Four bold predictions for Dallas-area teams before district play begins

The first two weeks of the Texas high school football season have been telling.

Some teams have risen to the occasion while others have fallen surprisingly flat. But for many teams in the Dallas area, district play begins Friday, meaning playoff implications enter the conversation.

After the first two weeks of football, here are four bold predictions for Dallas-area teams.

Melissa will win the Class 5A Division II state title

After watching how Melissa performed in Weeks 1 and 2, it’s hard not to pick Matt Nally’s program as the favorite to win it all in Class 5A Division II and prevent South Oak Cliff from three-peating.

After beating Argyle 50-14 in Week 1, Melissa earned a statement win over China Spring, defeating the reigning Class 4A Division I state champions 63-33 after losing 42-41 the year before.

Quarterback Trever Ham has been stellar, completing 81% of his passes for 548 yards and seven touchdowns with zero interceptions. Wide receiver Karson Maynard has stepped up with a team-high 240 yards receiving and four touchdowns. Then there’s running back Nathan Adejokun, who has 331 yards and two touchdowns so far.

Melissa’s success can’t be mentioned without the area’s No. 6 recruit Nigel Smith — the most heavily recruited athlete in Melissa history — on the defensive line.

Class 5A Division II may be more competitive than ever this season, but Melissa is playing above the rest. While South Oak Cliff entered the season as the favorites to repeat, Melissa’s offense may be too much for SOC’s inexperienced defense to limit. The reigning champions could face a similar challenge if they play Lovejoy.

Cedar Hill will make the playoffs

Two seasons ago, this prediction would have been a given. It was only three years ago when Cedar Hill reached the state title game.

A lot has changed in the last few years for the program which is now under the direction of Nick Ward after Carlos Lynn resigned and departed for Crowley. His resignation followed a year when Cedar Hill won just two games last season.

By Week 2, Cedar Hill is already halfway to its win total from last year after beating No. 13 Arlington Martin 33-2 last week. Granted, Martin is experiencing what appears to be a rebuilding year of its own, but Cedar Hill has the talent to compete for fourth place in District 11-6A.

SMU commit Alexander Rodgers, a cornerback and the area’s No. 52 overall recruit, and defensive lineman Zhaiylen Scott (No. 73 with offers from SMU, Memphis and UNT) are anchoring this year’s defense. Scott has also rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 11.8 yards per carry so far.

District 11-6A is among the most difficult districts to make the playoffs in since Duncanville and DeSoto almost automatically secure two spots. Lat year, Cedar Hill finished sixth, but it will likely just take a win over Waxahachie — which graduated a lot of talent — or Mansfield to secure a playoff berth.

Frisco Emerson will go undefeated in the regular season

After finishing 9-2 overall last season, an undefeated regular season is certainly possible for Emerson, which returned all 22 starters while adding Oklahoma commit Michael Hawkins at quarterback.

Emerson cruised through its first two games, beating Hillcrest 69-3 and Woodrow Wilson 41-21. Hawkins completed 73% of his passes for 349 yards and five touchdowns — two of which went to Texas State commit Kylen Evans, who leads the team with 154 receiving yards. Ishaqq Bills and Kameron Lockhart — who combined for over 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns last year — have 225 yards and four touchdowns between the two of them so far.

After Argyle started 0-2 for the first time in head coach Todd Rodgers’ tenure, District 3-5A Div. II broke wide open. Argyle will likely turn its season around and remain in competition for the district title, but otherwise Emerson and Lake Dallas (2-0) will be among the top contenders.

Emerson beat Lake Dallas last year 24-20 but lost to Argyle 24-10, which determined the district champion. With Argyle’s struggles, this year could be different. However, to complete an undefeated regular season, Emerson will also have to beat fellow Frisco ISD newcomer Frisco Panther Creek, which is also undefeated heading into Week 3.

Arlington Seguin will advance further than any other Arlington ISD team

Arlington Seguin first indicated that it could be poised for a breakout year at the 7-on-7 state football tournament in College Station in June when it advanced further than any other Dallas-area team.

Through the first two weeks of the season, Seguin has shown ups and downs but promise that this year could see the program return to the postseason for the first time since 2017.

In two top-20 matchups so far this season, Seguin beat No. 7 Midlothian in Week 1 before falling to No. 14 Red Oak in Week 2. Seguin is now ranked 19th among Dallas-area 5A teams.

The program is led by junior wide receiver Carterrious Brown, who holds offers from Texas, Baylor and Kansas State after recording 894 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns last season.

Predicting that Joe Gordon’s program will advance further than any other Arlington ISD team may be too bold, especially given that Arlington Martin has reached the playoffs for 17 consecutive years, but after Martin started 0-2, that opened the door for other programs to claim the spot as the top team in that school district.

Seguin is the only Arlington ISD team to compete in Class 5A. The others are all in District 8-6A — the only Dallas-area district without an undefeated team.

If Seguin can secure a playoff spot, it will want to finish third or better in District 5-5A Div. II, otherwise it will likely earn a date with back-to-back state champion South Oak Cliff in the first round. However, if it can finish third or higher, it will play another Dallas ISD opponent which it can likely beat — giving the team its first playoff win in 15 years. A playoff win may not be something another Arlington ISD team can achieve this fall.

On Twitter: @Lassimak

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