The Cooldown- Week Two
Two weeks are down and most teams across the state have just one more tune up non-district game before district play begins. Week two featured one-point wins from Southlake Carroll and Sam Houston on Thursday night, and one of the longest regular season winning streaks coming to an end on Friday night as Atascocita handed Allen its first loss at Eagle Stadium. Let’s recap week two and look ahead to week three!
Southlake Carroll edges Rockwall Heath
This game might have been the best game of the weekend. There aren’t too many teams in the state that can come back from down 18 points against a team with as good of an offense as Rockwall Heath. Southlake Carroll trailed 35-17 midway through the 3rd quarter before Kaden Anderson connected with Landon Samson with 3:00 remaining in the 3rd to cut the Heath lead to 35-24. Owen Allen found the end zone just before the 3rd quarter ended but the two-point conversion failed, and Carroll trailed 35-30 heading to the 4th quarter. The ensuing Heath drive ended on 4th and goal from the six yard-line after the Hawks elected to go for it rather than kick a field goal. Southlake Carroll took its first lead with 3:20 remaining in the game on another Owen Allen touchdown run for a 36-35 lead. Rockwall Heath attempted a field goal as time expired to win the game, but it was blocked by Southlake Carroll to complete the come-from-behind win.
Kaden Anderson completed 16 of his 28 passing attempts for 354 yards and two scores. Owen Allen finished with 117 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Landon Samson caught eight passes for 153 yards and two scores. Rockwall Heath quarterback Josh Hoover had a good night, passing for 344 yards and three touchdowns. Jordan Nabors, Fletcher Fierro and Jay Fair caught the touchdown passes and all had big nights receiving. Zach Evans rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns. This game was a heavyweight fight between two really talented teams, and both of these teams are headed for a deep run in the playoffs this season.
Denton Guyer outlasts Denton Ryan in Overtime
A classic defensive battle between Denton Guyer and Denton Ryan ended in overtime after the two squads each scored one touchdown in regulation. Denton Ryan scored the first touchdown of the game in the 2nd quarter on a Khalon Davis touchdown pass to Austin Jordan. Denton Guyer answered in the 3rd quarter with a Jackson Arnold touchdown pass to Peyton Bowen. Arnold connected with Sutton Lee for the game-winning score in overtime as Denton Ryan couldn’t answer the Guyer score and Guyer escaped with a 14-7 win over it’s crosstown rival.
Kalib Hicks led the way for the Denton Ryan offense, rushing for 119 yards. Davis passed for 89 yards and Jordan was the leading receiver with 39 yards and the lone score. Arnold led the Guyer offense with 176 yards passing and Lee led the way receiving with 47 yards. Denton Guyer will take on Mansfield Lake Ridge next weekend before a tough matchup with Atascocita from the Houston area. Denton Ryan will take on Frisco Reedy before starting its district slate.
Aledo outlasts Frisco Lone Star
Aledo jumped out to a fast start with a 14-0 lead over Lone Star after the 1st quarter. Two Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi touchdown passes in the 2nd quarter gave Aledo a 28-7 lead over Frisco Lone Star at halftime. Garret Rangel and Ashton Jeanty heated up in the 3rd quarter. Jeanty kicked off the scoring with a touchdown run before Rangel hit Devin Turner and then Jeanty for touchdown passes to cut the Aledo lead to 31-28 before the 4th quarter started. Fowler-Nicolosi found Hauss Hejny for a score and Lone Star answered with a Jeanty touchdown run to cut the lead to 38-35. Aledo’s next drive ended in a punt to give Lone Star the opportunity to win the game with around 3:00 remaining in the game. Garret Rangel was sacked and injured his knee on the first play of the ensuing drive and Jeanty fumbled a pass reception trying to fight for extra yards a few plays later. One last Aledo score before the game ended allowed the Bearcats to escape Lone Star with a 45-35 win.
Fowler-Nicolosi finished with 244 yards passing and three touchdowns to three different receivers. Brian Fleming led the receivers with 96 yards and a score, Jason Llewellyn finished with 89 yards and a score and Hejny caught two passes for 62 yards and a score. Ryan Williams was fantastic on the ground for the Bearcats, finishing with 158 yards and a score. Jeanty was also fantastic for Lone Star on the ground, finishing with 158 yards and three scores on 16 carries. Turner caught six passes for 93 yards and a score while Jeanty caught four passes for 87 yards and a score. Rangel was having a great game before suffering his knee injury, finishing with 238 yards and two touchdowns through the air. The initial MRI on Rangel’s knee didn’t show structural damage and Rangel could be back on the field in a few weeks, though it sounds like Rangel will get a second opinion on his knee just to make sure.
Games to Watch
Thursday 9/9
Denton Braswell @ Sachse
Sachse improved to 1-1 with a 64-42 win over Red Oak last week. Sachse dropped its opener to Coppell 42-28. Denton Braswell impressed in its season opener with a 49-10 win over Mesquite Horn but dropped a close game to Keller at home last week 27-23. Both teams will be looking to improve to 2-1 this week. Sachse will start its district schedule the following week and Braswell has one last non-district game against Eaton before starting district play.
Prosper Rock Hill @ Frisco Liberty
Rock Hill dropped its season opening game to Burleson Centennial in a close 34-27 final score. The Blue Hawks proceeded to dominate Samuell 61-0 last week but faces a much tougher test this week. Frisco Liberty knows how to score points behind a potent one-two punch with quarterback Keldric Luster and receiver Evan Stewart. Liberty beat Reedy 50-49 before routing Greenville 55-21. I expect plenty of points to be scored in this one.
Frisco Wakeland @ Frisco Centennial
Frisco Wakeland hammered Richardson Pearce in its season opener 55-7. Wakeland has a nine-game schedule and the non-district portion is already over. Centennial dropped both of its non-district games. The Titans suffered a loss at home to Royse City 44-30 and then lost on the road to Lake Dallas 41-31. Wakeland is the only remaining undefeated team in District 5-5A DI through two weeks of the season but are also the only team in the district that has only played one game.
Friday 9/10
Trinity @ Colleyville Heritage
This is an intriguing matchup. Trinity figures to make a deep playoff run in 6A. Colleyville Heritage is one of the top teams in 5A DI. Heritage dominated Grapevine 42-7 before beating Boswell, a team in Trinity’s district, 52-0. Trinity impressed in a 45-27 win over Arlington Lamar and also impressed in a loss to the top ranked team in the state, Austin Westlake, 34-14. This has game of the week potential and I expect it to be a great game.
Southlake Carroll @ Prosper
This will be a measuring stick game of sorts for Prosper. The Eagles had to replace a ton of production on both sides of the ball. New quarterback Harrison Rosar has looked good in wins over South Grand Prairie and Mansfield Lake Ridge, but Southlake Carroll is a bit of a different animal. The Prosper defense will be under duress as well. I have liked what I have seen from Prosper so far and Southlake Carroll shouldn’t take the Eagles lightly. The Dragons have impressed as well with wins over Highland Park and Rockwall-Heath. Kaden Anderson has filled in nicely at quarterback and the Dragons offense is still potent. I will have my eyes on this game on Friday night.
Cedar Hill @ Allen
Both of these teams are still trying to recover and find an identity after losing so much talent in the offseason. Cedric Harden Jr. has looked good for Cedar Hill in a 42-29 loss to Rockwall and a 36-26 win over Arlington. Allen is also searching for answers after beating Plano East in week one but losing to Atascocita 41-20 at home last weekend. Sophomore quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. has looked good and will only get better as the season goes on. This should be a close game but it’s an important game for both teams. Only one can get the win though. I will have my eyes on this game as it could be a season changing win for one team and loss for the other team.
Highland Park @ Coppell
Highland Park bounced back from a season-opening loss to Southlake Carroll with a 28-24 win over a good Flower Mound squad. Brennan Storer looked good in the win, passing for 149 yards and also leading the Scots in rushing. Coppell is also 1-1 after beating Sachse in its opener and losing to Prestonwood 55-41 last week. Both of these teams can put up points and this could be a high-scoring shootout.
Arlington Lamar @ Lewisville
Lewisville might be the team that has impressed me the most so far this season. The Fighting Farmers handled Arlington Lamar 50-7 in its first game before beating Keller Timber Creek 53-24. The impressive part of that win was holding Timber Creek to 24 points after the Falcons scored 49 on Rockwall Heath the week before. Arlington Lamar is 0-2 after losing to Trinity in week one and dropping a game to Waxahachie 14-3 last weekend. I am interested to see if Lewisville can continue to dominate opponents in its last non-district game of the season.
Austin Lake Travis @ Rockwall
Lake Travis may not be on the same level as Austin Westlake, but the Cavaliers are still one of the best teams in the state. Lake Travis beat Arlington Martin 40-28 before beating Converse Judson 52-20. That’s the same Judson team that beat DeSoto in week one. Rockwall has been impressive through two weeks as well. Rockwall beat Cedar Hill in week one before hanging 75 points on Jesuit in a win last weekend. Braedyn Locke and backfield mate Zach Hernandez form a dynamic duo for the Jackets offense, and this should be a close game with plenty of points scored.
Bishop Sycamore @ Duncanville
Just kidding. This game has been canceled for obvious reasons. If you haven’t been keeping up with what is going on around the Bishop Sycamore “program” I suggest checking it out. It’s a wild story and apparently Kevin Hart is going to produce a documentary about Bishop Sycamore.
Player of the Week
My player of the week is Rockwall quarterback Braedyn Locke! It was a bounce back week for Locke as he passed for 413 yards and five touchdown passes in a 75-28 win over Jesuit! It’s not often we see teams score 75 points, but Locke and the Rockwall offense have the talent to do it!
Team of the Week
My team of the week is Southlake Carroll ! The Dragons erased an 18-point deficit on the road against one of the best offensive units in the state. It takes a special team to hold Rockwall Heath scoreless in the 4th quarter to complete an 18-point come-from-behind win! The Dragons 36-35 win might be the most impressive win of the season so far and proves they can overcome some adversity in a hostile environment - something will likely pay dividends down the road.