The first round of the UIL state football playoffs is in the books and delivered significant storylines. Below are some of the more interesting results from round one:
Upsets
Rockwall Heath (7-4) ended Wylie East’s (9-2) first playoff appearance since 2016 in the first round of the 6A Div. II playoffs with a 23-16 upset win. Heath limited Wylie East to just 70 yards rushing.
McKinney (7-4) downed Coppell (9-2) Friday night, 44-26, for a spot in the next round of the 6A Div. II playoffs. McKinney rushed for 386 yards on an average of 7.72 yards per carry to pick up the upset win.
South Grand Prairie (6-5) extended its win streak to six games with a 31-27 upset victory over Lake Highlands (8-3) in the first round of the 6A Div. I playoffs. South Grand Prairie running Back A.J. Newberry rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
In 5A Div. I, Frisco Wakeland (7-4), upset Birdville (8-3) 42-28 to advance. Wakeland quarterback Brennan Myer completed 26-of-40 passes for 337 yards and five touchdowns.
Traditional Powerhouses Go Down
Denton Ryan had reached at least the state quarterfinals in seven consecutive seasons, including a state championship in 2020 and a state runner-up finish in 2019. That streak dramatically ended Friday night as Red Oak (9-2) defeated Ryan (7-4) 29-28 in overtime in 5A Div. I.
Ryan led 21-0 at halftime, but Red Oak rallied to force overtime. Red Oak’s Jaylon Robinson’s touchdown pass to TCU pledge Warren Roberson got them to within one point in overtime. Red Oak went for the win instead of the tie, and Robinson and Roberson connected again on the game-winning two-point conversion.
Lewisville (10-1) won its first district championship in 21 years and on Friday defeated Allen (7-4) for the first time since 1995. Lewisville led wire-to-wire in its 43-18 6A Div. I win over one of the most vaunted programs in the state.
Lewisville quarterback Ethan Terrell rushed for 164 yards and totaled five touchdowns in the win.
Defending State Champ Survives
5A Div. II’s defending state champion South Oak Cliff trailed Mansfield Summit 7-0 at halftime and 7-6 entering the fourth quarter before SMU commit Randy Reece returned a punt 55 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 7:44 remaining to give SOC a 12-7 win.
Even though the win is its eighth consecutive, South Oak Cliff (8-3) showed that it is vulnerable in these playoffs, especially considering that it only produced 126 yards of offense against a Summit (5-6) team that had a rough year.
Top Ranked Teams Dominate
The area’s top-ranked teams flexed their muscles with dominant wins.
In 6A Div. I, Duncanville (10-0) routed Bryan (6-5) 74-13 by amassing 577 yards of total offense.
Southlake Carroll (11-0) quarterback Graham Knowles threw for 324 yards and four touchdowns in a 52-13 win over Crowley (4-7). Knowles began the season as a backup but took over after the season-opening starter, Wyoming commit Kaden Anderson, was injured against Keller on October 7.
In 6A Div. II, five-star Oklahoma commit quarterback Jackson Arnold led Denton Guyer (11-0) to a 42-7 victory over Flower Mound Marcus (6-5). Arnold completed 16-of-22 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns, with an additional 36 yards and two scores on the ground.
Mansfield Timberview (11-0), the Dallas area’s most dominant football team based on its average margin of victory, led Frisco Heritage (6-5) by just six entering the fourth quarter before pulling away for a 33-14 win in 5A Div. I.
Ten-time state champion Aledo (9-2) showed it is a legitimate state-title contender in 5A Div. I again after beating Killeen Shoemaker (8-3) 37-0.
Aledo has won nine in a row since opening the season with back-to-back losses, outscoring its opposition 480-102 during the winning streak.
