09/21/22

The Cooldown: Week Four

Cover Photo via the Dallas Morning News/ Smiley N. Pool

We are a month into the season and most teams in the metroplex will reach the halfway point in the schedule after this weekend. Teams across the metroplex have moved into district play, making winning even more crucial as these games decide playoff seeding. Let’s recap week four and preview the week five action.

Denton Guyer beats Prosper

Denton Guyer took down Prosper in a defensive slugfest. If there is anything we learned from this game, it’s that Denton Guyer really is for real and that Prosper’s defense can hold up against the best of the best. The Denton Guyer running backs wore down the Eagles defense in the second half but Prosper still held Jackson Arnold to eight-of-18 passing and under 100 yards through the air. That might be the last time Arnold posts a stat line like that all year.

Arnold did pass for 72 yards and a touchdown with an interception. Landon Sides caught the touchdown pass and Sutton Lee led the Wildcats with 34 yards receiving. Trey Joyner carried the ball 22 times for 134 yards and a touchdown and Ahmed Yussuf carried the ball 20 times for 98 yards and a score. Joyner, Yussuf and the Denton Guyer defense won this game.

Prosper quarterback Harrison Rosar completed eight of his 14 attempts for 87 yards a touchdown with an interception. I don’t know if you can exactly say Rosar “out-dueled” Arnold, but this might be the last time this season an opposing quarterback finishes with more yards and a higher completion percentage than Arnold. Brayden Rymer scored a touchdown on the ground and Dylan Hinshaw was the recipient of Rosar’s touchdown pass. Hunter Summers led the Eagles with 49 receiving yards.

Denton Guyer and Prosper will compete with Allen for the top three playoff spots in this district. It’s clear that these three teams are the best in the conference- and that Denton Guyer is the favorite to win the district.

South Oak Cliff takes down Parish Episcopal

It’s been a tough month for South Oak Cliff. That’s just how coach Jason Todd intended it to be for the Golden Bears. The district schedule won’t prepare South Oak Cliff for the competition it will face in the playoffs, so Todd scheduled his team for a tour through the best football teams Dallas has to offer. Maybe the SMU Mustangs would have been on the schedule if SOC had another date open. Regardless, SOC gets out of non-district play at 1-3 with a 31-28 win over Parish Episcopal to cap it off.

South Oak Cliff really needed this game to inspire confidence. The running backs really stepped up to help deliver the win. Tedrick Williams led the Golden Bears on the ground with 155 yards and a touchdown while Danny Green added 122 yards and three scores. Carter Kopecky carried the ball nine times for 47 yards to give SOC three rushers averaging more than five yards-per-carry. Quarterback Tray Walton passed for 31 yards on nine attempts and Randy Reece caught two passes for 21 yards. Figuring out the passing game will be crucial for South Oak Cliff in district play.

The SOC defense was great against Parish Episcopal for most of the night. Quarterback Sawyer Anderson passed for 187 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Derek Eusebio led the Panthers in receiving with 84 yards and a touchdown. Cooper Mailand also hauled in a 77-yard touchdown pass. Reid Maddox carried the ball 18 times for 94 yards and a score to lead Parish Episcopal on the ground.

Prosper Rock Hill rallies to beat Denton Braswell

Prosper Rock Hill started off district play with a win after scoring the go-ahead touchdown with just 10 seconds left to beat Denton Braswell 50-49. Prosper Rock Hill trailed for the majority of the game before taking a one-point lead in the final moments of the game. There was plenty of offense in this one as Rock Hill racked up 527 yards of offense and Braswell added 497 yards of offense. Let’s dive into some of the numbers.

Prosper Rock Hill quarterback Kevin Sperry passed for 278 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead touchdown pass to Isaiah Orlandi. Sperry also had a big night on the ground with three touchdowns to give him six total scores, but I will have more on that below. Victor Chionuma added 79 yards on the ground and caught seven passes for 118 yards to lead the Blue Hawks in receiving. Matt Wagner caught six passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns and Orlandi caught two passes for 26 yards and the game clinching touchdown reception.

Denton Braswell quarterback Keegan Byrd also accounted for six total touchdowns. Byrd passed for 217 yards and two touchdowns while adding 98 yards and four scores on the ground. Earl Richardson Jr. led the Bengals in rushing with 99 yards. Dylan Smith led Braswell in receiving with two receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown. Ja’Ryan Wallace added five receptions for 80 yards and a score in the loss.

District play doesn’t get any easier for either team this week. Rock Hill faces Prosper and Denton Braswell hosts Allen.

Games to Watch

Thursday 9/22

Arlington Bowie (2-2) @ Arlington Sam Houston (0-4)

Starting off district play on a high note is important to both of these teams. Arlington Bowie and Sam Houston will both compete for playoff spots but starting off district play with a win is always important for teams on the bubble. That may not be the case for Bowie as much as it is for Sam Houston, but it will be important to both teams. This should be a game to keep an eye on.

Frisco Centennial (2-2) @ Frisco Heritage (3-1)

Frisco Heritage is 2-0 in district play thus far while Frisco Centennial trails the Coyotes in the district standings at 1-1. Frisco Centennial lost to Frisco 24-10 last week while Frisco Heritage boasts nice wins over Frisco Wakeland and Frisco Liberty. This game will be crucial for both teams for playoff seeding purposes.

Friday 9/23

Rockwall Heath (3-1) @ Rockwall (3-1)

It’s always a game to watch when these two get together. The I-30 Classic will once again likely determine the District 10-6A Champion, however, Mesquite Horn has flashed potential and is 3-1, as is North Forney. This rivalry has been a thriller the last few years. These two teams will start a new chapter after graduating strong senior classes last year and it should be a great game to watch.

Flower Mound Marcus (1-2) @ Hebron (2-1)

District 6-6A feels wide open to me. There are a handful of talented teams and Marcus and Hebron are right in the thick of it. I think Flower Mound Marcus should win this game and start 1-0 in district play, but Hebron has the better record and has played well the last few weeks after a big loss to Jesuit to open the season.

Trinity (0-4) @ North Crowley (4-0)

Trinity is 0-4 and is staring down the barrel of 0-5 with a tough North Crowley squad up next. The Trojans have three relatively close losses to go with a 30-point loss to Rockwall Heath. If Trinity losses and drops to 0-5, the attention shouldn’t be on the Trojans. North Crowley has a really talented team and a chance to start the season 5-0 with a signature win on Friday night.

Frisco Wakeland (1-3) @ Frisco Lone Star (2-1)

Can Frisco Wakeland finally break its losing streak against Frisco Lone Star? It will be a tough task. Frisco Lone Star has been without starting quarterback Gabriel Barrientes and is still trying to find its footing. Both teams have lost to Frisco Reedy (shoutout to the Lions on a 4-0 start) and need a win this weekend. Lone Star lost to Reedy 13-7 and Wakeland suffered a heartbreaking loss to Reedy 41-37 last weekend.

Lancaster (3-1) @ Longview (4-0)

Lancaster has had a good start to the year. The Tigers beat South Oak Cliff and were competitive enough with 6A power Denton Guyer in the non-district schedule. Lancaster hammered McKinney North 74-7 to open district play last weekend. Longview is a much tougher test. Forney will also be a tough team to play later in the district schedule. Longview is 4-0 and has yet to play in a close game, but also hasn’t faced the same level of competition Lancaster has. This should be a pretty good game.

Offensive Player of the Week

My Offensive Player of the Week is Prosper Rock Hill quarterback Kevin Sperry! As mentioned above, Prosper Rock Hill defeated Denton Braswell 50-49 behind a big night from Sperry. The Rock Hill quarterback passed for 278 yards and three touchdowns and added 154 yards and three scores on the ground to lead the Blue Hawks in rushing. That’s six total touchdowns and more than 400 yards of total offense for Sperry! That includes the game winning touchdown pass to power Rock Hill to a win in its district opener!

Defensive Player of the Week

My Defensive Player of the Week is Kimball linebacker Kevaughn Lockett! Kimball defeated Arlington Sam Houston 16-9 in a defensive slugfest. Lockett led the Kimball defense with 20 tackles, 16 solo tackles, five tackles-for-loss and a fumble recovery in the win!

Cover Photo of the Prosper Eagles courtesy of the Dallas Morning News and Staff Photographer Smiley N. Pool.