The Cooldown - 5 thoughts from Week Two

DFW - Week Two

Week two brought some blowouts and one close game between two good teams. We are learning more and more about every team as we approach the district portion of the season. Here are my five thoughts from Week two in the Dallas/ Fort Worth metroplex.

• Denton Guyer is Back.

Guyer picked up a quality win last week over Aledo by a final score of 60-57. The Wildcats escaped Cedar Hill 40-36 this week. Guyer has started its season off with two consecutive close wins over great programs. It should only get easier for the Wildcats throughout the rest of the regular season. Their game with Southlake Carroll is the toughest for the rest of the way and will decide the district championship.

Eli Stowers and Kaedric Cobbs are leading this Guyer charge. Quarterback Stowers passed for 302 yards and a touchdown against Cedar Hill while Cobbs added 217 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Seth Meador led in receiving with 109 yards and a score. Fans better keep their eyes on this Denton Guyer Wildcat squad as they are one of just a few teams in 6A that are legitimate state contenders.

On the other hand, Cedar Hill is one of the best 0-2 teams in the area. The Longhorns opened their season with a 41-27 loss at Allen before falling short against Denton Guyer over the weekend. Kaidon Salter tossed three touchdowns and 325 yards, completing 50 percent of his passes. Corie Allen rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown while Quin Bright had 135 receiving yards and a score.

Like Guyer, Cedar Hill’s schedule will get easier from here on out. The Longhorns still have rival DeSoto on the schedule, but Cedar Hill should be able to bounce back. Teams in the DFW area won’t want to see either school in the playoffs come November.

• Allen is Still Allen.

Raylen Sharpe has taken over as the quarterback at Allen and the Eagles haven’t missed a beat in their first two games. After beating Cedar Hill last week, Allen took down Houston power Dickinson 38-24. The Eagles have been to the state semifinals each of the last seven seasons, but can Sharpe take them there? That remains to be seen. He is a great talent but has been a little inconsistent at times.

Sharpe threw for 201 yards and four touchdowns, but also had an interception when Allen had a chance to put the game away. Instead, Dickinson reeled off 10 unanswered points in the third quarter to cut the Allen final margin of victory to 14 points. We will see if Sharpe is up to the test this fall.

Celdon Manning rushed for 103 yards and Jordan Johnson added 86 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Derrion Sherfield led in receiving with 88 yards and a score. Allen had nine penalties for 95 yards, but its only week two and there is plenty of time to clean that up.

• Duncanville is Still the Best Team in DFW.

Duncanville rolled over South Oak Cliff 59-3 this weekend to improve to 2-0. I am very impressed with the Panthers defense to this point in the season. The Panthers only gave up 163 total yards, most of those coming on the ground for SOC. They appear to be the most complete team in the area with touchdowns in all 3 phases of the game in that win.

Camaron Gray rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Duncanville offense. One of the few concerns from this one was Ja’Quinden Jackson. The senior Quarterback struggled to get going, only completing six of his 13 passes for 49 yards and an interception. He will need to improve if Duncanville wants to go back to the state championship game.

• Offensive Game of the Week

Justin Northwest and McKinney North combined for 1,443 yards of offense and 133 points. McKinney North beat Northwest 68-65. McKinney North quarterback Dillon Markiewicz passed for 365 yards and four touchdowns. Emanuel Fincher rushed for 205 yards and two score. Only three receivers caught passes for McKinney North, led by JJ Henry with 204 yards and two touchdowns and Noah Ford, who had 125 yards and a score. Northwest quarterback Austin Ahmad completed 29 passes for 512 yards and seven touchdowns. Seven!!! Receiver Zavion Taylor caught 16 of those passes for 309 yards and six touchdowns. Kyndal Sims rushed for 197 yards and a touchdown.

The close loss drops Northwest to 0-2, while McKinney North has won both of its games by a combined five points.

• Parish Episcopal edges Trinity Christian on ESPN

One week after North Shore took on Katy on ESPNU, two DFW private schools took centerstage on ESPN. Parish Episcopal defeated Trinity Christian 33-27 in overtime. These ESPN games are great exposure for Texas High School football. Sheduer Sanders passed for 183 yards and rushed for 49 and three touchdowns at quarterback for Trinity Christian. Just as impressive was Preston Stone, who finished with 201 yards passing and three total touchdowns.