Here are five thoughts from Dallas-area football games played on Sept. 24-25.
Top-ranked 5A teams validate
Denton Ryan claiming the top-ranked spot in the preseason 5A-I state rankings made a lot of sense. The Raiders returned a ton of talent from a team that nearly won the state title. Plus, the team Ryan lost to, Alvin Shadow Creek, moved up to the 6A level.
Ennis earning the preseason No. 1 ranking in 5A-II, however, did come as a slight surprise, especially considering perennial powerhouse Aledo, the reigning two-time state champions, are in the same region as Ennis and knocked the Lions out of the playoffs a year ago.
Both teams wasted no time validating their state rankings.
Denton Ryan started off the day with an impressive 47-24 win over Arlington Martin, the No. 11 team in the preseason 6A state rankings. Senior Ja’Tavion Sanders had three touchdowns, including a highlight reel truck and run on offense and a pick-six on defense.
All Ennis did was dominate the sixth-ranked 5A team in the area rankings, Red Oak, in a 52-21 win. Ennis didn’t punt all night — not once — and the starters scored on every offensive possession.
It’s only Week 1, but Ryan and Ennis showed why they should be considered two of the best 5A teams in the state.
Another 5A favorite falls
The top spot in the 5A rankings is where you found Frisco Lone Star for the majority of last season until the undefeated Rangers lost to Denton Ryan in the state semifinals.
Now the program has lost two games in a row. Lone Star, the second-ranked 5A-I team in the state, lost on Thursday to North Forney, 34-31.
We may look back at this game and say it says more about North Forney’s potential than a slight against Lone Star.
North Forney head coach Randy Jackson told The Dallas Morning News Friday that his team has the mentality that it needs to win plays in order to win games. With a dominant defensive line, led by senior Roderick Brown, North Forney won a lot of plays against Lone Star, holding the Rangers to 237 yards. Jackson said it also allowed his players to move on when plays were lost, like when Lone Star scored two defensive touchdowns in a row, or when the team lost starting quarterback Jacob Acuna to an ankle injury.
Landon Heath, Acuna’s backup, completed one pass: a 76-yard touchdown to Michigan State-bound tight end Kameron Allen. That, plus its defense, was enough for Forney to hold on.
Was this a slip up against a really good team, or a come back to earth signal for Frisco Lone Star? There’s plenty of season left for the Rangers to determine that answer.
Wow, McKinney
Last season, Marcus Shavers' McKinney team showed an ability to be clutch. The Lions won their last four games of the season to sneak into the playoffs, including a 10-7 win over McKinney Boyd in the season finale.
It looks like that clutch gene may have carried over. After Plano rallied from a 21-0 deficit to take a touchdown lead with less than a minute left, McKinney’s Cameron Rivas took the enduring kickoff back to the house for a touchdown. Instead of going for the tie, McKinney went for the late lead. RJ Carver ran in the two-point conversion to give McKinney a 36-35 win.
Plano, though in a loss, did impress. Quarterback Oliver Towns and running back Tylan Hines combined for 32 carries, 257 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Still, it was McKinney that walked away with a win, thanks to a little bit of clutch-ness.
Speaking of Plano...
Winning is not something Plano West is accustomed to of late. The Wolves entered this year with a 2-38 record over the last four seasons.
But football is a what-have-you-done lately type of sport, so the only record that matters for the Wolves is 1-0.
Not only did Plano West win on Friday, but it did so in impressive fashion, beating Wylie — a playoff team a year ago — 28-0.
Tabren Yates ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns while the Plano West defense held Wylie to 153 total yards and forced multiple fourth down stops. Three-star linebacker Jacob Stephens also has a scoop and score touchdown.
One win doesn’t make a winning season, but it shows promise for a team under second-year head coach Tyler Soukup, especially when the program hasn’t won many games over the last four seasons.
Let’s talk about quarterbacks
The last time we saw Denton Guyer quarterback Eli Stowers he was on crutches after he injured his knee on the opening drive of the 6A-II state title game.
Stowers was back on the field Friday night and had some impressive plays against a Hebron defense that’s expected to be tough. He completed two touchdown passes to Grayson O’Bara, including a beautiful 41-yard toss, and threw for 199 yards.
A new season in a new offense can be a challenge. Add in a significant knee injury and rust is to be expected, but Stowers showed his big-play potential Friday.
There were other quarterback storylines going into this weekend.
Red Oak sophomore Chris Parson didn’t start Friday’s game against Ennis but ended up taking the majority of the snaps, leading Red Oak on all three of its touchdowns drives. Parson made his first career start last season in the state championship game for Duncanville, but transferred this offseason to Red Oak. He entered the season behind senior Josh Ervin on the depth chart, but it’ll be interesting to see how Red Oak handles its quarterback situation moving forward.
Rockwall quarterback Braedyn Locke threw three touchdowns in his first game without historic receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who is now at Ohio State.
SMU pledge Preston Stone, the top-ranked quarterback in the SportsDayHS Top 100, picked up right where he left off a season ago. He completed 32 of 41 passes for 451 yards and three touchdowns to lead Parish Episcopal, the reigning TAPPS Div. 1 champions, to a 49-7 win over Bishop Lynch.
LSU pledge Garrett Nussmeier threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns in Flower Mound Marcus' 48-31 win over Jesuit.
Those are just some quarterback storylines that played out this week, and we’ll see more next week, highlighted by the season debut Southlake Carroll junior Quinn Ewers, a Texas pledge and the top-ranked recruit in the nation in 2022.
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