Here are five thoughts from Week 8 Thursday night games throughout the Dallas area.
A walk-off wild win for Little Elm
Scoring was at a premium for nearly the first 43 minutes of the game between Frisco Liberty and Little Elm on Thursday.
The last five minutes were much different. Liberty receiver Will Ashmore caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Will Glatch to get the scoring going. Then Ohio State pledge Ryan Watts caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from John Mateer to gives the Lobos a 24-17 lead. And then Glatch tied things up, once again, with a two-yard touchdown run with just over two minutes left.
It was one of those finishes where whoever had the ball as time was running out was probably going to win. Little Elm kicker Tyler Tipton made it happen, making a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give the Lobos a 27-24 win.
FINAL: LOBOS WIN on 48yd Tyler Tipton game winning FG!!! @SportsDayHS @dfwvarsity @HSwfaa @LittleElmHS @leisd @BryanMurphy_ pic.twitter.com/ZTeNy2mQIj
— LEISD Athletics (@LEISDAthletics) October 18, 2019
The win was a big one for Little Elm, which is now 2-2 in district play and tied for fourth with Frisco Independence, who the Lobos play next week.
Click here to view the box score
A defining win for a DISD team
Last week, the game between Red Oak and Kimball was looked at as one that would possibly decide the champion in District 6-5A Div. II. Red Oak won that game 48-13. Turns out there will be one more major test for Red Oak.
Seagoville moved to 4-0 in district play with a 30-27 overtime win over Kimball on Thursday. Daelove Harris led the Dragons to the win, finishing with 20 carries for 209 yards and four touchdowns, including a four-yard score to seal the win in overtime.
The win means Seagoville is the first in the district to four wins. Getting No. 5 next week against South Oak Cliff, the No. 5 team in the SportsDayHS 5A area rankings, will be far from easy, but if the Dragons can pull off the upset it could set the stage for a de-facto district championship game against Red Oak in the season finale.
Click here to view the box score
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Controlling their own destiny
At one point Thursday, it looked like Frisco Independence was in danger of losing its third game in the last week. Last Thursday, Independence – previously undefeated – lost 63-14 to Frisco Lone Star. The next day, the Knights had to forfeit a 49-7 win over Frisco Heritage for playing an ineligible player, dropping their district record to 1-2.
Then on Thursday, a week after its first loss, Independence trailed Frisco Wakeland 21-17 with three minutes left in the third quarter. The Knights were in danger of possibly finding themselves near the bottom of the district standings, but they had other ideas, outscoring Wakeland 17-3 the rest of the way to win 34-24.
Junior quarterback Braylon Braxton had 337 total yards and four of Independence’s six touchdowns. Reggie Bush also had two field goals for the Knights, including a 34-yard field goal with less than a minute left to seal the win.
Independence is now 2-2 in the district with a tiebreaker advantage over Wakeland, which is also 2-2. The Knights have games against The Colony, which is undefeated, and Little Elm and Frisco Centennial left. The last two teams have a combined record of 4-9. Independence, despite the rough week, still controls its own destiny.
Click here to view the box score
Another player in the district of parity
It’s been well documented that District 10-6A, home to the Garland schools and Wylie, has been one of the more competitive ones in the area. Each week, it seems, a team that looks the part of district title contender is beaten by another.
Quietly, throughout the parity, a new contender has emerged: Garland Lakeview Centennial, and nothing was quiet about the Patriots performance on Thursday. Lakeview Centennial scored 49 points in the first half and went on to beat Garland 63-23. Lakeview Centennial finished with 512 total yards, including 303 rushing yards. North Texas ledge Garnett Burke started the game with a 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
That was only the beginning of the Patriots’ scoring. Camar Wheaton, the top-ranked junior running back in the country, had eight carries for an eye-popping 200 yards and three touchdowns. A third of Jarrett Adams completions went for touchdowns as he finished with 9 of 13 for 209 yards, three scores and no touchdowns.
Now, all of a sudden, Lakeview Centennial has won three games in a row and has a 3-1 record in district play. The Patriots finish the season against Sachse, Garland Naaman Forest and Rowlett, and if they keep playing like they have in the last three weeks, they can do some damage.
Click here to view Lakeview Centennial’s box score
Another program on the rise
Frisco Reedy showed the blueprint of how to build a first-year varsity program into one capable of making a playoff run. The Lions went 13-1 last year and their only loss came to Aledo, the eventual 5A-II state champions. Three years before, back in 2016, Reedy went 3-7.
Another program in the Dallas-area had their first varsity season that year, too. It was Denton Braswell, and though its rise may not have been as rapid as Reedy, Braswell is looking dangerous. Braswell beat Reedy 37-7 on Thursday to improve to 5-2 and 4-1 in District 7-5A Div. II play. Hesimi Yessuff led the way with 24 carries for 150 yards and a score. Greyson Thompson threw a touchdown pass to Cam Smith while CJ Johnson and Jamerion Sanford also added rushing touchdowns.
Back in 2016, Braswell went winless. The program had two wins the next season and three last year, which combined equals Braswell’s win total from this season alone. Now, after Thursday’s win and a district resume that’s only tainted by a five-point loss to undefeated Frisco, Braswell has shown it’s a program on the rise.
Click here to view the box score
On Twitter: @JoeJHoyt
