Maximus The Great Denson lived up to his name Friday as the
Duncanville quarterback tossed seven touchdown passes in a 48-28 win over Texas rival
DeSoto in the MaxPreps Game of the Week.
Denson, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior, had scoring strikes of 19, 29, 33 and 26 yards in the first half and added TD passes of 17, 15 and 26 yards after intermission.
Separated by less than 10 miles, the schools each have a pair of state titles in the past three years but the rivalry has been a little lopsided recently as Duncanville had won six of the previous seven meetings.
Duncanville receivers Trenton Yancey and Emmanuel Ellison celebrate a first-half score in the Panthers' decisive win over rival DeSoto on Friday in the MaxPreps Game of the Week. (PHOTO: Lynn Fern)
Friday didn't buck the trend as three different receivers caught a pair of touchdown passes from Denson, who was 23 of 31 for 328 yards. Four-star wideout
Trenton Yancey had seven catches for 104 yards and two scores while
Ayson Theus and
Emmanuel Ellison also added tandem trips to paydirt.
The Panthers built leads of 14-6, 21-6 and 28-6 in the first 20 minutes and looked to be in control of the game early before DeSoto scored 14 unanswered points to end the half.
The
Eagles, who moved the ball in each of the first two quarters, got a
pair of scoring catches by
Ethan Feaster and turned a three-score hole
into a 28-20 locker room deficit.
While Duncanville scored on its first four possessions, DeSoto shot
itself in the foot. The Eagles had two long touchdowns wiped off the
board on penalties, one on an ineligible man downfield and the other on a
holding call.
But they never stopped moving
the ball as Feaster scored on catches of 71 and 8 yards.
The Panthers, however, answered with three scores on their first four possessions after the break and opened the lead to 48-20 before DeSoto got a 20-yard
SaRod Baker score to slice the lead back to 20.
Duncanville captured the 6A Division 1 title in 2022 and 2023 while DeSoto grabbed 6A Division 2 crowns in the same seasons.
DeSoto (3-3) is on the road at
Horn (Mesquite) on Oct. 17. Duncanville (3-1) travels to
Lancaster on Oct. 17.
Duncanville quarterback Maximus The Great Denson is interviewed by MaxPreps Game of the Week sideline report Chris Stonebraker following Friday night's win. (PHOTO: Lynn Fern)
Duncanville wide receiver Emmanuel Ellison is lifted in the air in celebration after a first-half touchdown catch in the Panthers' win over rival DeSoto. Ellison caught a pair of scoring strikes as quarterback Maximus The Great Denson tossed seven TDs. (PHOTO: Lynn Fern)
