Dallas, TX
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.
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FRISCO, Texas — Smiles are being worn by everyone inside the Dallas Cowboys’ organization after what’s being roundly viewed as one of the most impressive NFL draft hauls in some time, headlined by the 11th-overall selection of superstar safety Caleb Downs ahead of grabbing UCF quarterback harasser Malachi Lawrence to round out the first round.
Not to be forgotten, however, is the work that was done on Day 2, when the Cowboys traded a fifth-round pick to add veteran linebacker Dee Winters to the roster, then using their lone third-round pick on Jaishawn Barham, a versatile Michigan linebacker who will play both inside and outside in Dallas.
The position coach directly responsible for acclimating them to the NFL level and for potentially turning them into impact players is former SMU defensive coordinator Scott Symons, and Symons can barely contain his enthusiasm about his new-look linebackers’ corps.
“The three guys I’ve been able to interact with the past couple of months — Justin [Barron], Shemar [James] and [DeMarvion Overshown] — I’m really excited about the guys that we currently have and the guys that we’ve added to this room, from a culture standpoint, from a leadership standpoint, I think we have a really good foundation to build on in there,” Symons said after the Day 2 moves in Dallas.
He then went on to gush over Winters, whom he knows well from their SMU vs. TCU days.
“[Winters] was very disruptive, an extremely athletic linebacker and the clear leader of the [TCU] defense,” Symons said. “This is a process that’s been going on for some time to try and make this happen. I’ve been a huge advocate for it. When you look at his [2025] production — his ability to run, his ability to cover, the multiplicity that he brings to the table and what it does to that room is really exciting for us. It feels really good.”
The trade was fortuitous for Winters, who is in the process of building a house in Arlington and, just like that, gets a call that he’ll be returning home for good to play football for the Cowboys.
The front office made it clear the decision for Winters began during talks that eventually sent Osa Odighizuwa to the 49ers, and given the fact future Hall of Fame linebacker Fred Warner rubber stamped the move by taking to social media to post that “Dallas got them a real one, for real” attached to a crying face emoji, there’s something to be said for his potential.
He and Barham already fit the mold of what Symons demands from his linebackers, as do the incumbents in the room, something else the Cowboys’ LBs coach pointed out.
“In this position, it’s important to look at the overall alpha mentality,” he said of his group. “All guys don’t have to be the same. You can have two different linebackers on the field, but you’ve gotta have guys that have strong leadership qualities.”
First Shift 🏒
The Stars have a history of bouncing back quickly in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
In the past three seasons, Dallas is 14-1 after a loss in the first two rounds, and that’s a big reason it has made it to the Western Conference Final for three consecutive seasons.
“It’s just the guys knowing how to park it,” said Stars goalie Jake Oettinger. “I think we’ve done it enough, so it’s just part of who we are.”
Dallas has been a great response team for years. Former Stars forward Joe Pavelski pushed to not have consecutive losses at any point during the regular season, and that built a way of playing. Current players have carried that tradition and pushed for a mix of calm and intensity after a loss.
“We’ve been doing it as a group all year long,” said captain Jamie Benn. “Our group has been through a lot the last couple of years, so we have some good memories.”
The one time they lost two consecutive games, they still bounced back from an 0-2 hole to beat Vegas in seven games. Other than that, the team and Oettinger have come up with an answer quickly.
“Just play better, do more,” said defenseman Esa Lindell when asked how the team could improve after an overtime loss. “I thought we played pretty well, but we can be better.”
The Stars said they felt good about their effort in Game 4 – a 3-2 overtime loss. They had a 45-43 advantage in shots on goal, an 84-83 edge in shot attempts and a 32-29 advantage in faceoffs. Dallas scored twice on the power play and Minnesota scored three at even strength, and that is an area that will be studied.
But forward Rantanen said he was encouraged by his team’s chances.
“We just have to stick with it,” Rantanen said. “Both teams can defend, both teams can play offense. We need to find a couple of bounces in the 5-on-5 game and go to the net and get lucky.”
Defenseman Heiskanen said he felt good about Game 4.
“We played a solid game and could have won,” he said. “I think we played well 5-on-5, we just didn’t score. If we play the same way, it will come at some point.”
Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan echoed those sentiments. He will have to shuffle his defense pairs because Nils Lundkvist suffered a facial laceration in Game 4 and will not play Tuesday. However, when asked about making changes in his forward group, Gulutzan said among the options is keeping the lineup the same.
“Sometimes, success lags behind the good things you’re doing,” Gulutzan said. “Right now, we just have to keep doing things and take the next steps and hopefully we’ll get success.”
Trade deadline acquisition Michael Bunting has yet to play in the playoffs and veteran Adam Erne came out after Game 1, so they are eligible replacements. But it would be tough to take out a player like Colin Blackwell, Oskar Bäck or Arttu Hyry, because they have been playing well.
“When you look at all the metrics, we just need to take the next step. We just need to get to loose pucks, get some tips, that kind of thing. Everything else is there. But there is another step to it, something harder,” Gulutzan said. “We like where we are. There are certainly things we can do to create more offense, go to the net a little better and get to the tougher areas. Right now, you’re down to the last little tightening of the screws. After four games, teams know each other pretty good, so it becomes a little bit of a battle of wills.”
Minnesota understands. It battled back from a 2-1 deficit in the third period and then won in overtime in Game 4.
“We’ve been in a 2-2 series before, and we’ve got to play a really, really good, smart, detailed game in Dallas,” Wild forward Marcus Foligno told reporters in Minnesota on Monday. “I think the momentum of the game is something that we have to learn to control in Dallas, so all eyes are just on Game 5. I mean, you can’t look at Game 6 or 7, it’s got to be just, how can we win in Dallas for one game?”
The Stars have the same attitude. It’s worked in the past.
“You just move on and get to the next one,” said defenseman Heiskanen.
That easy?
“Yeah. That easy,” he said.
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