North Texas continues to dominate the high school football rankings throughout the state with five ranked teams. As regular season play reaches mid-point, here is a review of some of the teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Driving 26 miles NW from Dallas along TEXpress 114 lies Southlake, home to the 2021 unbeaten football team of Carroll High School. A Division 6A Region 1 team, the Dragons, scored early and often pushing their 2021 season record to 5-0 with a 68-7 home field conference rout of the Byron Nelson Bobcats, who dropped to 3-2 for the season. In so doing, Carroll earned the state’s #1 ranking, a familiar altitude for a program that has racked up eight State Championships since its 1961 inception. Now in his 4th Season, Head Coach Riley Dodge, a Carroll High School alumnus quarterback, who with his father pioneered the Dragon no-huddle spread formation high octane offense, welcomes the return of several lettermen. Senior QB Quinn Ewers is regarded as the #1 Class of 2022 recruit heading north to Ohio State. He is capably teamed with WR Landon Samson, named last year’s Div 6A Region 4 Offensive Player of the Year, and on defense with Logan Anderson, the 2020 Defensive Newcomer of the Year award recipient. The immediate challenge is a Sep 30 road trip game against the Keller Indians, no soft touches, who will also carry a 5-0 2021 season record onto the field.
The 16-mile drive along I-35 and I-20 leads to Duncanville, whose Panthers football hold onto the #3 state rank after achieving a 76-0 whitewash of the winless Midway Panthers of Waco. Duncanville now owns a 3-1 record, one game shy of some other schools because of its earlier decision to cancel a scheduled meeting with an Ohio School, the latter shrouded by ethics and other undesirable accusations. Following an immediately upcoming bye week, the Panthers prepare for an Oct 8 road trip to the Lake Ridge Eagles of Mansfield, who are still looking to get untracked in what for them has been a rugged opening five games of the 2021 Season.
Denton’s Guyer High Wildcats appear to be a comfortable fit at #5 in the state, advancing to 5-0 in the season with a convincing 44-26 Division 6A Region 1 Conference win over McKinney’s Lions, who dropped to 3-2 for the year. Next in line for the Wildcats is a return to home field for another conference engagement, this time facing the Prosper Eagles and their 3-2 season record. Wildcats Head Coach Randy Webb’s charges have yet to be slowed by the introduction of Jackson Arnold to the starting QB role.
A few miles West of Ft. Worth is home to another unblemished 5-0 season mark, compiled by the #7 ranked Aledo Bearcats. The most recent victory for this Division 5A-2 Region II team was achieved during the 51-7 home field undoing of the Everman Bulldogs, who brought a 2-2 record to the field. Bearcats Head Coach Tim Buchanan finds good reason to place field generalship in the hands of Senior QB Braydon Fowler-Nicolosi, whose 62 throwing attempts have thus far gone without an interception.
Nearby Rockwall is the proud home of the Rockwall-Heath Hawks school and football power. They improved their 2021 season numbers to 4-1 and, likely, retained the 9th state rank by defeating their neighboring, 14th ranked Rockwall Yellowjackets. The victory came in a Division 6A Region II home field conference overtime thriller with a basketball sounding final score of 79-71! Head Coach Mike Spradlin dug into his formidable arsenal for a depth of offensive firepower. Senior QB Josh Hoover passed for 365 yards, 4 TDs, no interceptions in posting a lofty 145 rating. Sixteen pass receptions were divided among five talented players, in combination averaging 23 yards per catch. Another 4th-year star, Zach Evans, paced the infantry-like attack, plowing his way to 233 yards from scrimmage, 5TDs, and no fumbles. It may surprise no one that Heath has yet to make public any defensive statistics and totals. The Hawks prepare next for an Oct 1 road game against the Horn Jaguars out of Mesquite. The Jaguars are now 1-3 for the season.