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5 thoughts from Week 2: North Crowley makes statement, The Colony emerges as team to watch

Duncanville played its first game of the season and Lovejoy coach Todd Dodge starts 0-2 for the first time since 2000.

Here are five thoughts from Week 2 of the Texas high school football season.

North Crowley turns in statement win

DeSoto sent shockwaves across the state when it beat Duncanville last fall for the District 11-6A title. On Friday night, it was North Crowley’s time to have that kind of moment. North Crowley upset the back-to-back 6A Division II state champ 57-51 on the road in a fearless performance.

The win was program-defining for North Crowley, which advanced to the 6A Division I state semifinal last season. For coach Ray Gates and his team, it’s only up from here. North Crowley will carry this momentum into upcoming matchups against state-ranked Denton Guyer and Rockwall.

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Duncanville debuts

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With no game scheduled for Week 1, Duncanville at long last made its 2024 debut. The defending 6A Division I state champs topped 5A state power South Oak Cliff 34-12 to open their season, thanks in part to a five-touchdown performance by senior quarterback Keelon Russell, a five-star Alabama pledge.

Russell connected with five-star Oregon commit Dakorien Moore, the Dallas-area’s top-ranked recruit, nine times. Moore finished the night with 119 yards and a touchdown.

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Up next for Duncanville is a home game against nationally ranked St. Frances (Md.).

Frisco Emerson on a roll

For the last two weeks, Frisco Emerson has defeated teams in higher classifications. The 2023 5A Division II state semifinalist topped Class 6A McKinney 17-7 in Week 1 and beat Class 5A Division I Frisco Reedy 21-13 on Thursday night.

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Emerson, ranked sixth in The Dallas Morning News’ Class 5A rankings, is only in its third varsity season and seeks another successful year after posting a 9–2 record in 2022 and a 12–3 record in 2023. Next week, Emerson begins its challenging District 4-5AII slate with a contest against Prosper Walnut Grove.

The Colony a team to watch

After missing out on the playoffs last season, The Colony is off to a 2-0 start in 2024. The Colony, which moved down to Class 5A Division II from Class 5A Division I this year, edged Frisco Wakeland 36-35 in overtime on Thursday night. Wakeland ranks 15th in The News’ Class 5A poll.

Quarterback Carson Cox had a big game for The Colony, passing 247 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 121 yards and three scores.

Todd Dodge, Lovejoy fall to 0–2

For the first time since 2000, his first year at Southlake Carroll, legendary coach Todd Dodge has started the high school football season 0-2.

The new Lovejoy coach fell to Highland Park 24-17 on Friday, marking the program’s second loss of the season. Lovejoy lost to Lubbock Cooper 46-43 in the season opener last week, ending the 40-game winning streak Dodge carried into his two-year retirement before returning to coaching this season.

In Dodge’s first season at Carroll, the team started 0-3 but finished the year 9-5 and appeared in the 4A Division II regional final. Dodge won four state championships at Carroll in subsequent years.

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Lovejoy will try to bounce back next week against Frisco Liberty.

On Twitter/X: @t_myah

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