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North Crowley's Kiante Ingram runs for the ball against Waxahachie on Oct. 9 at Stuart B. Lumpkins Stadium.
The biggest game in the state of Texas in Week 7 of UIL football happened at Stuart B. Lumpkins Stadium Friday night.
The matchup pitted two Class 6A-ranked teams — No. 1 Waxahachie vs. No. 3 North Crowley.
Both were 5-0 and tied for first place in District 11-6A.
As much as it lined up to be a battle to the end, it was not.
North Crowley rolled to a 42-17 win thanks to a solid running game, a quarterback that could not miss and a defense that kept South Carolina pledge Jerry Meyer III in check.
The Panthers (6-0, 3-0) had a pair of 21-0 scoring bursts that defined the game.
In the first half, G’yrell Smith ran for two touchdowns and Kiante Ingram had another rushing touchdown.
The Panthers led 21-7 at halftime.
“We had a great week of practice knowing what they were going to line up in,” North Crowley quarterback Jacob Torres said. “We just had to execute and we fought hard. We ran, we passed, and we just set them up for the next play.”
The Indians (5-1, 2-1) had a chance to trim into the lead late in the third quarter. Waxahachie got a stop and forced North Crowley to punt after three straight touchdowns on the three previous possessions.
Waxahachie engineered an 18-play, 89-yard drive that ended in a 23-yard field goal from Kohen Manis with 2:37 left. The Indians moved to the 6-yard line on a pass from Meyer to Jordan Smith, but an incomplete pass on third down set up the field goal.
Six plays later, the Panthers answered.
A pass interference call on an incomplete pass on 3rd-and-1 kept the drive alive. Ingram’s 35-yard score with 42 seconds left in the third quarter extended the lead to 28-10.
North Crowley scored on the next two drives to seal the win.
Torres, who was 11-for-11 passing for 100 yards, threw an 84-yard touchdown to Damarion Mays on the next drive for North Crowley.
Smith’s 60-yard run in the fourth made it 42-10.
Smith ran for 116 yards, while Ingram had 157.
Meyer III threw a touchdown pass to Matthew Scott with 1:54 left for the final points of the contest. Meyer threw for a season-low 112 yards.
The Panthers’ secondary, loaded with Division I talent, made it tough. He was 12 for 28 and his 42.9% completion percentage was his third-lowest in the last two years. In last year's loss to DeSoto, he completed only 38.5% of his passes. As a sophomore, he has a 42.4% completion rate in a close win over Dallas Skyline.
“I feel we were disrespected. We already knew who the No. 1 team in the state was,” said North Crowley cornerback Jerry Outhouse. “We had to come prove it.”
This season, the Panthers have beaten these former state champions or finalists in recent weeks: Aledo, Southlake Carroll, Humble Summer Creek and Duncanville.
How good does that make North Crowley?
“Best team in the nation, I'm telling you,” said Outhouse, a UCLA pledge.
Last week, the Tomas Gators volleyball team took on the Lamar Consolidated Mustangs in a tough district matchup.
Check out the highlights from the game below!
Alief Taylor's Mykah Edison
Every team has its pieces. At Alief Taylor, Mykah Edison has learned that being a valuable one isn’t necessarily about having one defined role. Sometimes, it’s about knowing what you bring — and helping everyone else find their place, too.
That sense of belonging is something Edison has cultivated throughout her years in the sport.
“At first, volleyball was just a way to get closer and more involved with my friends,” she said. “But once I started playing and really began to indulge, I couldn’t stop. That just grew into a deep love for the sport, and since then, I’ve stuck with it.”
Her early connection to the unit quickly translated to the court, where she emerged as an outside hitter capable of contributing wherever she was needed.
“I think being able to play in multiple spots has been very helpful to my team,” Edison said. “I joined varsity as a freshman, so that’s where my willingness to rotate based on where the coach needs me started. I’m glad I can do that because it’s such a useful skill to have when you’re constantly in a rotation.”

The transition wasn’t exactly seamless.
“It was very intimidating at first,” she said with a laugh. “But I proved myself. Nothing came easily, but as soon as they put me on the court, I showed them that I’m here for a reason.”
Now a senior, Edison has grown into more than a versatile asset in the Lady Lions’ rotation. She’s developed a fuller understanding of what it means to help those around her, recognizing that leadership isn’t about having all the answers — it’s about knowing that everyone grows at a different pace.
For an Alief Taylor squad that reached the postseason for a second straight year last fall and now faces a tougher district landscape following UIL realignment, that mindset could prove essential.
“Patience is something I’ve gained, specifically with my teammates,” she said. “Even though I may have joined early, I’ve learned that not everybody is going to get it immediately. So being there to support them as they progress — I think that’s where traits like being empathetic and more observant surface. I feel like that helps me be a better leader and captain.”
Her perspective also shapes the way Edison views her teammates.

“We’re just a big puzzle,” Edison said. “We all have different interests, but we still come together like puzzle pieces. You could say we’re each a perfect fit for one another in this group.”
Those personalities are part of what makes Edison memorable. During the team’s photoshoot, she broke from the usual poses to incorporate some anime-inspired fireball moves — a glimpse of the personality behind the player.
“Yes, I did come up with those unique anime poses,” Edison said with a laugh. “I figured it would be a fun way to stand out in the photos. But as far as favorites go, my go-to is Hunter x Hunter, and I really love JJK (Jujutsu Kaisen).”
What began as a freshman proving she belonged has grown into something bigger. Edison now understands her role isn’t just to be a piece of the puzzle, but to help make the whole picture come together.
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