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10 high school football players to watch, Week 9: Dallas-area RBs hope for big games

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4 weeks ago

October 21, 2024

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10 high school football players to watch, Week 9: Dallas-area RBs hope for big games

Here are 10 Dallas-area players to watch in Week 9 of the Texas high school football season.

Kamari Carter, West Mesquite, RB

Carrollton Creekview at West Mesquite, 7 p.m. Thursday at Mesquite Memorial Stadium

Carter rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-0 win over Bryan Adams in Week 7 to keep West Mesquite undefeated on the season. Carrollton Creekview, Carrollton Newman Smith and West Mesquite all carry perfect records in District 6-5AI after last week. Entering a pivotal district matchup with unbeaten Creekview, Carter is West Mesquite’s leading rusher with 65 carries for 580 yards and nine touchdowns.

Braeden Imhoff, Prosper, QB

Prosper at Allen, 7 p.m. Friday at Allen

Prosper, which has beaten Allen in close district games the last three years, meets the five-time state champion in a game that could decide the District 6-6A champion. Imhoff, a junior, has helped 6–1 Prosper to a perfect record in district play ahead of its contest with undefeated Allen. He ranks ninth in the area among 6A quarterbacks, having passed for 1,775 yards and 20 touchdowns to five interceptions. Imhoff leads a Prosper offense that is averaging 463.4 yards per game.

Chance Culley, Plano, RB

Plano East at Plano, 7 p.m. Friday at Plano’s John Clark Stadium

In Plano’s 42-35 win over McKinney Boyd last week, Culley had 194 yards rushing and a touchdown on 31 carries. On the season, the junior has rushed for 925 yards and eight scores to rank fourth among the Dallas-area’s 6A rushers. Plano (4–4, 3–3 District 6-6A) meets crosstown rival Plano East (6–1, 4–1) this week and hopes for a win after losing last year’s matchup 31-28.

Kobey Wall, Justin Northwest, WR

Justin Northwest at Trophy Club Byron Nelson, 7 p.m. Friday at Northwest ISD Stadium

Leading Justin Northwest in receiving, Wall is averaging 14.5 yards per reception on 28 catches for 406 yards and five touchdowns. He’s also rushed for two touchdowns this season. Wall was Justin Northwest’s leading receiver last season, too. Then a junior, he finished the year with 46 catches for 577 yards and five touchdowns for an average of 12.5 yards per reception.

Marcus Simpson, Flower Mound, RB

Flower Mound Marcus at Flower Mound, 7 p.m. Friday at Flower Mound

Simpson carried the ball 17 times for 103 yards in Flower Mound’s 31-14 win over Denton Braswell last week. He has tallied 740 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns for Flower Mound, which is 2–2 in District 5-6A play ahead of its rivalry game with Marcus. The senior ranks among the area’s top 20 rushers in Class 6A.

Drew Kates, Richland, QB

Richland at Aledo, 7 p.m. Friday at Aledo

The area’s Class 5A passing leader, Kates has played incredible for 7–1 Richland, which meets Aledo in a District 3-5AI contest this week. Kates has completed 71% of his passes for 2,108 yards and 22 touchdowns to two interceptions. The senior has also been effective on the ground with 334 yards rushing and six scores. He is on pace to surpass his numbers from his junior season, when he threw for 2,498 yards and 29 touchdowns to four interceptions

Deondrae “Tiger” Riden Jr., DeSoto, RB

DeSoto at Cedar Hill, 7 p.m. Friday at Cedar Hill

Riden is on pace to have another 1,000 yard plus season. Through seven games, Riden has tallied 782 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns on 116 carries. The four-star Texas A&M pledge scored three rushing touchdowns and recorded 114 yards in DeSoto’s 65-24 win over Mesquite Horn last week. Despite missing games last season due to injury, Riden finished his junior campaign with 1,023 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Luke Watkins, Prosper Walnut Grove, WR

Lovejoy at Prosper Walnut Grove, 7 p.m. Friday at Prosper’s Children’s Health Stadium

Prosper Walnut Grove continues a challenging back half to its district schedule with a contest against Lovejoy this week. Expect Watkins to be a factor in the game after making five catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns in Walnut Grove’s 55-41 loss to Anna last Friday. The senior leads Walnut Grove, which has the area’s top 5A offense, in receiving with 28 receptions, 695 yards and 12 touchdowns for an average of 24.8 yards per catch. He is the area’s sixth ranked 5A receiver.

Noah Schuback, Melissa, QB

Melissa at Frisco Emerson, 7 p.m. Friday at Frisco’s Ford Center

Ahead of Melissa’s district showdown with Frisco Emerson, Schuback has passed for 1,530 yards and 20 touchdowns. The three-star junior has added 296 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Schuback turned in a strong performance in Melissa’s 75-6 win over Frisco Independence, finishing 15-of-21 for 255 and three touchdowns. He also finished with eight carries for 63 yards and a touchdown last week.

Matthew McClain, Prestonwood Christian, WR

Parish Episcopal at Prestonwood Christian, 7 p.m. Friday at Prestonwood Christian

After losing out on the district title to Parish Episcopal last season in a 49-40 loss, Prestonwood Christian gets another shot at the defending TAPPS Division I state champion. McClain could be key in securing the Prestonwood win. He has 37 catches for 800 yards and 11 touchdowns. The junior had five catches for 88 yards in Prestonwood’s 35-28 win over Frisco Legacy Christian. In Prestonwood’s 30-27 loss to Argyle Liberty Christian, the area’s top-ranked TAPPS team, he recorded five receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns.

On Twitter/X: @t_myah

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2024 Aurora Biennial lights up Downtown Dallas

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2 hours ago

November 19, 2024

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2024 Aurora Biennial lights up Downtown Dallas

Every other year, the Aurora Biennial transforms Dallas into a dazzling display of lights, video and music. This year was special because it was the first time the event took play in-person since 2018. The free public event turned the Dallas Public Library, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas City Hall and other buildings into art installations with the theme “FuturePresentPast.”

Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.

This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, Communities Foundation of Texas, The University of Texas at Dallas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access’ journalism.

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Roof falls in on Cowboys as Houston Texans extend Dallas’s slump

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10 hours ago

November 19, 2024

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Roof falls in on Cowboys as Houston Texans extend Dallas’s slump

Joe Mixon ran for three touchdowns to extend his TD streak to six games since coming back from injury, Derek Barnett returned a fumble 28 yards for a score, and the Texans beat the Cowboys 34-10 on Monday night.

The Texans (7-4) stopped just the second two-game losing streak of CJ Stroud’s young career while maintaining a two-game lead in the AFC South.

Houston pulled away in the second-half a week after a 26-23 last-play loss to Detroit at home, when the Texans let a 23-7 half-time lead get away from them.

“It’s not as bad as it ever seems, and it’s never as good as it ever seems,” Stroud said. “Those type of games, you have to come out with a win, especially going up like that at the half [against the Lions]. But what are we going to do about it?”

Amid a woeful season for the Cowboys (3-7) on the field, debris fell from their stadium’s retractable roof as it was opening a few hours before the game. There was no delay and no injuries were reported, just another mishap to foreshadow a fifth consecutive defeat for a team that lost five games total in each of the past three seasons.

Cooper Rush threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin but lost his second start since Dak Prescott’s season-ending hamstring injury.

The Dallas losing streak is their longest since a seven-game skid in 2015, and the Cowboys dropped to 0-5 at home. Dallas are the first team in NFL history to trail by at least 20 points in six consecutive home games, including last season’s wildcard playoff loss to Green Bay, according to Sportradar. The Cowboys had reached the playoffs in each of their previous three seasons, but that run is all but over.

“Well, they better be frustrated,” Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy said. “I mean, we’re all frustrated. I think there’d be something wrong if they weren’t frustrated. So just very honest with everything and stay in tune with what’s right in front of us. And that’s the only way I’ve ever done it.”

The Cowboys were down 20-10 early in the fourth quarter when Barnett knocked the ball out of Rush’s hand. Dallas rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton caught it and was trying to run when Jalen Pitre knocked the ball loose again. Barnett scooped up the ball and scored, although he almost stepped out of bounds.

“The play he made really changed for game for us,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It flipped the momentum. It got everybody juiced up on the sideline. It was just a huge play.”

Earlier, the Cowboys appeared to have pulled within a touchdown on a 64-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey, but Barnett was penalized for slapping Terence Steele on the rush. Dallas erased the points by taking the penalty, but Rush’s fourth-down pass from the Houston eight-yard line was incomplete on the only good scoring chance of the second half for the the Cowboys.

“The defense played with elite energy,” Ryans said. “One big play that we gave up. Like to have that one back, but overall I think our guys played really well.”

Texans receiver Nico Collins returned after missing five games with a hamstring injury and took a screen pass 77 yards to the end zone on the first play of the game, only to have it called back because of an ineligible receiver downfield.

That possession ended with a touchdown anyway on Mixon’s 45-yard sprint up the middle, and he ran wide for a one-yard score and a 14-0 lead. Mixon had 109 yards rushing on the day and set up a field goal with a 37-yard catch-and-run on a screen.

“I really love that first play because it showed what we could do in this game,” Ryans said. “Even though it got called back, I just told all our guys, ‘We can go score on these guys again. Just get it in your mind we’re going to score again.’”

Already without Prescott, the Cowboys lost tight end Jake Ferguson to a concussion and perennial All-Pro right guard Zack Martin and left guard Tyler Smith to ankle injuries. Rush was sacked five times, three on the same possession when Martin and Smith were injured.

Stroud, who has been in a mini-slump, threw for 257 yards while avoiding any mistakes after an early interception on fourth down. It was the third time in five games he has gone without a touchdown pass, and he has two TDs and three picks in that stretch.

Rush was 32 of 55 for 354 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Turpin had three catches for 86 yards.

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Join our Cowboys discussion

Published

18 hours ago

November 18, 2024

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