Throughout the season, everyone pencilled Duncanville in to achieve a three-peat.
North Crowley made sure that didn’t happen.
In what may be the upset of the Texas high school football playoffs, North Crowley defeated Duncanville 36-34 in the UIL Class 6A Division 1 semifinal on Friday at Allen Eagle Stadium. The contest was standing-room-only, drawing over 18,000 fans.
North Crowley made a statement early, scoring on fourth down with quarterback Chris Jimerson Jr. connecting with receiver Quentin Gibson for a 32-yard touchdown. The Panthers then recovered an onside kick at Duncanville’s 47-yard line and scored another touchdown on a running back Cornelius Warren III 26 yard catch, eventually amassing a 15-0 lead before Duncanville even saw the scoreboard.
The favorites bounced back with two touchdowns to narrow the score by one point by halftime.
The second half seemed to be tilting in Duncanville’s favor, taking the lead for the first time in the contest with receiver Dakorien Moore nabbing a catch-and-run for the 51-yard score. North Crowley answered with a 16-yard wide receiver Cam Hunter receiving touchdown and refused to relinquish the lead, exerting their dominance the next Duncanville possession, in which highly touted quarterback Keelon Russell threw an interception directly to North Crowley’s safety Aaron Bradshaw.
It was one of two costly turnovers in the fourth quarter that swung the momentum in North Crowley’s favor.
In what was a quarterback duel, North Crowley’s Jimerson Jr. had a slight edge with four touchdowns. Alabama quarterback commit Russel threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns; he finishes his high school career 16-1 in the playoffs.
North Crowley is now the first school from Fort Worth to play in a UIL state championship game at the highest classification since Fort Worth Arlington Heights won state in 1948.
Next up, the victorious Panthers will battle Austin Westlake in the UIL Class 6A Division 1 championship on December 21 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
