Byron Nelson rolls past Keller, Brock beats Whitesboro and more in Week 8 from the Fort Worth-area

Week 8

Byron Nelson 45, Keller 17

It’s been a while since Byron Nelson has faced a challenge this year, and against Keller – ranked No. 5 in the Fort Worth-area rankings – the Bobcats passed with flying colors in a 45-17 route.

Aaron Darden put up 212 total yards with three rushing scores to help guide the area’s No. 4-ranked 6A Bobcats to the win.

Darden started the scoring with a 12-yard run in the first quarter in a low-scoring first half. Byron (7-0, 4-0 in District 4-6A) led just 17-3 at break due to three turnovers.

The second half is where the offense came to life as Jake Wilson, who finished 21-of-26 passing for 365 yards, threw two touchdowns as the Bobcats scored on four of its five possessions in the second half and outscored Keller (5-2, 2-2) 28-14.

Jayden Hart scored the Indians’ two touchdowns on the night and had 16 carries for 77 yards. Amarion Henry had three catches for 121 yards.

South Grand Prairie 44, Arlington 30

D’Arius Carmouche was a one-man takeaway machine for South Grand Prairie in a 44-30 win over Arlington at the Gopher-Warrior Bowl.

Carmouche had all three interceptions for the Warriors (3-5, 3-1 in District 8-6A) and also picked off a two-point attempt, returning it for two points to end Arlington’s (4-3, 2-1) comeback bid and put SGP up 37-30 with 2:48 remaining in the fourth.

South Grand Prairie punctuated the win with AJ Newberry’s fourth rushing touchdown of the night with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter to give the Warriors the 14-point lead. Newberry finished with 149 yards rushing on 16 carries.

The win vaults the Warriors into second place in the 8-6A standings and a half-game ahead of the Colts, which entered the game No. 9 in the 6A area rankings and are now in a three-way tie for third with Arlington Bowie and Arlington Lamar.

Duncanville 38, Mansfield 3

Duncanville’s defense was too much for Mansfield to overcome as the Panthers cruised to a 38-3 win in a battled of unbeaten teams out of 11-6A.

The Panthers (6-0, 4-0), who were No. 3 in the state in 6A, held Mansfield to 52 yards of offense in the first half and kept a Mansfield (6-1, 3-1) team averaging 37.7 points a game entering Friday night out of the end zone.

Duncanville forced three takeaways on the night, including a pick-six on the game’s first possession that set the tone for the rest of the game. Mansfield, ranked No. 6 in the area in 6A, managed a single field goal in the second quarter after getting an interception of its own to set up a short field.

Caden Durham led the Panthers with 142 yards rushing on eight carries and three touchdowns while Dakorien Moore had five catches for 114 yards and one score.

James Johnson led the way for the Tigers with 82 yards rushing on 23 carries.

Eaton 38, Timber Creek 31

It’s not often a team finds itself in a 3rd-and-34, much less convert, but that’s exactly what happened for Eaton as Noah Lugo’s 46-yard pass to Talan Holmes was the difference maker in a 38-31 win with 88 seconds left in the fourth.

The Eagles (3-4, 2-2 in District 4-6A) battled back from a 17-0 hole with 21 points in the second quarter to only trail 24-21 at the break and then outscored Timber Creek (2-5, 1-3) 14-0 in the fourth quarter to steal the win.

Lugo had 334 total yards and four touchdowns in the win, including his two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.

Eaton tied the score midway in the third quarter after forcing a takeaway, but the Falcons responded on the ensuing drive with a touchdown run from Anthony Joe Parks to go up 31-24.

Lior-jire Mendji led Timber Creek with 392 yards passing and two touchdowns with Maddox Allbritton as his favorite target. Allbritton hauled in nine passes for 137 yards.

Boswell 20, Bell 13

In a defensive struggle between two teams trying to stay in the playoff picture, Boswell used a 13-point fourth quarter to edge past L.D. Bell 20-13.

Boswell (6-1, 3-1 in District 3-6A), ranked No. 7 in the area in 6A, held a 7-3 lead after the first quarter, and the lead would stay there as both offenses struggled in second quarter to sustain any drive.

Bell (5-2, 2-2) regained the lead in the third thanks to a 38-yard touchdown pass from Landen Garcia to Roderick Hale. Early in the fourth, the Pioneers regained the lead for good on a 4-yard touchdown run by Ezra Carter to put Boswell up 14-10.

The Blue Raiders cut into that lead with a field goal midway through the fourth quarter, but on the ensuing possession, Boswell scored another touchdown to go up 20-13. A fourth down stop by the Pioneers at their 15 with Bell driving sealed the comeback win.

Carter led the Pioneers with 139 yards on the ground and a score while Hale had 164 total yards and a touchdown to lead Bell.

DeSoto 86, Lake Ridge 26

It was never even close on Friday night as the state’s No. 11-ranked team, DeSoto, scored at-will over Lake Ridge to the tune of an 86-26 win.

Johntay Cook, the 5-star Texas commit, hauled in 10 passes for 230 yards and five touchdowns as DeSoto (6-1, 4-0 in District 11-6A) led 35-6 after the first quarter and 56-26 at the half.

DeSoto scored on the game’s opening kick as Jamarion Ravenell returned the ball 73 yards to put the Eagles up 7-0. Lake Ridge (2-5, 1-3) scored a touchdown on its first possession of the game to make the score 7-6.

From there, DeSoto scored on seven of its nine offensive possessions in the first half to blow open the game. In the third quarter, it was more of the same as DeSoto added 23 more points to lead 79-26.

Darius Bailey completed 19 of his 27 passes for DeSoto for 331 yards and seven touchdowns. Kennen Miller had 91 yards rushing and a score for Lake Ridge.

Brock 39, Whitesboro 35

Brock outlasted Whitesboro 39-35 on Friday night, making a crucial stop at the goal line in the game’s final seconds to knock off the previously unbeaten Bearcats.

Brock (3-4, 3-0 in District 4-3A D1) let a 27-15 halftime lead disappear as Whitesboro (6-1, 3-1) outscored the Eagles 13-0 in the third quarter to lead 28-27.

Whitesboro pushed its lead to 35-27 in the fourth quarter before Brock found the end zone to draw within 35-33 as the two-point conversion failed. Brock’s defense stymied Whitesboro and the offense found the end zone once more to go up 39-35, again with the two-point conversion failing.

On the final play of the game, Whitesboro’s Mac Harper scrambled and appeared to break the goal line only to be ruled down inches short, preserving the win for Brock.