The Cooldown- Week Seven
Cover Photo of Duncanville's Dakorien Moore courtesy of the Dallas Morning News and Staff Photographer Smiley N. Pool.
In seven years of covering the metroplex for Inside High School Sports, I can’t think of a duo on the same team more talented or fun to watch than Duncanville’s Keelon Russell and Dakorien Moore have been over the last few seasons. There have been dozens of iconic duos in the metroplex and throughout the state of Texas, but Russell and Moore will rank somewhere near the top when it’s all said and done. Russell and Moore put on an absolute show to power Duncanville past DeSoto, but more on that in a minute. Other results that caught my eye in week seven included Argyle’s big 36-7 win over Arlington Seguin, Denton Guyer’s 35-10 win over Hebron and Azle’s 54-42 win over Keller Fossil Ridge to remain undefeated. Now, let’s recap a few games.
Duncanville takes down DeSoto
Duncanville avenged its loss to DeSoto last year with a 42-20 win on the road on Friday night. The Panthers aired it out with great success all night, scoring all six touchdowns through the air. Russell has a great group of receivers to air it out to and it makes it really hard for any defense to slow Duncanville down. On the other hand, the Panthers haven’t been particularly impressive on the ground, a departure from last season when Duncanville had one of the most talented backs in the nation in Caden Durham. In the end, the combination of Duncanville’s passing attack and defense might be too much for any one team to overcome.
Duncanville quarterback Keelon Russell completed 27 of his 36 passes for 427 yards and six touchdowns. Dakorien Moore was his favorite target against DeSoto as Moore led the Duncanville receivers with nine receptions for 231 yards and four of the six touchdown receptions. Zach Turner chipped in five receptions for 51 yards and Trenton Yancey added four receptions for 47 yards and a score. Devine Green took a short pass up the sideline for 42 yards and a touchdown for his only reception of the night. JaQualon Armstrong led the rushing attack with 31 yards on seven attempts.
DeSoto quarterback Kelden Ryan completed 23 of his 29 passes for 144 yards and also led the Eagles in rushing with 94 yards on 16 attempts. Myson Johnson-Cook rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown on just six carries and Deondrae Riden Jr. added 51 yards and a score on 15 carries. SaRod Baker led the DeSoto receivers with 46 yards on six receptions and Daylon Singleton added 33 yards on seven receptions and also returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Duncanville’s toughest test this season is now out of the way and the Panthers should cruise through the rest of district play. The only mission left is to get to the playoffs healthy. The same can just about be said for DeSoto. Both teams still have Lancaster on the schedule, and I wouldn’t sleep on the Tigers, but I believe both Duncanville and DeSoto take care of business and Lancaster ends up as one of the most talented three seeds in the state.
Denton Ryan tops Richland
Now for the game I was in attendance for. Denton Ryan absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage in this one. It was tough for Richland’s explosive offense to get much going as the run game was near non-existent and Richland quarterback Drew Kates rarely had a clean pocket to throw from. There were a few instances in the first half in which Kates overthrew open receivers down the field because he had to let the ball go before he was ready to. That’s not so much on Kates as it is on a really talented defensive line unit at Denton Ryan.
Denton Ryan quarterback Quin Henigan completed 14 of his 17 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown. Nemo Warmate carried the load on the ground with 160 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries. Jose Melendez led the Raiders in receiving with three receptions for 120 yards. Lorenzo Hill caught two passes for 69 yards and the first touchdown of the game. Denton Ryan racked up 544 yards of total offense and put the game out of reach in the third quarter.
Richland quarterback Drew Kates completed 12 of his 25 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown and also led the Royals on the ground with 41 yards on eight carries. Hunter Moreno chipped in 15 yards and a score on eight carries. Xavier Johnson led the Royals receivers with five receptions for 102 yards and a score. The Royals struggled to get much going on the ground and clearly missed star running back Michael Turner. Richland averaged 2.7 yards-per-carry on 24 attempts, and averaged just 1.5 yards-per-carry on 16 carries if you take out the attempts from Kates. Denton Ryan should cruise through the remainder of its district schedule and finish the season as the two seed in District 3-5A D-I. Richland also figures to make the playoffs, but still has matchups with undefeated Aledo and Azle after a home game against Granbury this weekend.
Arlington Bowie defeats Arlington Martin
A year ago Arlington Bowie suffered a heart-breaking loss to Arlington Martin 24-23, allowing the Warriors to clinch another district title. This year, however, it was Arlington Bowie coming out on top of Arlington Martin, 34-24. I mentioned at the top of this article that I have been covering the metroplex for seven seasons now, and that’s how long it has been since Arlington Martin lost a district game.
Arlington Bowie quarterback Larry Nichols completed 14 of his 19 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown and also chipped in 95 yards and three scores on just 11 attempts on the ground. Nichols connected with Dilon Tallie, who led the Volunteers in receiving, six times for 135 yards and a touchdown. Darrion Bowers led the Vols ground attack, racking up 179 yards and a score on 25 carries.
Arlington Martin quarterback Hunter Squires completed nine of his 17 attempts for 74 yards. Brooks Brigance, who passed for 26 yards in this game, rushed for 72 yards and a score on 14 carries to lead the Warriors on the ground. Daylon Cobb and Tranton Miles also scored touchdowns on the ground. Brigance also led the Arlington Martin receivers with four receptions for 32 yards, while Miles chipped in three receptions for 30 yards.
District 8-6A isn’t exactly the deepest district in the metroplex, but two of the last three games on the schedule for Arlington Martin include South Grand Prairie and Arlington. I don’t see the Warriors missing the playoffs, but the four seed could be in play in Arlington Martin drops those games. As for Arlington Bowie, Arlington and South Grand Prairie stand in the way, but the Vols are 3-0 and could end up winning the district.
Offensive Player of the Week
My Offensive Player of the Week is Duncanville receiver Dakorien Moore! In the biggest game of the regular season, Moore showed up in a big way, catching nine passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns. Moore was unstoppable against a talented DeSoto squad. It honestly would have been just as easy to pick Russell this week, but I have a feeling he will put up a few big performances in the playoffs as well. As for Moore, my recommendation to football fans across the metroplex is to get out and see him and Duncanville play. He has been a lot of fun to watch over the last few seasons, but he’s committed to play football at Oregon. Unless the Ducks end up in the Cotton Bowl, this season is the last chance to see him play in-person.
Defensive Player of the Week
My Defensive Player of the Week is Frisco Wakeland linebacker Cedric Thornton! Frisco Wakeland took down Frisco Heritage 30-27 and Thornton’s performance helped preserve the win. Thornton finished with nine tackles, two tackles-for-loss and two interceptions. It was a key win for a Frisco Wakeland squad that is 3-2 in District 5-5A D-I and fighting for one of the final playoff spots in that district, making Thornton’s performance that much more impressive.