Recap area high school football games, played from Sept. 23-25, with content from The Dallas Morning News.
Friday recaps
Final scores: See who won in matchups across the state
Highlights: McKinney Boyd stays unbeaten in OT thriller; Garland QB remains hot
How top teams fared: How area- and state-ranked teams fared in Texas high school football this week
5 things we learned: Overtime ruled Friday night, Denton Guyer survives scare
Game Stories
- Rivalry game for the ages! Rockwall-Heath tops Rockwall 79-71 in explosive, double-OT thriller
- Southlake Carroll dismantles Trophy Club Byron Nelson in 68-7 ‘statement’ to rest of District 4-6A
- Damien Martinez leads Lewisville in blowout win over Plano West to avenge last season’s loss
- Backup QB Yale Erdman leads Flower Mound to come-from-behind win over FM Marcus
- Tyson Bope drills 31-yard FG to push Little Elm past Prosper in overtime thriller
- ‘We can do it all’: Colleyville Heritage scores in all 3 phases of the game to defeat Richland
Photos
- Flower Mound-FM Marcus
- Rockwall-Heath
- Prestonwood Christian-John Paul II
- Plano West-Lewisville
- McKinney Boyd-Denton Braswell
- Sachse-Rowlett
- WT White-Woodrow Wilson
- Carrollton Ranchview-Terrell
Thursday’s Recaps
Thursday’s Dallas-area scores, stats and summaries: View them here
Photos: Denton Ryan vs. Frisco Wakeland
Preview material
Schedule of games: View matchups here
Players to watch: Ten players from different area schools are represented
Dallas-area rankings: Denton Guyer rises in 6A; a new No. 1 in 5A
Dallas-area stat leaders: See the top performers in each classification
Offensive player of the Week: Sachse QB Alex Orji
Defensive player of the week: Madison DL Alex Bowman
Storylines to know: Five interesting storylines to keep an eye on
Notable games: Previews and predictions for games
Pick ‘Em: Here’s who our experts are taking
Stories to know
Making up for lost time: COVID-related forfeitures force Spruce, other area teams to play catch-up
Spruce is in a hole to start district play.
At 1-3 overall, but 0-2 in the all-important District 6-5AII standings, Spruce needs to make up for lost time.
Spruce had to forfeit its first two district games of the season because of COVID-19 issues, dropping to 0-2 without playing a down.
What was an unprecedented situation last year, where districts across the state had to figure out how to handle canceled games, is still an unfortunate reality.
“COVID is here,” Spruce coach Carl Richardson said. “And whatever we have to do to keep our kids and family safe, that’s what we have to do.”
Spruce found out it had to forfeit its Sept. 10 game against South Oak Cliff just hours before the game was scheduled to kick off.
COVID-19 cases and contact tracing on the team meant it wasn’t safe for Spruce to take the field, and the following week’s game against Mesquite Poteet was also canceled due to lack of adequate practice time once players returned.
Read the rest of this story here.
Choctaw Stadium makes dream of playing in a big stadium a regular reality for Arlington ISD schools
Take away the stadium lights and all the seats, you’ll find that the football field at Choctaw Stadium is the same 120 yards as anywhere else.
Keep it all there — it’s slightly weird to some given that the stadium, formerly known as Globe Life Park, was originally intended to be a ballpark — and you’ve got one of the most expensive high school venues deep in the heart of Arlington.
“Other than the desire to go into AT&T stadium for the state championship games, I felt like the No. 1 destination for all Texas high school sports last year was Choctaw Stadium,” Arlington coach Scott Peach said.
Arlington ISD and the Rangers finalized a four-year agreement for AISD teams to play football games at Choctaw Stadium in April 2020. According to previous reporting, it costs the district $15,000 per event to hold games there. The 2021-22 season marks the second year of the agreement.
Choctaw Stadium serves as a third venue for AISD schools to share while the district renovates Cravens Field and Wilemon Field. Once contract expires, athletic director Eric White is hoping for renovations to be completed as well as construction of the district’s new venue, Glaspie Field, that will house Martin and Arlington Seguin.
For now, each team in AISD has a chance to play at least one of 14 games scheduled at the stadium. This week Martin hosts crosstown rival Arlington at Choctaw Stadium.
Keep track of all cancellations and schedule changes here.
Other notable reads
— A promise kept: How Corey Borner, left paralyzed by a football injury at DeSoto, walked again
— The nation’s No. 1 wide receiver, Frisco Liberty’s Evan Stewart, will be on national TV vs. Lovejoy
— Mixing things up: How versatility helped Bryan Adams go 3-0 to begin its season
— Who is the Dallas area’s top QB? Rockwall vs. Rockwall-Heath rivalry game may yield an answer
— How an undersized defense has led Keller to its best start in over 50 years
— Angles have been key for Plano East RB Ismail Mahdi, 6A’s rushing leader
— For first-year 6A football coaches, building relationships has been as important as wins
— Four-star running back Emeka Megwa leaves Timber Creek, enrolls a year early at Washington
— Randy Allen, top-ranked Highland Park prepared after non-district ‘gauntlet’ to open season
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Find more high school sports stories from The Dallas Morning News here.
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