Most of the usual suspects have made it to the state semifinals in 6A Division I. North Shore and Duncanville are both still alive and so is Westlake. However, don’t count out a North Crowley program that has rebounded in recent years to make its presence felt at the state level.
Here’s what to watch for in the 6A Division I state semifinals.
North Crowley Panthers (14-0) vs. Duncanville Panthers (12-1) Saturday 3 p.m. @ Mesquite
Don’t assume Duncanville is a shoo-in to the state title game when looking at this matchup.
DeSoto showed that Duncanville isn’t invincible this year after it beat the Panthers 49-35 in the regular season. North Crowley won’t come into this game with any fear either having knocked off two of DFW’s top programs in Prosper and Allen the past two weeks.
North Crowley hasn’t been this deep in the playoffs since its 2003 4A Division I state title. It has the playmakers though to cause Duncanville some problems. Dual threat quarterback Chris Jimerson is a TCU commit and he’ll have two strong runners alongside him in the backfield in Ashton Searl and Cornelius Warren. In North Crowley’s 49-37 win over Allen last week, Searl rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
Louisiana Tech commit Mason Ferguson and North Crowley’s leading receiver Dekoryian West-Davis were the only two Panthers to catch a pass last week. If the Panthers need a late game play through the air, they’re likely turning to one of those guys.
Duncanville has its usual double-digit number of players who are ready to play Division I ball. The Panthers are led offensively by LSU commit running back Caden Durham and SMU commit quarterback Keelon Russell. They were the key to last year’s state title and will be hoping for a repeat this sseason. Russell was highly efficient in Duncanville’s 70-28 obliteration of Westfield last week. He completed nine of ten passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns. It certainly helps when you have LSU commit Dakorien Moore, a five-star receiver, in your arsenal.
But you can’t talk Duncanville without looking at the trenches. The combination of Texas commits Colin Simmons and Alex January on the defensive line will be tough for any opposing offensive line to handle.
However, North Crowley has the overall talent to hang with Duncanville. This one should be a rockfight as Duncanville looks to avoid the upset and make its fifth state title game in the past six years.
North Shore Mustangs (14-0) vs. Westlake Chaparrals (14-0) Saturday 3 p.m. @ Pflugerville
Westlake won its Austin showdown against Lake Travis last week to earn the honors of trying to knock off North Shore in the state semifinals.
It’s no easy task as North Shore head coach Willie Gaston has kept the Mustangs rolling even after the departure of Jon Kay to the Rice coaching staff. They’re now on the verge of their fifth state title game appearance in the last six years. The lone time they didn’t make it? It’s when Westlake beat them 24-21 back in 2020.
These two teams matched up in the semifinals last year with the Mustangs winning 49-34.
Last week, North Shore gutted out a 34-28 come-from-behind win against Atascocita after falling behind 14-0 early. Quarterback Kaleb Bailey threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns last week, while adding another 39 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. A year ago, he missed the playoffs due to injury. He’s back this year and has come up big in key moments.
He has plenty of options to aim for out at receiver in junior Cameron Smith, who had 10 catches for 183 yards in the regional semifinals, North Texas commit Christopher Barnes, and Air Force commit Terrence Guillory. Defensively, North Shore also boasts five-star corner Devin Sanchez and three-star safety LaVonte Johnson in its secondary.
Westlake, meanwhile, has handed the keys of its offense to promising sophomore Rees Wise. Last week in Westlake’s 21-14 win over Lake Travis, he threw for 133 yards and added another 84 on the ground. However, he did throw three interceptions, so ball security will have to be of the utmost importance this week.
The Chaparrals will need to get Army commit running back Jack Kayser going early to keep their attack two-dimensional. When Rees is tasked with throwing, he’ll have three-star receiver Heath McRee at his disposal along with juniors Brody Wilhelm and Cal Livengood.
Westlake may not have as much of the outright star power that North Shore does, but the Chaparrals have plenty of experience of playing at this stage. They likely won’t want to get into a shootout with the Mustangs, but if they can establish the run early and play sound football, they’ll give themselves a shot to win it down the stretch.
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