Here are 10 Dallas-area players to watch during Week 7 of the 2024 Texas high school football season.
Keelon Russell, Duncanville, QB
Duncanville at DeSoto, 7 p.m. Friday at Eagle Stadium
The five-star Alabama pledge, the nation’s third-ranked senior quarterback, enters the Game of the Year in Texas having thrown for 1,437 yards and 20 touchdowns in four games while averaging 359.3 yards per game and completing 75% of his passes for the No. 4 team in the nation. He is on the watch list for the MaxPreps National Player of the Year award. Russell is coming off a 474-yard, six-touchdown game in a 63-14 rout of Skyline — his second straight game with six touchdown passes — but he will be facing a nationally ranked DeSoto team that has allowed just eight touchdown passes in five games. Duncanville is 33-1 with Russell at quarterback and has won back-to-back Class 6A Division I state titles. He has 80 touchdown passes in those 34 games. Russell was 29-for-42 for 296 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s 49-35 loss to DeSoto.
Ty Haywood, Denton Ryan, OL
Richland at Denton Ryan, 7 p.m. Friday at the C.H. Collins Complex
The five-star Alabama pledge is the No. 2-ranked offensive tackle in the country and the fifth-rated overall recruit in Texas. Denton Ryan, the No. 1-ranked Class 5A Division I team in the state going into this past week, is averaging 43.2 points and had a 19-point second-quarter lead over 12-time state champion Aledo on Friday before falling 42-27 as Aledo extended its state-record district winning streak to 123 games. Richland (6-0, 4-0), ranked No. 5 in the state, is tied with Aledo for first place in District 3-5A Division I, with Denton Ryan (4-1, 2-1) one game back in the loss column. Richland is seeking its second straight undefeated regular season but will be playing the rest of the season without four-star running back Michael Turner Jr., a Baylor pledge who suffered a torn MCL.
Jacobe Hayes, Mansfield, WR
Crowley at Mansfield, 7 p.m. Thursday at Vernon Newsom Stadium
The North Texas pledge ranks second among area 6A players with 10 touchdown catches, and he is third in receiving yards with 621 while averaging nearly 20 yards per catch. Mansfield has one of the top wide receiver duos in the Dallas area, as four-star junior Zion Robinson has 32 catches for 420 yards and six touchdowns. They combined for nine catches for 192 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s 49-14 rout of Mansfield Lake Ridge. Hayes and Robinson both ran on Mansfield’s 4x100-meter relay team that placed seventh at the state track meet last season. This is a critical game in District 3-6A, as Mansfield (6-0, 2-0) and Crowley (3-3, 2-0) are tied for first, with nationally ranked North Crowley (5-5, 1-0) a half-game behind.
Hayes Hackney, Prosper Walnut Grove, QB
Frisco Liberty at Prosper Walnut Grove, 7 p.m. Thursday at Children’s Health Stadium
Walnut Grove’s magical second season of varsity football continues. It is 5-0 and tied with Lovejoy for first place in District 4-5A Division II while winning by an average of 32.2 points per game. Hackney, a freshman, has thrown 17 touchdown passes, tied for third-most among area 5A quarterbacks. Walnut Grove leads area 5A teams in total offense (565.2 yards per game) and scoring (53.6 points per game) and ranks second in passing (315.2 yards per game).
Greg Ard, McKinney North, RB
McKinney North at Frisco Reedy, 7 p.m. Thursday at Toyota Stadium
Ard leads area 5A players in rushing yards (1,021) and touchdown runs (14) and is averaging 9.3 yards per carry. He has gone over 100 yards in his last five games, and he has run for 650 yards and 12 touchdowns during McKinney North’s three-game winning streak. This is a key game in District 5-5A Division I, as Reedy (4-1, 3-0) and McKinney North (3-3, 3-1) try to keep pace with Frisco Lone Star (6-0, 4-0).
Chris Jimerson Jr., North Crowley, QB
Mansfield Lake Ridge at North Crowley, 7 p.m. Friday at Crowley ISD Stadium
Jimerson, a three-star North Texas pledge, has gotten overlooked at times this season because teammate Quentin Gibson is on pace to break the state record for most receiving touchdowns in a season. But Jimerson has been just as spectacular, leading area 6A players with 22 touchdown passes for a 5-0 team that is ranked No. 11 in the nation. Jimerson has been a big play machine, averaging 20.2 yards per completion in an offense that averages 52.2 points. Jimerson has 62 touchdown passes and only four interceptions while leading North Crowley to a 19-1 record since the start of the 2023 season.
Davis Penn, Southlake Carroll, RB
Northwest Eaton at Southlake Carroll, 7 p.m. Friday at Dragon Stadium
Penn, a four-star Baylor pledge, took over as Carroll’s featured back on Friday after four-star USC pledge Riley Wormley suffered a season-ending knee injury the week before. Penn ran for 136 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 9.1 yards per carry in a 52-21 win over Keller as Carroll (6-0, 4-0) remained undefeated and stayed a half-game ahead of Justin Northwest (5-0, 3-0) for first place in District 4-6A. Penn could be in line for a big second half of the season after running for 1,594 yards and 30 touchdowns as a sophomore last year.
Legend Bey, North Forney, QB
North Forney at Rockwall-Heath, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium
Bey, a three-star junior with 18 college offers, is at his fourth high school in three years after previously attending Frisco Reedy, Frisco Lone Star and Mesquite Horn. He has been spectacular as a runner, rushing for 919 yards and 14 touchdowns while averaging 11.6 yards per carry for a 4-2 team that leads District 10-6A at 2-0. He is tied for the 6A area lead in rushing touchdowns. Bey ran for 234 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 39-7 win over Tyler Legacy and accounted for 316 total yards (198 rushing) and five touchdowns the week before that in a 35-31 upset win over 2023 state semifinalist Forney.
Ziondre Williams, Anna, QB
Anna at Frisco Emerson, 7 p.m. Friday at Toyota Stadium
After winning the Class 4A Division I state championship last season and then moving up to 5A in realignment, Anna (2-3, 1-2) has lost three games by a combined 11 points and needs a win over Emerson (5-1, 3-1) to get back into playoff contention in District 4-5A Division II. Williams has accounted for 22 touchdowns (16 passing) and has averaged 344.2 yards of total offense per game but will be going against the area’s top 5A scoring defense, as Emerson allows just 10.3 points per game.
Garrett Westrom, Argyle, DB
Arlington Seguin at Argyle, 7 p.m. Friday at Eagle Stadium
Argyle (4-1, 3-0), ranked fifth in the state in 5A Division II, is tied with Mansfield Summit (3-2, 3-0) for first place in District 3-5A Division II, with Arlington Seguin (5-1, 3-1) a half-game back. Westrom is a big reason why, ranking second on the team in tackles (40) and tackles per game (8.0) while recording a team-high six passes defended. Westrom and the rest of the Argyle secondary will look to slow down Seguin star wide receiver Carterrious Brown, an SMU pledge who has 28 catches for 575 yards and leads area 5A players with 10 touchdown catches.
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