With the Texas high school football playoffs starting a little over a week from now, last Friday saw several matchups important to playoff seeding. Below will be recaps of some of the games featuring DFW-area teams ranked in the Texas state high school football rankings:
6A:
No.3 Duncanville 41, No.13 DeSoto 17
Duncanville showed why it is the top-ranked 6A team from the Dallas area in a resounding win powered by junior running back Caden Durham over then-No.9 DeSoto.
Durham rushed for 309 yards and five touchdowns on 19 carries as Duncanville (8-0, 6-0 District 11-6A) clinched its sixth straight district title.
A four-star recruit with offers from Alabama, Oklahoma, and LSU, Durham scored on a 92-yard run on Duncanville’s opening drive. He then added an 86-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, a 10-yard touchdown on the next possession, and a 54-yard touchdown on the team’s final drive before halftime.
He had 265 yards and four touchdowns at the break as Duncanville led 27-0. His fifth touchdown came from two yards out in the fourth quarter.
Duncanville totaled 527 yards of offense, primarily thanks to Durham, but its defense also flexed its muscles. DeSoto (7-2, 5-1) entered Friday’s game averaging 440 yards per game, yet Duncanville limited it to 238 yards and 30 points below its season scoring average.
DeSoto has not defeated Duncanville since its state title-winning season in 2016 and will compete in the 6A Division II playoff bracket. It can clinch the top seed in Division II with a win against Mansfield this week.
Duncanville’s win was its 40th consecutive in-district, but the state’s third-ranked 6A team has its sights set on reaching its fourth state title game in the past five seasons.
No.4 Southlake Carroll 38, No.23 Trophy Club Byron Nelson 23
Senior running back Owen Allen was not slowed down by an 80-minute rain delay as he carried No.4 Southlake Carroll to a win over then-No.19 Trophy Club Byron Nelson to clinch the District 4-6A title — its fifth consecutive district championship.
Allen finished with 216 yards on 34 carries with five touchdowns for Carroll (9-0, 6-0), while its defense held Byron Nelson to half its season scoring average.
Byron Nelson (8-1, 5-1) seemed to have caught Carroll by surprise as they went up 13-0 early in the first quarter, but then Allen started to level the playing field.
The senior running back rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns over the next 15 minutes to put his team up 21-13 at halftime. Junior running back James Lehman added 91 rushing yards for Carroll as Byron Nelson did not have an answer to the ground attack.
Interestingly, Byron Nelson actually outgained Carroll 414-393. Quarterback Jake Wilson went 24-for-33 for 250 yards and two touchdown passes, both to Gavin McCurley, who added 112 yards receiving.
Running back Aaron Darden rushed for 131 yards on 13 attempts, but it was not enough for Byron Nelson.
The loss confirms Byron Nelson will compete in the Division II bracket in the 6A playoffs. Carroll will have to wait for other results this Friday to determine if it will compete in Division I or II of the 6A playoffs.
No.10 Prosper 29, No.20 Allen 24
Prosper forced two turnovers and scored 27 unanswered points through the second and third quarters after falling behind 17-2 to claim the victory on the road in Allen.
The two teams braved a torrential thunderstorm that pushed the kickoff back from 7 p.m. to 9:12 p.m.
By 11:04 p.m., when the second half began, Allen desperately needed a response to Prosper’s 21 unanswered points in the second quarter. Instead, Allen turned the ball over on downs twice and muffed a punt at its own 18-yard line in the third quarter.
Prosper (8-1, 5-1 District 5-6A) took advantage of the excellent field position and turned it into a three-yard touchdown pass from Harrison Rosar to Hunter Summers five plays later.
Defensive back Adam Due came up big for Prosper throughout the night. He blocked a punt for a safety in the first quarter and forced the third-quarter muffed punt.
Prosper’s defense, which ranks third in scoring among 6A area teams, held Allen to a scoreless fourth quarter due to two crucial red zone stops.
Allen (6-3, 4-2) and Prosper had already clinched playoff berths ahead of their matchup, but with the win, Prosper claims the district’s top seed in Division I while Allen will be the No. 2 seed in Division I.
5A Div. I:
No.7 Frisco Reedy 32, Frisco Heritage 31
Frisco Reedy’s Josef Fuksa blocked a punt, recovered it, and ran it in from 1 yard out for the winning score with 23 seconds left as Reedy (10-0, 8-0 District 6-5A Div. I) pulled out a thrilling 32-31 win over Frisco Heritage at the Ford Center at the Star.
Heritage (6-3, 5-2) had rallied from a 26-17 deficit in the fourth quarter. An interception by Diego Gonzalez on the final play of the third quarter set up a 24-yard touchdown run by Nick Clark three plays later.
Heritage took a 31-26 lead after a 32-yard touchdown pass from Devan Calvin to Houston Brookshire with 6:25 left, set up by a Dylan Doudt fumble recovery.
Reedy was set up for the game-winning blocked punt thanks to sacks by Dixon Hudson and Justus Henry that ended Heritage’s last-minute drive. Both players had three sacks and a forced fumble apiece, with Hudson adding a fumble recovery.
The win gives Reedy only their program’s second-ever district title and second undefeated regular season in its history. Reedy will be the top seed in the 5A Division I playoffs bi-district round.
Heritage has lost its last two games and faces a must-win situation to earn a playoff spot when it takes on Frisco Lone Star this Friday.
