DESOTO — Friday night’s “Battle of Unbeatens” at Eagle Stadium was billed as one of the best prep football games in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
In a game only one could remain undefeated and lay an early claim to the district title, neither DeSoto or Duncanville disappointed before, during after the 21-14 finish.
After two quarters of bone-chillingly cold high school football, the two teams had scored 17 total points and earned 13 combined first downs. After four, the Panthers added seven to their total, the eighth win in their season ledger, and — in the words of wideout Gysai Smith per DFW Varsity — a new era of football to the city of Duncanville.
“It’s amazing. The only thing that made it better was finally beating DeSoto. This was our senior year and we had to go out with a bang,” Panther senior quarterback Trazon Connely, who finished 9-for-9 with 151 yards and one of the three scores in the second half. “This year is about family and sticking together whether we’re up or down. This game showed a lot of how we’ve changed in a year.”
BEATING THE POINTS SPREAD
Gordon Deloach/TexasHSFootball
The points — a 27-yard field goal by Panther kicker Josh Delgado and a touchdown via a 3-yard run by DeSoto’s Courtney Douglass and a 37-yard strike from Trazon Connley to Gysai Smith — were scarce in the first half and even more in the second, but the key nuggets of play found within may have told a richer story about the strength of District 7-6A’s top two teams.
Duncanville and DeSoto not only entered the matchup as one of the Lone Star State’s dwindling number of undefeated teams, they also scored 42.8 and 38.4 points per game, respectively. Sophomore quarterback Ja’Quinden Jackson said the Panther defense, which had held opponents to seven or fewer points in five games and 14 or fewer in six, proved where it stands in comparison to the state’s best units.
“We have the No. 1 defense in our region, hands down. I love how they executed when we really needed to come through for us,” said Jackson, who capped a Duncanville 11-play drive with a 10-yard touchdown with six seconds left in regulation. “Our defense played a massive role tonight. In the end, they made the plays that gave us a chance to win.”
Duncanville was the only team this season to hold DeSoto to 14 points and only one of two to allow 21 or fewer.
‘ALL IN’ FOR THE ‘VILLE
Aside from a pair of crucial turnovers, Jackson’s offense — specifically his 72-yard run that set up the streak-sealing touchdown pass from Connley to Bryce Walker — gave Duncanville a 17-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
The sophomore finished with 146 yards rushing and a touchdown on 14 carries. Elder (16 rush, 63 yards) and Connley (7 rush, -3 yards) finished with fewer than 100 combined.
“It’s not all about me or any one of us, bro. Football’s a team sport. Sometimes I’m not going to have a good game and my quarterback’s going to have a great game,” senior running back Keilon Elder.
That defensive surge bent but didn’t break during a late rally that helped DeSoto pull within a field goal on Kelan Walker’s 4-yard run with 5:37 left in the fourth quarter — DeSoto’s third and final score of the game.
“It takes all of us to do what we did. Without me being a decoy, he wouldn’t have gotten everything he had,” Elder continued. “Without him we wouldn’t have gotten a lead. Without our defense playing the way they did, working hard and pushing our offense, we wouldn’t have won.”
While Duncanville’s explosive offensive combination of Connley and Keilon Elder were limited by the Eagles’ run stuffing front line and key pass defenses by Gemon Green and Byron Hanspard, Jr. — not his brother and Eagle offensive weapon Bryon Hanspard — their defense helped fill the void — namely via two key fumble recoveries in each half.
Jackson and the Panthers held dual-threat option Courtney Douglas, bruising runner Kelan Walker, all-purpose speed back and long-range weapon La’Vote Shenault to 202 yards. DeSoto, including negative yardage, gained 178.
TURNING THE TIDE
Rita Bell/TexasHSFootball
To Head Coach Reginal Samples, it was a “turning of a tide” necessary to establishing Duncanville as a legitimate threat in the district and state championship title races. The Panthers are 8-0 for the first time in more than a decade and have rebounded from back-to-back 3-7 finishes in 2014 and 2015 with an overall 19-3 record in the last two seasons.
“Those seniors [up front defensively] have lost a lot and had a lot of heartbreak. They were determined they were going to turn it around and that’s what they’ve done,” Head Coach Reginal Samples said. “We wanted to turn the tide and be one of the better teams in the area. You can’t be considered that without beating a team like DeSoto. You got to beat them to get the respect.”
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