The Cooldown- Week Seven
Some of the most anticipated games in the metroplex were canceled last weekend due to coronavirus concerns. We’re sitting at a crucial point of the season with district play starting in the next few weeks for large schools and playoff races heating up for small schools. Everybody has to continue to do their part in making sure we finish this season. Though some great games were canceled, we still have some good ones to recap and a handful to look forward to this weekend. Let’s dive in!
Rockwall Upsets Southlake Carroll
Upset doesn’t quite feel like the right word because I feel like Rockwall is in the same tier as Southlake Carroll, but it was the most impressive win from last weekend. Southlake Carroll is hard enough to beat straight up but falling into a 21-0 hole in the 2nd quarter made it even more difficult for Rockwall to beat the Dragons. Each team finished with more than 500 yards of offense, but it was the Rockwall defense coming up with two huge interceptions of Dragon quarterback Quinn Ewers in the 4th quarter that helped seal the win for Rockwall.
Braedyn Locke finished with 349 yards passing and three touchdowns. Zach Hernandez rushed for over 100 yards and four different receivers finished with at least 75 yards and a score. Rockwall has balance and I think this group can hang with any team in the state. As good as Rockwall was, Ewers still had a good night with 326 yards passing and four total touchdowns. Most of those passing yards went to Landon Samson and RJ Maryland. Owen Allen rushed for over 140 yards and two scores. This was a great game and these two teams should both have high expectations for the rest of the season.
Lewisville defeats Arlington Lamar
Another team to snag a come-from-behind victory this weekend was the Lewisville Fighting Farmers over Arlington Lamar. The Lewisville offense was firing on all cylinders, putting up 51 points in a 10-point victory. I said before the season started that Lewisville’s offense had a chance to be the most explosive offense in the metroplex, and the Fighting Farmers have looked the part so far.
Quarterback Taylen Green finished with 308 passing yards and another 129 rushing yards and four total touchdowns. 129 yards on the ground would normally be enough to lead a team in rushing, but not this one. Damien Martinez has continued his reign of terror, finishing with 182 yards and two scores on the ground against the Lamar Vikings. Armani Winfield led all receivers with 120 yards and a score while Jalen Piece added 103 yards and Isiah Stevens finished with 66 yards and a touchdown. This offense is absolutely loaded with playmakers all over the field.
Lamar quarterback Cade Carlson finished with 330 yards passing and three touchdowns. The Vikings also had a 100-yard rusher as Anthony Williams finished with 107 yards on the ground. The Lamar Vikings are now 1-2 on the season with tough losses to Lewisville and Trinity. Lamar had one of the more challenging non-district schedules which should help prepare the Vikings for a tough district schedule.
Player of the Week
My players of the week are the entire Lewisville offense. Taylen Green, Damien Martinez, Armani Winfield, Isiah Stevens and Jalen Piece all put up big numbers. Those guys deserve a lot of love for their performance, but so does the offensive line. Protecting a 300-yard passer and blocking for two 100-yard rushers isn’t easy. I couldn’t pick just one player on the offense, so I went with the entire offense! The offense will carry this team as far as it will go, and I can’t wait to watch how this season plays out for this group.
Team of the Week
My team of the week is the Rockwall Yellow Jackets. Rockwall’s come-from-behind win over Southlake Carroll was impressive and the kind of win that could propel Rockwall forward. The Yellow Jackets will host Highland Park this weekend and Rockwall should have plenty of confidence to string together some wins through district play and into the playoffs.
Games to Watch
Thursday, October 15
Skyline @ Keller
Skyline lost its opening game against McKinney last weekend 21-13. It’s hard to get a good read on this team through just one game and we should find out a little more about the Raiders when they play at Keller this Thursday. The Keller Indians bounced back from an overtime loss to Denton Braswell in its opener with a big 48-14 win over North Mesquite last weekend. This should be a close game but I’m not entirely sure what to expect. Skyline scored 13 points in its only game of the season while Keller has put up 37 and 48 points. Does the Skyline offense score more against the Keller defense or does the Keller offense struggle against the Skyline defense? I’ll be keeping my eye on this game.
Longview @ Beaumont West Brook
This is an east Texas showdown but it’s a rematch of the 2018 6A DII State Championship Game. We won’t have much coverage of this one, but it should be a fairly good game. I’ll have my eyes on this game as well and will provide updates over on Twitter @ihss_dfw if it is a good game.
South Grand Prairie @ Arlington Bowie
This should be a great game. South Grand Prairie is 2-0 and has won both games by a combined four points. The Warriors have a knack for winning close games which could tell us something about how this game might go. I think these are two evenly matched teams and this game could come down to the wire. Bowie is 2-0 with wins over Mansfield and Mesquite Horn. I am looking forward to this game as it might end up being the best game on Thursday night.
Friday, October 16
Denton Guyer @ Southlake Carroll
Can’t make it out to Dragon Stadium in Southlake? It’s ok! ESPN has you covered! That’s right, this game will be broadcasted on ESPN2 on Friday night. It’s well-deserved as two high powered offenses featuring quarterbacks committed to Texas A&M (Eli Stowers) and Texas (Quinn Ewers) square off in a rematch of last season’s shootout win for Carroll over Guyer. This should be a great game and I am glad the rest of America will have an opportunity to see a great high school football game in the metroplex.
Arlington @ Arlington Martin
Arlington and Arlington Martin both picked up big wins last weekend over Keller Fossil Ridge and Temple respectively. Martin has bounced back with two nice wins after an opening loss against a stellar Denton Ryan squad. Now district play starts for these teams and this should be a great game between two good teams with momentum.
Cedar Hill @ Aledo
Cedar Hill was scheduled to host Allen last weekend before the Eagles had to cancel due to coronavirus concerns. So, of course, the Longhorns had to find another high caliber team to play. Cedar Hill will play at Aledo this weekend in what should be a great game. Longhorn quarterback Kaidon Salter wasn’t happy Allen had to cancel last weekend’s highly anticipated matchup and I can’t wait to see Salter play against Aledo’s defense.
Highland Park @ Rockwall
Both teams picked up quality wins at home last weekend. I already covered Rockwall, but Highland Park picked up a nice win over Coppell in its first game of the season. Quarterback Brayden Schager was impressive for Highland Park and the Scots should be contenders behind Schager once again. I have Rockwall in this one, but I expect Highland Park to be competitive and it wouldn’t surprise me if the Scots pulled off a big road win.