Texas high school football quarterfinal matchups set with major Super 25 implications

The quarterfinals are set for the Texas high school playoffs as December nears. Four teams from the Super 25 national rankings remain in the 6A D1 and 6A D2 divisions, meaning these next few weeks may have massive implications not just for the Texas state championships but for how country-wide rankings will land.

The remaining nationally ranked teams are:

• No. 5 DeSoto (6A D2)

• No. 6 North Shore (6A D1)

• No. 13 Duncanville (6A D1)

• No. 14 Westlake (6A D1)

While these teams are ranked high, their opponents also have a chance to prove themselves as one of the 25 best teams in the nation. See matchups below and how each team got here, starting with University Interscholastic League (UIL) 6A Div. 1.

No. 9 North Shore (13-0) vs. Atascocita (11-2)

North Shore has steamrolled through the playoffs, opening with a 41-14 win over Deer Park, beating Clear Springs 49-21 and then taking down Cy-Fair 45-9. Quarterback Kaleb Bailey had 315 passing yards and five total touchdowns in the regional finals against Cy-Fair, according to Next Level Athlete.

Atascocita has been just as dominant in the playoffs, scoring more than 60 points in the opening two rounds before beating Lamar 34-14. It’s been a continuation of an unrelenting offense that outscored opponents 277-20 over a four-week (four-week!) stretch in the regular season.

North Shore and Atascocita have faced off once this year already: North Shore won 61-35.

No. 12 Duncanville (11-1) vs. Westfield (11-2)

Duncanville scored 49 points in the regional finals this past weekend — and that was somehow the team’s lowest point output of the playoffs after scoring 63 and 62 in the first two rounds, respectively. Against The Woodlands last weekend, quarterback Keelon Russell, an SMU commit, rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another, while running back JaQualon Armstrong rushed for two late scores.

Westfield, meanwhile, is hitting its stride at the perfect time after setting a team postseason record of 78 points in the win last week. Taji Atkins rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns on only 10 carries, according to Dallas News, and his speed as a track and field runner will be something Duncanville must watch out for.

No. 17 Westlake (13-0) vs. Lake Travis (11-2)

Westlake’s offense is starting to roll as each week’s point output increased throughout November. With 59 points against United in the regional finals, the Chaparrals are humming. Army commit Jack Kayser, who has the second-most rushing yards in program history, scored three touchdowns in the first quarter of the game against United alone, according to KXAN, and the defense had seven sacks, according to MaxPreps.

They will meet their next challenge against Lake Travis, whose bread-and-butter has been on the defensive side of the ball. The Cavaliers have allowed more than 15 points only four times this season—once being the 20-14 loss to Westlake in September—and perhaps their most impressive win in the playoffs was the 13-10 victory against previously undefeated Vandegrift. Lake Travis also beat Johnson and Brennan to get to the quarterfinals.

Allen (9-4) vs. North Crowley (13-0)

Could one of these teams make some noise to get into the national rankings conversation? North Crowley certainly hopes it can continue what could be the best season in program history.

After having a losing record for about 15 years in a row, North Crowley burst over .500 in 2020, rose to 12 consecutive wins in 2022 before losing to Prosper in the regionals, and then getting vengeance and defeating Prosper 35-7 in this year’s regionals to advance to the quarterfinals behind Ashton Searl’s 207 yards and four touchdowns, per the Dallas News. How far can they go? They have the attention of Texas.

Across from them is a team with an opposite 2010s, who dominated the decade behind the play of stars like Kyler Murray. Allen has had to eke out wins this postseason, defeating Lewisville 18-17 and Martin 36-33 in the first two rounds before falling behind Midland Legacy 14-0 in the regionals but coming back to win 52-35.

6A D2: No. 6 DeSoto (12-0) vs. Cedar Hill (8-5)

DeSoto, who beat Allen and Duncanville in the regular season, has yet to experience a hiccup in the postseason. The Eagles have won their games by margins of 50-10, 42-20 and 65-31 over the last three weeks. Their rushing game was strong in the regional finals, with Marvin Duffey running for 140 yards and Deondrae Riden Jr. going for 147.

Don’t let Cedar Hill’s five losses convince you it is not a good team — the Longhorns have had fierce competition this year, including Rockwall, Southlake Carroll, Duncanville and DeSoto. In the playoffs, Cedar Hill shut out its first opponent 62-0 before winning the next game 59-21. It beat Tomball 28-7 this past weekend.

The regular season matchup between DeSoto and Cedar Hill favored the Eagles, who won 35-13. Can Cedar Hill regroup and take them down?

Other teams to watch

Byron Nelson (13-0) vs. Southlake Carroll (12-1)

Either one of these teams could get Super 25 action soon, as Byron Nelson was in the “On The Rise” section in last week’s ranking.

Byron Nelson quarterback Tom Von Grote had six total touchdowns last week, and the team needed every single one of them as they scraped by Coppell 52-45 in one of the most exciting games of the playoffs. This is Byron Nelson’s first quarterfinals appearance, according to SB Live.

Southlake Carroll won’t make it easy, as the Dragons have mauled playoff opponents by scores of 70-0 in the opening round, 49-14 in the second and 45-14 in the regionals.

Summer Creek (12-1) vs. Fort Bend (12-1)

Summer Creek shut out its first two playoff opponents, scoring more than 40 points in both games while downing Stratford 52-15 in the regionals. The offense is rolling, and the defense is tooth-and-nails.

Fort Bend is more accustomed to churning through tight games, as both its second- and third-round contests were single-possession games. Can they keep it tight and take down Summer Creek?

Steele (12-1) vs. Dripping Springs (11-2)

Steele’s points outputs this playoffs are 42, 42, and 48. Its only regular season loss was to Lake Travis, and the Knights have run through every other opponent to get in their way, outscoring competition 569-223 this year.

Dripping Springs has put up 34, 38 and 50 points in its three playoff games. Despite the two losses, one of which was to Westlake, the Tigers actually beat Lake Travis.

Who will advance to the semifinals?

Story originally appeared on High School Sports