The cream rose to the top at Toyota Stadium on Thursday night as Frisco Centennial knocked off Richardson 38-29.
Frisco Centennial running back and Kansas commit Harry Stewart finished with 145 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 13 carries, while also taking a screen pass to the house for a 65-yard score. Meanwhile, out at receiver, Iowa State commit Brett Eskildsen hauled in four passes for 100 yards and two more touchdowns for the Titans.
“We have to do a good job of scheming and getting them the ball,” Frisco Centennial head coach Matt Webb said of his two Big 12 commits. “They’re explosive players. It was a hot game, but I was so proud of them. You saw Harry. He made some big things happen tonight.”
However, it wasn’t just the offense. The defense finished with four takeaways, including two interceptions by defensive back Chance Robbins.
“That’s a big thing. Explosive plays and takeaways. I think we won both of those battles tonight,” Webb said. “We have only four starters back on defense, so it was good to see them get that experience.”
The turning point in the game came on just the second play of the second half. After Frisco Centennial had pulled ahead to a 31-20 halftime lead, Stewart made some magic happen to blow the game open. He caught a screen pass, juked two defenders, and raced 65 yards for the score.
HELLO @hstewartiii!
He turns nothing into something as he breaks some ankles and turns a simple screen pass into a 65-yard touchdown.
Centennial 38-20 Richardson 11:42 3rd#txhsfb @texashsfootball pic.twitter.com/TTQha6h0bF
— Adam Ogburn (@AdamOgburnTV) August 25, 2023
“By the time I caught it, I saw two defenders. I was like, ‘hey man, if I break these two, it’s open field,” Stewart said. “After that, I just knew I was gone. Credit all the blocking to my teammates. They set that up.”
On the other sideline, new Richardson head coach Kendrick Holloway didn’t have the debut he was hoping for. But despite the loss, the Eagles certainly have some positives to take from the game. Their rushing attack looked strong with Donovan Ford finishing with 158 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries, while Keyshon Polk added 91 yards on the ground on 14 attempts.
“We rushed the ball really good, shoutout to our offensive line. Those guys have been working hard just opening up holes, being detailed in their assignments,” Holloway said. “We want to establish the run game early on and impose our will on people. That’s our goal as an offense.”
It was a goal they accomplished in the first quarter.
Ford opened the game with seven straight carries, racking up 70 yards and a three-yard touchdown scamper.
However, Centennial didn’t stay down for long. First, Stewart exploded through a seam for a 62-yard touchdown run. On the next Titan drive, quarterback Jace Patton connected with Eskildsen for a 61-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
Patton had a nice night too, finishing with 255 yards passing and three touchdowns.
And now Centennial leads!
Jace Patton with a DART to Iowa State commit @EskildsenBrett and he goes untouched for a 61-yard score.
What a turnaround!
Centennial 14-7 Richardson 4:20 1st#txhsfb @texashsfootball pic.twitter.com/nJuxvm6L6m
— Adam Ogburn (@AdamOgburnTV) August 25, 2023
The back-and-forth nature continued as Richardson answered with two field goals and a 14-yard touchdown run by Ford on its next three possessions to go up 20-14.
After that, it was Centennial’s turn again. After a strip-sack by the Titan defense, Stewart scored his second touchdown of the game on a 20-yard run. Then following a blocked punt, Eskildren found some separation from his defender to reel in a 36-yard score on a perfect pass from Patton.
The final act of the half started with the Centennial defense as Robbins picked off his first pass of the night. The Titans cashed that turnover in for points as Jackson Dawson nailed a 20-yard field goal to give Centennial a 31-20 halftime lead.
From there, Stewart blew the game open with his 65-yard catch-and-run touchdown to start the third. And although Richardson closed the gap with a late Ford touchdown run, an interception by Titan defensive back Jose Castillo on Richardson’s next possession slammed the door shut on any possibility of a late comeback.
Looking Ahead
Richardson struggled with cramps on the night. Holloway hopes that his message on hydrating throughout the week will resonate more with his players moving forward. But overall, while he praised his team’s effort on the night, he said continual improvement is needed across the board before Richardson’s week two showdown against Dallas Adams.
“We just got to keep working on the details, executing the details,” Holloway said. “I tell them practice makes perfect. If we go out there and have a great practice every day preparing for Bryan Adams, I think we’ll be fine. We just got to make sure as a coaching staff, we have our team ready to go in all three phases of the game.”
For Frisco Centennial, a familiar face awaits in week two. The Titans will host a Lake Dallas team that they’ve lost to the past two seasons.
“It’s always a good battle,” Webb said. “We’re going to have to cut down on mistakes as far as special teams and we’re going to have to do a better job of not giving up possessions. We had too many three-and-outs tonight.”
And after those back-to-back defeats, expect the Titans to be locked in heading into next Thursday.
“Just trying to get revenge man,” Stewart said. “I feel like this week, we’re going to be aggressive and we’re going to go win that thing.”
