. Even with changes in personnel on the offensive side of the ball at quarterback, Lewisville (3-3, 3-0) is still producing. Six different players have at least one touchdown catch and seven different players have scored a rushing touchdown — though no rushing touchdowns were scored in last week’s 42-7 win over Guyer. Hebron (4-2, 3-0) has a defense that has 6 interceptions and 10 forced fumbles this season.
Red Oak at Waxahachie at Stuart B. Lumpkins Stadium
The District 11-6A standings heading into this week show North Crowley at 3-0 and then four teams at 2-1 — including the two in this matchup. Waxahachie fell from No. 1 to No. 10 in the state poll this week following a 42-17 loss to North Crowley last week. The Indians struggled to pass the ball last week and the run game was also bottled up by North Crowley. Red Oak went 5-5 last year, but is 4-2, and its last two wins were by a combined 4 points. QB Tuhran Square II should surpass the 1,000-yard passing mark this week, entering with 971 yards and 11 TDs. The senior is also the team’s leading rusher with 455 yards and 2 TDs.
Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal at Grapevine Faith at Grapevine Ford Field
The Saints take a 6-2 record into their penultimate game of the regular season at Grapevine Faith. The winner of the past two TAPPS Division II State Championships might be even better this year; if not, they are deeper. Running back Brayden Boults, a transfer from Sumter, South Carolina, has run for 1,074 yards and 13 TDs. The sophomore has offers from Georgia, Texas Tech, Florida and SMU, to name a few. Both teams are coming off wins against Fort Worth Southwest Christian. All Saints won 56-13 while Grapevine Faith won 56-35 on Oct. 2. The Lions are coming off a bye week and will look to snap a 4-game losing streak to All Saints.
Mansfield Summit at DeSoto at Eagle Stadium
There is a new all-time rushing leader at DeSoto RB SaRod Baker eclipsed the career rushing mark set by current Texas A&M running back Deondrae “Tiger” Riden Jr. in last week’s win vs. Lancaster. The Texas Tech pledge ran for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns last week — his fourth straight game over 100 yards and with at least one touchdown. He has 4,546 yards in his career, clearing Riden’s 4,412 yards. DeSoto is 4-2 with four straight wins. Mansfield Summit is 3-3 and winners of two in a row. Sophomore WR Gabe Evans has caught 33 passes for 395 yards and 6 TDs.
Aledo at Arlington at Maverick Stadium at UT-Arlington
A logjam for second place in District 3-6A will be somewhat settled after this game, as both are 2-1 in district games. Arlington is 4-2 and Aledo is 3-3 — very unlike the Aledo of old. The Bearcats are balanced, with a rushing game that has gained 986 yards and the offense has passed for 933 yards. Colby Thompson and Kane Lanier both have 4 receiving touchdowns. The Arlington Colts have been more of a running team this year, with five different players with more than 100 yards on the ground. QB Canon Cambron has 327 yards rushing and 9 TDs, team highs in both categories.
Crowley at Duncanville at Panther Stadium
Crowley is coming off a 29-28 loss last week against Red Oak. The Eagles are 2-4 overall and 1-2 in District 11-6A. Dating back to 2004, this is the first showdown between the two teams. Duncanville won last week, 45-7 over Mansfield, to even the record at 3-3. Quarterback Maximus The Great Denson has thrown for 804 yards and 8 touchdowns, while rushing for 308 yards. RB Brayden Arnold has accounted for 9 of the team’s 17 rushing touchdowns.
Keller at Southlake Carroll at Dragon Stadium
The Indians have surpassed the win total of last year and at 6-0, it is the best start since 1967. Quite the turnaround done by Coach Carl Stralow, but a big challenge looms this week: the Dragons. Keller has an overall record better than Carroll’s 4-2 mark, but the Dragons have won four in a row since losing back-to-back games to North Crowley and Allen. Both teams are 3-0 in District 4-6A, so the battle for first place could also secure a No. 1 seed for the winner. Carroll holds a 16-0 record in the series dating back to 2004.
Allen quarterback Ty Snell has guided the Eagles to an unbeaten record in his first season starting.
5 Things We Learned From Week 7 of UIL Football Around the Metroplex
There are only a few more weeks of the regular season for Texas high school football around the metroplex.
Let’s dive into five storylines that followed after games played in Week 7.
Still unbeaten
There were a few games bigger last weekend than North Crowley and Waxahachie. The Fort Worth school went to Waxahachie and picked up a dominating 42-17 win.
That means there will be a new No. 1 team in Class 6A in the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football/Associated Press poll. Heading into that game, three of the top four teams in the state were from the DFW area. Defending Class 6A Division I champion Galena Park North Shore was the only non-Dallas area team in that grouping.
Waxahachie will fall, but they have wins over two teams in the top-10 last week: No. 9 Coppell and No. 10 Denton Guyer.
Keller needed every point and almost every minute to rally for a win over Trophy Club Byron Nelson, 49-42. That win extends the Indians’ win streak to 6-0, the best record for the program since 1967.
Byron Nelson had a 42-28 lead before Blake Dyniewski’s TD run made it 47-42 and erased the 1-point deficit with less than 2 minutes left.
Speaking of unbeatens
Heading into Week 8, several teams secured wins last week, extending their winning streaks this season.
Of the UIL bunch, Anna and Celina are in the same district, so by virtue of that, there will be a team with a loss in that game — unlike the NFC East where ties happen. That matchup is on Oct. 30, assuming both keep winning.
There is also O.D. Wyatt and Fort Worth Arlington Heights are in the same district and also will play on Oct. 30. At the private school level, unbeaten Episcopal School of Dallas and Arlington Oakridge play this week, so at least one team from this list will have an L after Week 8.
Gone from the list is Prosper Walnut Grove, which lost 50-49 in overtime to Dallas Jesuit.
Here’s a glance at those without a loss so far:
UIL
- Arlington Martin
- Keller
- Allen
- Sachse
- North Crowley
- Fort Worth Arlington Heights
- Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt
- Frisco Lone Star
- Anna
- Celina
- Mansfield Timberview
- Mineral Wells
- Dallas Life Oak Cliff
- Collinsville
Private
- Dallas First Baptist
- Arlington Oakridge
- Episcopal School of Dallas
- Fort Worth Covenant Classical
- Irving Faustina Academy
* Asterisk* unbeaten
Lewisville improved to 3-3 on the year after a dominating 42-7 win against No. 10-ranked Denton Guyer.
The Fighting Farmers got two punt return scores from Deuce Mathis, who also threw a touchdown pass. The team is still unbeaten on the field and 0-3 in a boardroom decision.
The Dallas Morning News wrote that quarterback Laykon Brassfield’s family is looking for a court hearing to overrule the DEC decision to rule him ineligible. To flash back a bit, the Fighting Farmers were 3-0 when his residency issues led to Lewisville having to forfeit a 3-0 start.
Coach Michael Odle has guided his team through this rocky time with poise as they have won 40-7, 38-8 and 42-7 and are part of a 3-way tie for first place in District 5-6A. Denton Braswell and Hebron are tied with them at 2-0 in district play.
Hebron will play in Lewisville this week at Max Goldsmith Stadium in a key game.
Backup shines bright
North Richland Hills Richland and Birdville played on Friday, both coming off the 1st loss of the season.
In a battle to stay in second place in the district, the Royals rolled to a dominating win, 56-35. Quarterback Brett Kates accounted for 7 total touchdowns — 4 passing and 3 rushing.
However, one of the biggest storylines was the absence of Jayshon Gibson.
The UCLA pledge was hurt late against Dallas Highland Park and didn’t return in the team’s final drive of the game, an eventual loss.
The Royals turned to sophomore Isaiah White. He ran the ball 24 times for 272 yards and 2 touchdowns.
He’s a name to watch and he’s one some colleges already know.
He holds offers from Kansas State, Minnesota, Texas Tech, SMU, UTSA and UTEP, according to 247sports.com
Trey for 8
Frisco Lone Star standout quarterback Trey Wright threw for 7 touchdowns, breaking a school record in Week 6.
In Week 7, he did the same thing.
In a 69-7 win over Frisco Heritage, the USC pledge threw for 357 yards and 7 touchdowns. Five different receivers had touchdowns. Wright also had a TD run, giving him a hand in 8 of the touchdowns for the Rangers, now 6-0 overall and 3-0 in District 5-5A Division 1.
This week the Rangers face a 1-5 Frisco Centennial team that is coming off a 70-0 loss to Melissa.
Could Wright break the record again?
Bonus Nugget
Van Alstyne picked up an 83-26 win over Lake Worth. That is a new school record for points in a game, breaking the previous record. That previous mark was an 81-0 win over Cooper in 1931. To give context, UIL crowned only one football champion in the whole state back then.