Caden Durham called former Texas high school football teammate after breakout game

LSU Tigers freshman, his former Duncanville High School backup have career games on same day: 'He just told me to keep my head high'

LSU freshman Caden Durham (29) runs at South Carolina on Saturday. Durham prepped at Duncanville High School and was SBLive's first team all-Texas running back in 2023. / Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

One area of concern for nationally ranked Duncanville High School's offense entering the 2024 high school football season was finding a replacement for running back Caden Durham, who is now a freshman at LSU.

On Saturday, Durham, SBLive's first team all-Texas running back in 2023, had a breakout performance in LSU's thrilling 36-33 road win over South Carolina, rushing for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Shortly after, Duncanville won a back-and-forth high school football showdown of its own, beating St. Frances Academy (Maryland) in a nationally ranked matchup, 28-24.

The Panthers got some big runs from senior tailback JaQualon Armstrong, who finished with 88 yards on 21 carries. He had 70 of those yards in the second half.

Shortly after the game ended, Armstrong got a congratulatory phone call from Durham.

“(He told me) keep going. … He just told me to keep my head high and play how you play,” Armstrong said. “Caden set a high standard, so I’m just trying to get there. … I’ve got some shoes to fill, and that’s what I’m looking to do.”

Armstrong’s biggest run was a 28-yard gain to the St. Frances 37 during Duncanville’s game-winning drive.

“I knew I had to put the team in the red zone and I had the team on my back,” Armstrong said. “I know if I get down there, get the team hyped then we’re going to get up in that box. “We were down going into halftime, but we kept our heads up and motivated our team and just kept it going; do what we really do.”

Armstrong added he has received only one college offer, from Colorado State-Pueblo. But he believes similar performances like Saturday, and especially should Duncanville get in position for a third straight 6A Division I championship, and Armstrong will get more collegiate offers.

"I’m going to keep working and get more,” he said.

“(St. Frances Academy) was a good team. We both worked hard and played hard, but we just came out with the win.”

Duncanville's JaQualon Armstrong rushes on St. Frances Academy in a national high school football tilt on Sept. 14, 2024. / Photo by Michael Horbovetz, SBLive

More Duncanville-St. Frances Academy:

• Duncanville fends off St. Frances Academy: 4 takeaways

• Caden Durham has breakout day for LSU Tigers

• Duncanville-St. Frances live updates recap

---

More Texas high school football Week 3:

• North Crowley backs up hype with win over Guyer

• Highland Park runs past Dallas Jesuit

• How a former Texas high school football star found his groove in the junior college ranks

• DeSoto rebounds down in Corpus Christi

• Flower Mound 3-0 thanks to dramatic late drive against Lake Highlands: 5 takeaways

• A&M Consolidated holds off Pflugerville Weiss in 6A showdown

• Texas high school football team on its third coach in same week

• Top 100 Texas high school football players: PART 1 | PART 2

---

SBLIVE SPORTS LAUNCHES HIGH SCHOOL ON SI

High School On SI will serve as the premier destination for high school sports fans, delivering unparalleled coverage of high school athletics nationwide through in-depth stories, recruiting coverage, rankings, highlights and much more. The launch of a dedicated high school experience expands Sports Illustrated’s reach to even more local communities as fans can now truly follow athletes from “preps to the pros” on a single platform, bringing them closer to the action than ever before.For more information, visit si.com/high-school.

-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx