Top 10 Texas high school football games in Week 4

City rivals College Station, A&M Consolidated square off; Austin Westlake takes on undefeated Cibolo-Steele

Cibolo-Steele's stars celebrate a touchdown in the 2023 season. | SBLive file photo /

Week 3 of the 2024 Texas high school football season saw plenty of compelling contests, even all the way to Saturday night.

Now it's Week 4 and the slate is chock-full with compelling matchups.

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On that aforementioned Saturday night, Duncanville stayed undefeated, but barely, with a dramatic rally to beat Maryland power St. Frances Academy. Also last week, Humble Atascocita made a major statement, but the team that Atascocita defeated has another huge challenge on its hands this week.

Another game on tap this week will be a key clash between rivals that share the same city.

Here, now, are the 10 best games to watch in Week 4:

BEST GAMES OF WEEK 4 IN TEXAS

College Station (3-0, 1-0) at A&M Consolidated (3-0, 1-0)

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When: Friday @ 7 p.m. | Where: Tigerland Stadium, College Station

Key Players: College Station, RB Aydan Martinez-Brown (5-10, 185); QB Cade Corcoran (6-3, 175); DB Braylen Wortham (6-3, 200). A&M Consolidated, RB Ja’Marlon Mooring  (5-11, 185); QB Will Hargett (5-11, 150); LB Ethan Walton (6-0, 200).

What’s At Stake: Perhaps the biggest game in the state this week will be in College Station as the two teams favored to compete for the District 12-5A Division I title collide in a compelling crosstown clash. Both teams come in with undefeated records, with the Cougars opening up district play last week with a solid 34-17 win against Austin Anderson. A&M Consolidated also got its district slate started on the right foot by pulling off a 25-19 road win against fellow contender Pflugerville Weiss.

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Austin Westlake (2-1) at Cibolo-Steele (3-0)

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When: Friday @ 7:30 p.m. | Where: Lehnhoff Stadium, Schertz.

Key Players: Westlake, QB Rees Wise (6-2, 215); LB Elliott Schaper (6-3, 210); DL Maddox Flynt (6-2, 270). Cibolo-Steele, QB Chad Warner (6-3, 180); WR Royal Capell (6-0, 190); WR Jalen Cooper (6-2, 170).

What’s At Stake: Westlake continues its challenging stretch of non-district games with another imposing test, a week after the Chaparrals suffered their first loss of the season, to Humble Atascocita. It won’t get any easier for the Chaps, having to take on a Steele squad that has looked impressive in its first three games of 2024, including last week’s 56-10 rout against a good San Antonio Brandeis squad. Quarterback Chad Warner hooked up three times with star receiver Royal Capell. 

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Cherry Creek, Colo. (2-1) at Highland Park (3-0)

When: Friday @ 7 p.m. | Where: Highlander Stadium, Dallas.

Key Players: Cherry Creek, OT Soren Shinofield (6-6, 275); S Aiden Knapke (6-0, 190); WR Jeremiah Hoffman (6-1, 175). Highland Park, QB Buck Randall (5-10, 170); LB Anders Corn (6-2, 215); WR Cannon Bozman (6-0, 165).

What’s At Stake: The Scots welcome in one of the premier programs in Colorado, Cherry Creek from the Denver metropolitan area, which had a streak of four straight state titles broken last season in the 5A championship game. Cherry Creek’s coach, Dave Logan, was a former NFL receiver and also serves as the radio play-by-play voice of the Denver Broncos. Highland Park looked impressive last week in a 43-20 win against Dallas Jesuit, scoring on six consecutive possessions at one point.

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Southlake Carroll (3-0, 1-0) at Euless Trinity (3-0, 1-0)

When: Friday @ 7 p.m. | Where: Pennington Field, Bedford 

Key Players: Southlake Carroll, RB Riley Wormley (5-11, 185); RB Davis Penn (5-10, 190); TE Jack Van Dorselaer (6-4, 225). Euless Trinity, QB T.J. Tupou (6-0, 190); RB Josh Bell (5-10, 190); DL Michael Tilmon (6-2, 265).

What’s At Stake: The Dragons got started on the right foot in District 4-6A play last week with an impressive 33-21 win against Trophy Club Byron Nelson in a playoff rematch. Southlake Carroll can really get some separation in the district race with a win against another title contender in undefeated Euless Trinity, which has scored 49, 63 and 55 points in its three wins this season. Last week, the Trojans rolled past Keller Central, 55-24.

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Lucas Lovejoy (1-2, 1-0) at Anna (1-1, 0-0)

When: Friday @ 7 p.m. | Where: Coyote Stadium, Anna

Key Players: Lucas Lovejoy, WR Daylan McCutcheon (6-1, 175); WR/DB R.J. McIntosh (6-1, 180); DL Gavin Prince (6-1, 215). Anna, QB Ziondre Williams (5-11, 190); RB Edward Chumley (5-11, 170); OL Peyton Miller (6-4, 280).

What’s At Stake: Anna plays its first District 4-5A DII game after the Coyotes’ move up from 4A, where they had claimed the 4A DI championship last season. Both the Coyotes and Leopards have played challenging non-district schedules. Lovejoy lost back-to-back one-score games to Lubbock Cooper and Highland Park before bouncing back last week with a resounding 76-0 win against Frisco Liberty in the Leopards’ district opener. Meanwhile, Anna lost in an offensive shootout to Tennessee power Oakland before notching a decisive win two weeks ago against another defending state champion, 3A Division II champ Gunter.

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Celina (3-0) at Franklin (2-0)

When: Friday @ 7 p.m. | Where: Lion Stadium, Franklin

Key Players: Celina, RB Harrison Williams (5-11, 190); RB/LB Logan Gutierrez (5-9, 180); QB Bowe Bentley (6-3, 200). Franklin, Jayden Jackson (5-11, 215); DB Noah Tart (5-9, 175); OL Lucas Lincecum (6-1, 215).

What’s At Stake: Celina looks to finish navigating one of the toughest non-district schedules in the state by getting a road win against last season’s 3A DI runner-up. The Bobcats have already notched wins against 4A DII runner-up Bellville along with 3A Division II defending champion Gunter, the latter by a resounding 38-7 score. Franklin has averaged 44 points in wins against China Spring and Lorena to start the 2024 campaign.

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Carthage (1-1) at Tyler Chapel Hill (3-0)

When: Friday @ 7 p.m. | Where: Bulldog Stadium, Tyler

Key Players: Carthage, QB Jett Surratt (6-2, 170); RB K.J. Edwards (5-10, 180); OL Kash Courtney (6-4, 280). Chapel Hill, RB Rickey Stewart (5-11, 190); QB Demetrius Brisbon (6-1, 178); LB Trevor Brooks (5-9, 185).

What’s At Stake: A matchup between East Texas powers and 4A title contenders in different divisions, featuring several highly recruited players on both sides of the ball. After stumbling at home against Kilgore in Week 1 and having an off week to stew about it, Carthage came back firing on all cylinders last week with a decisive road win at Texarkana Liberty-Eylau. Chapel Hill, on the other hand, followed up its wild, down-to-the-wire home win against defending 4A DII champion Gilmer with another tight contest, pulling off a 21-19 win at nearby rival Whitehouse. 

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Texarkana Texas High (3-0) at Fayetteville, Ark. (2-0)

When: Friday @ 7 p.m. | Where: Bulldog Stadium, Fayetteville

Key Players: Texarkana Texas High: QB David Potter (6-5, 220); RB/WR Tradarian Ball (5-11, 185); RB Javari Johnson (5-8, 177). Fayetteville, QB Garyt Odom (6-0, 170); WR Jaison DeLamar (5-11, 210); RB Christian Battles (5-10, 200).

What’s At Stake: A very compelling matchup against teams from bordering states. Texas High has looked quite impressive in its first three games, including a 17-point win against Argyle Liberty Christian and last week’s 51-13 win at Midlothian Heritage, with quarterback David Potter throwing for 329 yards and three TDs. The Tigers will travel north to take on Fayetteville, last season’s Arkansas Class 7A state champions. Bulldog QB Garyt Odom is committed to UNLV, where his father - Barry Odom, the former Arkansas defensive coordinator - currently serves as head coach. 

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Willis (3-0, 1-0) at The Woodlands (3-0, 1-0)

When: Thursday @ 7 p.m. | Where: Woodforest Bank Stadium, Shenandoah

Key Players: Willis: WR/DB Jermaine Bishop (6-0, 170); RB Daylion Robinson (5-11, 200); OL/DL Mason Isbell (6-1, 275). The Woodlands, QB Jack Daulton (6-2, 180); DB Caycen Bartolazzi (6-0, 170); K/P Scott Starzyk (5-9, 170).

What’s At Stake: This matchup between the two prohibitive favorites to claim the District 13-6A championship will be on tap under the Thursday night lights in the Houston area. The Wildkats  opened their district schedule on a high note with a convincing 66-16 win against Conroe Caney Creek. Now, they set their sights on the Highlanders, who also started district play strong with a 49-14 road win at Conroe Grand Oaks. The Highlanders have scored at least 49 points in each of their first three games thus far.

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