MaxPreps Texas Top 25 high school football rankings

At different times during the 2013 football campaign, Allen and DeSoto made strong cases for the top spot in MaxPreps Texas Top 25.

Now the two Dallas-area powerhouse programs can settle the ‘Who's No. 1?' discussion on the field when they meet in a Class 5A Division I state semifinal rematch set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Mesquite's Memorial Stadium.

A year ago, Allen prevailed 51-36 and went on to win the Class 5A Division I state title the following week.

And it is Allen (14-0), riding a 25-game winning streak, that is No. 1 now, regaining the top spot a week ago. Allen has not trailed in the second half of a game this season. Its narrowest victory margin is 19 points.

DeSoto (14-0), No. 1 for most of 2013, has had a tougher go of it, trailing in the second half of its last three playoff games. In two of those wins, over Coppell and Trinity (Euless), DeSoto scored the go-ahead touchdown in the final minute.

In DeSoto's 48-41 comeback victory over Trinity in Waco, the winning touchdown came with only six seconds remaining. Because of icy conditions in North Texas over the weekend, the DeSoto-Trinity game was one of several postponed until Monday.

Allen (junior Kyler Murray) and DeSoto (senior Desmon White) rely heavily on talented dual-threat quarterbacks. Both were the starters in last season's shootout and are surrounded by excellent casts of skill players.

White, a TCU pledge, threw for 371 yards and three touchdowns in last year's game. Allen took control when it returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown and later in the third period scored on an interception return.

No. 3 Katy (14-0), the defending champion in 5A Division II, brings a 30-game winning streak into its state semifinal against surprising 12-2 Johnson (San Antonio), set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Houston's Reliant Stadium.

Johnson last week added Steele (Cibolo) to its list of playoff victims that already included Smithson Valley (Spring Branch) and Brandeis (San Antonio).

Katy has designs on its eighth state title.

See the complete 2013 Texas high school football playoff brackets

Here's the MaxPreps Texas Top 25 following Week 14 games.

Be sure to check out our Metro pages for Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.


1. Allen (Texas) 14-0 (1)
Kyler Murray accounted for 364 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-13 rout of 13-1 Spring Westfield (Houston) in the 5A-I Region II title game Saturday in Round Rock. Murray, the son of former Texas A&M quarterback Kevin Murray, threw for 195 yards and three touchdowns — two to Cole Carter — and rushed for 169 yards and two scores. Up next is 14-0 DeSoto in a state semifinal set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Mesquite‘s Memorial Stadium.

2. DeSoto (Texas) 14-0 (2)
Larry Nixon's 1-yard touchdown run with six seconds remaining carried the Eagles to a 48-41 victory over 11-3 Trinity (Euless) in the 5A-I Region I final in Waco. TCU-bound quarterback Desmon White accounted for 295 of DeSoto's 607 yards in a game that featured three lead changes in the final five minutes. Jaimon Peterson and Jatory Sparks-Brown each rushed for two touchdowns. Up next is a state semifinal rematch with 14-0 Allen set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Mesquite's Memorial Stadium.

3. Katy (Texas) 14-0 (3)
The Tigers extended their victory streak to 30, including 10 playoff wins in a row, with a 56-14 rout of 12-2 Manvel in the 5A-II Region III title game Friday at Houston's Reliant Stadium. Rodney Anderson, a Texas A&M pledge, carried 31 times for 247 yards and four touchdowns. Kyle Porter added 123 yards and a score. Up next is 12-2 Johnson (San Antonio) in a state semifinal set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Reliant Stadium.

4. Pearland (Texas) 13-1 (7)
Kevin Harvey and Jason King had interceptions to lead a determined Oilers defense in a 10-3 victory over 12-2 Cy-Fair (Cypress) in the 5A-I Region III final. Zachary Boegler scored the game's only touchdown on a fourth-down 1-yard run after King's interception in the game's early moments. Nicholas Keller added a 30-yard field goal right before halftime. Cy-Fair's field goal came early in the second quarter after a goal-line stand by the Oilers defense. Pearland, a state champion in 2010, advances to its fourth state semifinal against 11-3 Madison (San Antonio) set for 3 p.m. Saturday at Waco ISD Stadium.

5. Johnson (San Antonio) 12-2 (18)
Hunter Rittimann threw for 210 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Jaguars to a 42-41 victory over 12-2 Steele (Cibolo) Saturday in the 5A-II Region IV title game in San Marcos. Rittimann added 76 rushing yards and a score, but the Jaguars still had to successfully defend a Steele two-point conversion try with 24 seconds left. Up next is defending state champion Katy (14-0) set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Houston's Reliant Stadium.

6. Trinity (Euless) 11-3 (10), season complete
Tyler Natee's 13-yard touchdown run with 2:31 remaining positioned the Trojans for the upset, but DeSoto answered a clutch Trinity drive with one of its own, scoring with six seconds remaining for a 48-41 victory in the 5A-I Region I title game Monday in Waco. Isaac Ellsworth rushed 18 times for 354 yards and a touchdown for Trinity while quarterback Christian Hammack threw for two scores. The Trojans were beaten by DeSoto, 61-35, part of an 0-2 start. 

7. Coppell 9-2 (9), season complete
The only losses on the Cowboys' ledger were to Allen on the road and DeSoto in a 5A-I area playoff.

8. Carroll (Southlake) 11-2 (11), season complete
After losing its opener to Allen, the Dragons strung together 11 straight wins before being eliminated, 42-38, by Trinity (Euless) in the third playoff round.

9. Steele (Cibolo) 12-2 (5), season complete
For the first time since 2009, the Knights fell short of the state semifinal playoff round after a 42-41 loss to 12-2 Johnson (San Antonio) in the 5A-II Region IV title game Saturday in San Marcos. The Knights went for the win with 24 seconds remaining, but a two-point conversion pass intended for star running back Justin Stockton fell incomplete. Stockton rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns and had 69 receiving yards on the final drive that included a touchdown.

10. Aledo 14-0 (12)
Aledo set the national 11-man season scoring record in its 69-14 blowout of 8-6 Wichita Falls in the 4A-II Region I title game Monday night in Waxahachie. The Bearcats have scored 956 points in 14 games. The previous record was 903 points in 2001 by Albemarle (N.C.). Jess Anders scored the touchdown that broke the record, one of three for him in a 117-yard rushing performance. Aledo ran for 341 yards and led 49-7 at half. Up next is 14-0 Ennis in a state semifinal set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Midlothian.

11. Cy-Fair (Cypress) 12-2 (8), season complete
Despite getting the best of the total yardage (216-180), the Bobcats were eliminated, 10-3, by 13-1 Pearland in the 5A-II Region III title game Saturday at Mercer Stadium in Sugar Land. Dillon Birden led the Bobcats with 29 carries for 152 yards, but was stopped inches short on fourth down at the Pearland 20 in the second half.

12. Cedar Hill 12-2 (16)
The Longhorns reached the state semifinal round for the second consecutive season with a 52-29 elimination of 10-3 Ryan (Denton) in the 5A-II Region I title game Monday at Denton's Apogee Stadium. Larry Hill rushed for 127 yards and scored two of his four touchdowns in the fourth quarter to end Ryan's comeback hopes. Receiver Damarkus Lodge added 66 rushing yards and two scores on Wildcat runs. Up next is 12-1 Lake Travis (Austin) set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Waco's Floyd Casey Stadium.

13. Lake Travis (Austin) 12-1 (17)
Varshaun Nixon, a Texas A&M pledge, rushed for 191 yards and a pair of third-period touchdowns in a 21-7 victory over 10-3 A&M Consolidated (College Station) in the 5A-II Region II final Saturday in Temple. Dominic De Lira hit Grant Foster on a touchdown pass for the Cavaliers' 7-0 halftime lead. The Lake Travis defense recorded six sacks. Up next is a state semifinal against Cedar Hill set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Waco's Floyd Casey Stadium.

14. North Shore (Houston) 12-1 (13), season complete
After an impressive string of 12 straight wins, the Mustangs could manage only one touchdown in a 9-7 third-round elimination by Cy-Fair (Cypress).

15. Lamar (Houston) 11-1 (15), season complete
Momentum from a 5A-I state final appearance in 2012 helped carry the Redskins to an 11-0 start, but Pearland ended Lamar's season with a 21-13 elimination in the third playoff round.

16. Manvel 12-2 (6), season complete
The Mavericks had no answers for the running attack of 14-0 Katy and suffered a 56-14 elimination in the 5A-II Region III title game at Houston's Reliant Stadium. Manvel did rally from an early 21-0 deficit to make it a two score game at halftime, but turnovers on its first two possessions of the second half allowed the Tigers to put it out of reach. Sophomore quarterback D'Eriq King led Manvel with 298 yards of offense.

17. Westfield (Houston) 13-1 (4), season complete
The Mustangs' unbeaten season came to an end in a 48-13 loss to 14-0 Allen in the 5A-DI Region II title game Saturday in Round Rock. Latevius Downs accounted for 167 of Westfield's 222 total yards, rushing 22 times for 123 yards and catching three passes for 44 yards. Courtland Greenwood and Rayquan Jones accounted for the touchdowns on short runs.

18. Martin (Arlington) 10-3 (21), season complete
In a season of ups and downs, including three forfeits that were later overturned, the Warriors were a third-round playoff victim of DeSoto, 56-34.

19. Skyline (Dallas) 11-2 (14), season complete
The Raiders carried the Dallas ISD banner to the third round, but a double-overtime 55-48 loss to Spring Westfield (Houston) spelled elimination.

20. Guyer (Denton) 12-2 (22)
Jerrod Heard, a Texas Longhorns commit, rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to a 53-28 elimination of 11-3 Birdville (North Richland Hills) in the 4A-I Region I title game. Heard threw for 135 yards and a score. Running back D.J. Breedlove rushed for 115 yards and three scores. Up next for the defending state champion is 13-1 Highland Park in a state semifinal 1 p.m. Saturday at Allen's Eagle Stadium.

21. Brenham 13-1 (24)
It took only seven offensive plays for the Cubs to open a 21-0 lead thanks to three Caleb Hill touchdown passes in a 35-6 rout of 13-1 George Ranch (Richmond) in the 4A-II Region III title game. James Homan, Courtland Sutton and TreVonte Johnson caught Hill's scoring tosses of 77, 61 and 49 yards, respectively as Brenham claimed is sixth regional title. Up next is 13-1 Calhoun (Port Lavaca) set for noon Saturday at Houston's Reliant Stadium.

22. Madison (San Antonio) 11-3 (NR)
Alex Ardoin ran 30 yards for the go-ahead touchdown and the Mavericks made a goal-line stand in the final minute to preserve a 33-29 victory over 11-3 Judson (Converse) in the 5A-I Region IV title game Friday at San Antonio's Heroes Stadium. Cody Ennis ran for three touchdowns and the Madison defense forced three turnovers — two leading to Mavericks touchdowns. Madison advances to its second state semifinal in three seasons, facing 13-1 Pearland at 3 p.m. Saturday in Waco.

23. Stratford (Houston) 13-1 (NR)
Terrance Peters Jr. rushed for 139 yards and two second-half touchdowns to help the Spartans break open a 38-7 victory over 11-3 Dawson (Pearland) in the 4A-I Region III title game. Peters and running mate Rakeem Boyd combined for five touchdowns in a rushing attack that produced 222 of the team's 333 total yards. Up next is 14-0 Brennan (San Antonio) in a state semifinal set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Houston's Reliant Stadium.

24. Highland Park (Dallas) 13-1 (NR)
A 55-yard touchdown run by Cole Feigl with 2:50 remaining clinched a 27-14 victory over 9-5 Wylie in the 4A-I Region II title game Monday night in Allen. Brooks Burgin threw for 197 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score. Feigl finished with 119 yards rushing. Up next is 12-2 defending state champion Guyer (Denton) in a state semifinal 1 p.m. Saturday at Allen's Eagle Stadium.

25. Ennis 14-0 (NR)
Taylor Thompson returned two fourth quarter interceptions for touchdowns and Terrell Hearne added another to help the Lions pull away for a 43-21 victory over 12-2 Poteet (Mesquite) in a 4A-II Region II title game. Baylor pledge Terence Williams rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown. Up next is 14-0 Aledo in a state semifinal set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Midlothian.

Dropped out: No. 19 Judson (Converse), No. 20 A&M Consolidated (College Station) No. 23 George Ranch (Richmond), No. 25 Ryan (Denton).

On the bubble
Argyle (Argyle, Texas) 14-0, Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) 14-0, Calhoun (Port Lavaca, Texas) 13-1, Carthage (Carthage, Texas) 13-1, Fairfield (Fairfield, Texas) 14-0, Graham 14-0, Kilgore 13-0, La Grange 13-0, Stephenville 12-1, Sinton 12-2