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10 things we learned in Texas high school football Week 14 — regional playoffs

State championship rematch set following Round 3 of UIL playoffs; TAPPS finalist set

Cody Thorn

Todd Dodge has led Southlake Carroll and Austin Westlake to state titles. He now has Lucas Lovejoy in the Class 5A quarterfinals.
Todd Dodge has led Southlake Carroll and Austin Westlake to state titles. He now has Lucas Lovejoy in the Class 5A quarterfinals. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Week 14 of the 2024 Texas high school football season is in the books, and though there were big upsets, plenty of storylines emerged. Highlights from TAPPS to Class 6A. This week saw a state record broken, a state finals rematch is set for the quarterfinals and District 23-6A just keeps winning with all 4 teams still playing.

High School on SI examined 10 takeaways from the weekend in Texas high school football:

1. Can’t Dodge ‘em

Todd Dodge and Riley Dodge picked up wins for their respective teams this weekend.

Todd Dodge, in his first year at Lucas Lovejoy, saw the Leopards pick up a 52-49 win over Anna in a Class 5A Division II playoff game. Cooper Ryan booted a 31-yard field goal for the game-winning points with 39 seconds left over a Coyotes team that won Class 4A Division I last year. 

Todd Dodge is looking to guide a third program to a state title. He’s won 7 championships, four at Southlake Carroll and three more at Austin Westlake. 

Next up is a quarterfinal game against Argyle on Dec. 6 in Prosper.

His son, Riley, has Southlake Carroll into the next round in the Class 6A Division II playoffs after a 42-37 win over Lewisville Hebron. The Dragons have lost two standout running backs to injuries — Riley Wormley (USC) and Davis Penn (Baylor). First-year starting quarterback Angelo Renda had 407 yards of combined offense and 5 touchdowns in the win. The Dragons will face Denton Guyer on Saturday at North Texas. 

Southlake Carroll 42, Lewisville Hebron 37

2. One step further 

San Antonio John M. Harlan has posted good records since starting the program seven years ago, with a pair of 12-win seasons and a 10-win campaign. They’ve made the regional round the past two years but lost 

The Hawks made a little bit of history on Friday with a win over New Braunfels Canyon, reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in program history. The key play was a 68-yard flea-flicker touchdown from quarterback Aldric Trotter to tight end Marquez Perkins. The score in the fourth quarter, with 6:39 left, provided the difference in the 39-36 win at Texas State’s Bobcat Stadium.

Peyton Matthews also added a pair of scores for the Hawks in the victory — the team’s 10th in a row. 

Harlan (12-1) will face Austin Vandegrift on Friday back at Bobcat Stadium. The Hawks achieved the breakthrough after advancing to the third round in the last two seasons. Vandegrift beat Harlan in the regional round in 2022. 

San Antonio Harlan 39, New Braunfels Canyon 36

3. Rough weekend for College Station teams

Last week, we wrote there was a chance of a rematch between College Station and A&M Consolidated in the quarterfinals. 

Well, that won’t be happening now after both schools lost on Friday and then on Saturday, the university in College Station also lost a game.

However, the rematch will be La Porte vs. Angleton from District 11-5A Division I.

Angleton beat College Station, 35-34, while La Porte posted a 35-17 win over A&M Consolidated. La Porte trailed 17-7 at halftime against A&M Consolidated. 

Senior Tyresse Barnes ran for 123 yards and 3 scores for the Bulldogs, while freshman Sean Simon added 183 yards on the ground. 

La Porte (10-3) now has the most wins since 2012 and is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2011. Earlier this year, we picked La Porte as a team to watch in Southeast Texas.

The Bulldogs will have to set more history to advance since they are 0-4 all-time in quarterfinals. The Wildcats are in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2017 and are 2-4 in this round. 

La Porte 35, College Station A&M Consolidated 17 

4. Déjà vu, Part I

For the past two years, Port Neches-Groves and Dallas South Oak Cliff have met in the state championship game at AT&T Stadium.

South Oak Cliff won 34-24 in 2022, while Port Neches-Groves secured a 20-17 win last year in the finals. With a shakeup in regions, this year the two teams will meet in the quarterfinals, meaning an earlier end to the season for one of them.

The Class 5A Division II quarterfinal game is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Bryce Stadium at Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches. 

The Golden Bears from South Oak Cliff have won 11 in a row and beat Marshall, 35-7, last week. Port Neches-Groves secured went into Natchitoches, Louisiana and beat Texarkana Texas High, 31-28 on Friday. 

Mason Wuenschel threw a touchdown pass and ran for another late to help the Indians rally from a 21-18 deficit going into the fourth.

Late in the game, Port Neches-Groves blocked a field goal attempt that would’ve sent the game into overtime. 

Port Neches-Grove 31, Texarkana Texas 28

5. Déjà vu, Part II

The season will also come to an end this upcoming weekend for one of the best teams in the state. 

In Class 6A Division I, nationally-ranked Galena Park North Shore (No. 6) will play Humble Atascocita (No. 13) in the quarterfinals.

Galena Park North Shore handled Katy, 42-28, to set the first part of the rematch. Atascocita held off Fulshear, 47-42, in another game on Friday.

This will be the fourth year in a row the two have played each other twice in a season. History favors the North Shore Mustangs, who have won nine in a row against the Eagles and are 10-2 overall vs. them since 2016. In the District 23-6A matchup earlier this season, North Shore won 27-23.

Speaking of that district, the other two teams are alive in the 6A Division II playoffs and will face off again. Humble Summer Creek beat Katy Jordan 54-20 and Humble Kingwood bested Houston Strake Jesuit, 27-16.

Summer Creek won the first meeting, 42-14, on Nov. 1. Kingwood is in the fourth round of the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

6. Sweet as Honey

Honey Grove overcame a halftime deficit to beat Waskom in a Class 2A Division I regional game on Friday. 

While the comeback wasn’t as impressive as what Frisco Reedy did last week, this game featured some notable accomplishments. Waskom led 29-26 at halftime and the final score was 54-29 in favor of Honey Grove.

The Warriors' defense buckled down and QB/RB Ryelan Morris took over. The junior had 28 carries for 333 yards and six touchdowns, easily besting his previous career bests of 217 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Honey Grove is now 12-1 and in the fourth round of the playoffs for the first time since 1969 — when it was the semifinals. The Warriors made the quarterfinals in 1970. Last year’s team went 10-2 and won two playoff games for the first time since that 1970 season. We picked them as one of the under-the-radar teams for 2024. 

The Warriors will face Joaquin (9-4) a team that comes from the same district as Timpson, last year’s state champion, in the quarterfinals. 

Honey Grove 54, Waskom 29

7. TAPPS Division I final set 

The TAPPS Division I championship next Saturday will feature two defending state champions squaring off in Waco. 

Last year, Dallas Parish Episcopal won its fifth straight Division I title with a 40-29 win over Houston St. Thomas. The Panthers punched a return trip to the finals with a 42-7 win over Frisco Legacy Christian Academy on Saturday. Parish Episcopal’s defense gave up 38 total yards, which included -5 rushing.

The opponent will be Argyle Liberty Christian, last year’s Division II champions. Liberty Christian blasted Houston St. Thomas 63-0 in the other semifinal game. Cooper Witten had two touchdown catches and an interception return for a score. Brady Janusek had a punt return and a touchdown catch as well for the Jason Witten-led squad.

Dallas Parish Episcopal 42, Frisco Legacy Christian 7

Argyle Liberty Christian 60, Houston St. Thomas 0 

8 . Posting a benjamin against Benjamin

The Jayton Jaybirds had their worst game of the season on Friday and it came against Benjamin, the defending Class 1A Division II champion.

However, the 50 points the defense gave up didn’t matter much as the Jaybirds scored 100.

It was the most points Jayton had scored since 2004, according to MaxPreps stats. 

Last year, Benjamin blasted Jayton 85-40 on the way to its state title. 

Bode Ham ran for nine touchdowns to give Jayton (12-0) a spot in the semifinals against Klondike. Jayton beat Klondike, 50-0, in Week 2.

The other semifinal game pits Oglesby vs. Oakwood. 

Jayton 100, Benjamin 50 

9. Another one bites the dust

Benjamin wasn’t the only state champion to see its hopes of another title come to an end.

Muenster picked up a 56-14 win over Albany to knock off the reigning two-time Division II champions. It had to be a little cathartic after the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons all ended for the Hornets at the hands of Albany.

Casen Carney threw a pair of touchdowns and ran for two more for the Hornets (11-2) who will face Collinsville in the quarterfinals. Earlier this year, the Hornets won that 34-20 in what was the de facto District 8-2A Division II championship game. 

Muenster 56, Albany 14

10. Leaving as No. 1

In his final game at Sunray, Armando Lujan became the all-time passing leader in UIL history.

In a 34-31 loss to Post, the Bobcats quarterback broke Booker’s Hunter Lile record of 14,408 yards to become the all-time leading passer. He broke it on a 52-yard touchdown pass to Kagan Davis in the second quarter.

He finished with 309 yards and three touchdowns and ended with 14,600 yards.

Sunray finished 12-1 and came up short on a return trip to the semifinals. Meanwhile, Post is now 13-0 and into round four. Last year, Post went 1-8. The Antelopes play Stamford (13-0) this week.

Post 34, Sunray 31

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Cody Thorn
CODY THORN

Cody Thorn is a veteran journalist who covers high school sports across the state of Texas and Missouri. He is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has covered sports and news since 1999.

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