Lovejoy blasts Melissa: Live score, game updates from Texas high school showdown (11/2/2023)

No. 9 Cardinals trail the No. 21 Leopards late in prospect-heavy North Texas regular season finale with district title on line

The Texas high school football regular season is closing out with a bang — in the form of an SBLive Texas Power 25 showdown atop Class 5A, Division II.

No. 21 Lovejoy blasted No. 9 Melissa 28-7 on the road in a battle between top 25 teams in Texas to win the District 6-5A, Region II title.

The Leopards (9-1, 7-0), the No. 21 ranked team in Texas, have a stellar wideout duo of Daylon McCutcheon (4-star) and Texas commit Parker Livingstone (3-star).

Lovejoy's lone loss of the season came to North Crowley in Week 3.

Melissa (9-1, 6-1) is unblemished in the standings and saved the game of the year for last. Trever Ham and 4-star Oklahoma commit Nigel Smith lead the Cardinals. 

Scroll down below and refresh for the latest highlights, scoring plays and more live updates. The game is being streamed live on the NFHS Network:

FINAL: NO. 21 LOVEJOY 28, NO. 9 MELISSA 7

Photo by Tommy Hays

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FOURTH QUARTER

-- And there's the bow. Lovejoy junior corner RJ McIntosh picks off a Ham ball and the Leopards take possession in the game's final minutes. 

--  Khalin Williams bowls in for a 15-yard touchdown run to all but put this district title to bed. (Lovejoy, 28-7 | 4:16)

-- One word for the Leopard D: Suffocating. Lovejoy forces punts on consecutive Melissa drives as their grip on the lead tightens. 

-- No. 8 with a massive conversion on 3rd and 1, exploding through a hole for a double-digit gain. He exited the game with arms flailing, pumping up the crowd. (6:28)

THIRD QUARTER

-- Lovejoy tacked on two unanswered touchdowns. Quite the quarter offensively, while not allowing a single point as a defense. 

-- Leopard strike again. Franklin goes long for another long ball, 53 yards to Daylon McCutcheon. (Lovejoy, 21-7 | 1:11)

-- Ethan Nelson hauled in a 48-yard TD reception from Alexander Franklin. (Lovejoy, 14-7 | 5:24)

SECOND QUARTER

-- Trevor Ham dumps off a pass to Jackson Ford for a 1-yard TD. XP good. Cardinals draw even. (7-7 | 1:38)

-- Both defenses have suffocated the offense in a boa constrictor-like way. There were four punts, five turnovers on downs and two interceptions.

FIRST QUARTER

-- Lovejoy strikes first. Ohio State commit Payton Pierce runs 11 yards for the game's first points. Cooper Ryan's extra point is good. (Lovejoy, 7-0)

-- Melissa's defense shows up on the first drive, stopping Lovejoy on downs at the Cardinals 25-yard-line with 9:21 left first quarter.

-- That was fast. Daylon McCutcheon snags a 34-yard grab downfield on an early strike. 

-- Lovejoy starts the game with a fair catch to put it first play from downs at its own 35-yard-line.

Photo by Tommy Hays

Texas high school football scores: Live updates, live streams from Week 11 (11/2/2023)

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx

All photos by Tommy Hays