The Cooldown- Week Three

Eaton rallies to beat Hebron

The Eaton Eagles trailed Hebron by as many as 26 points last Friday night. Then, quarterback Tyler Fussell found his rhythm and Eaton came back from down four scores to beat Hebron 35-34. A Lane Haworth field goal gave Hebron a 34-8 lead with around five minutes remaining in the third quarter. That’s when Fussell kicked the Eaton offense into overdrive.

Fussell found Christopher Anderson for a touchdown pass and then got the ball back just before the end of the third quarter. The next Eaton drive ended early in the 4^th quarter with a Fussell touchdown pass to Jaden Platt.

Eaton’s next scoring drive was capped off Fussell touchdown pass to Charles Whitebear to cut the Hebron lead to 34-28 with 1:25 remaining in the game. The Eagles recovered the ensuing onside kick and a few plays later Fussell found Ben Roberts to give Eaton its first lead of the night with :49 seconds left in the 4^th quarter. Chase Whitebear picked off Hebron quarterback Jacob Buniff to seal the win for Eaton.

Fussell passed for 217 yards and four touchdowns and J.B. Brown rushed for 100 yards and a score. Four different receivers caught touchdown passes and Platt was the leading receiver with 121 yards. Eaton remains undefeated with the win but will be tested again this week against Denton Braswell. Eaton then opens district play with Keller Fossil Ridge the following week.

Despite the interception, Buniff still had a good night for Hebron, passing for 271 yards and three scores. Takoda Bridges was impressive, catching nine passes for 192 yards and two scores. Fred Ware rushed 12 times for 116 yards and a touchdown. Hebron played well but didn’t finish in the 4^th quarter. The Hawks drop to 0-3 but open district play favored to beat Plano East.

North Garland outlasts Richardson Berkner

North Garland gave us another great come-from-behind win last week with an overtime victory over Richardson Berkner. North Garland actually led this game for a good chunk on the first half before trailing by as many as 16 points in the 3^rd quarter. North Garland overcame its 37-21 3^rd quarter deficit with a Godspower Nwawuihe touchdown run with :36 seconds remaining in the 4^th quarter to tie the game 51-51.

Richardson Berkner got the ball first to start the overtime period and went for it on 4^th-and-2 from the North Garland five yard-line. The Raiders defense held and only needed a field goal to win the game. Nwawuihe did better than that- scoring a touchdown from a yard out to power North Garland past Richardson Berkner 57-51.

Godspower Nwawuihe did it all for North Garland in the win. The Raiders quarterback passed for 223 yards and four touchdowns to two interceptions and rushed 26 times for 170 yards and four more scores. That’s eight total touchdowns! Nwawuihe accounted for every North Garland touchdown! De’Aundre Johnson was the leading receiver with 75 yards and a score and Isaiah DeLeon added 55 receiving yards and two scores. North Garland improved to 3-0 with the win and opens district play next with Naaman Forest.

Richardson Berkner quarterback Thomas Landry played well in the loss, completing 12 of his 16 passes for 199 yards and three scores. Matt Randle caught four passes for 59 yards and a score while Jamary Williams added 55 yards and two scores. Omarion Barnes led the way on the ground with 151 yards and two scores. Berkner drops to 0-3, though all three loses were close, and opens district play next with Irving.

Games to Watch

Thursday 9/16

McKinney Boyd @ Byron Nelson

Two teams looking to stay undefeated heading into district play will square off on Thursday night. McKinney Boyd beat Richardson Pearce 30-7 last week and the Pearce touchdown came late in the 4^th quarter. McKinney Boyd almost got its second shutout of the season in three games. Ryan Shackleton, Carter Whitefield and Peyton Shaw form a formidable three-headed attack for the McKinney Boyd offense. Byron Nelson raced past Irving MacArthur 50-13 behind big nights from Jacob Wilson and Aaron Darden. This figures to be a close game between two teams that will be fighting for playoffs spots in their respective districts.

Naaman Forest @ North Garland

I recapped North Garland’s thrilling win above, but can Godspower Nwawuihe power North Garland to a win to open district play? Naaman Forest still hasn’t played a game this season after all of its non-district games ended up being canceled. The Naaman Forest Rangers are the defending District 9-6A Champions. This will be a really tough game for North Garland to win and the Raiders will need to start fast and take advantage of a team playing its first game of the season. Naaman Forest should win this one but I will have my eyes on this game.

Frisco Heritage @ Frisco Reedy

Frisco Heritage and Frisco Reedy opened district play last week with the two toughest teams in its district. Heritage fell to Frisco Lone Star 51-24 after Easton Swetnam tossed three interceptions. On the other hand, Swetnam passed for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Heritage is 2-1 this season and Swetnam is a big reason why the offense is humming along. The Coyotes won’t get one of the top two playoff spots, but they will challenge for the last two playoff spots. Frisco Reedy is 0-3 but only lost to Denton Ryan 28-10. The season opener was a heart breaking 50-49 loss to Frisco Liberty. A.J. Padgett was the leading passer and rusher for Reedy last week and he figures to have Reedy squarely in position for one of the last two playoff spots as well. The winner of this game will have a leg up in the playoff picture, making Thursday night’s showdown an important one.

Friday 9/17

Duncanville @ DeSoto

Duncanville takes on DeSoto in a tasty early season district matchup. The Panthers are 1-1 after a win over South Oak Cliff two weeks ago. Duncanville is favored slightly over DeSoto on the road, but this isn’t the same Duncanville team from years past. DeSoto opened its season with a 35-28 road loss to Converse Judson before rebounding to beat Arlington Bowie and North Crowley. Matt Allen is coming along nicely at quarterback and he has plenty of skilled playmakers to get the ball to. This game has Game of the Week potential and I think DeSoto puts a pressure on Duncanville that the Panthers haven’t felt in the regular season for several years.

Arlington Martin @ Southlake Carroll

Arlington Martin opened the season with a 40-28 loss to Austin Lake Travis. That should put the Rockwall win in perspective, by the way. The Warriors rebounded with wins over Hebron and Midland Legacy (formerly Midland Lee). Arlington Martin has one last big test before it starts district play. I expect coach Bob Wager to dig deep in his bag of tricks and use Martin’s speed and athleticism to try and win this game. Southlake Carroll has looked as impressive as anyone so far with a big win over Highland Park, a come-from-behind win over Rockwall Heath, and a shutout victory over Prosper. I think Southlake Carroll wins this one, but it will be close.