MaxPreps Texas Top 25 high school football rankings

When Cedar Hill makes the six mile jaunt next door to DeSoto for Thursday's showdown, it is a forgone conclusion that both teams are on the way to the playoffs.

But with the players living so close and running into each other at the movies or restaurants, do not underestimate the power of bragging rights.

DeSoto (7-0) is No. 2 in this week's MaxPreps Texas Top 25. Cedar Hill (6-1) is No. 5. Both are 3-0 in District 8-6A and the winner will likely become the district champion.

The last three head-to-head meetings have gone to DeSoto — 47-20 last season, 48-35 in 2012 and 45-13 in 2011. The teams didn't play in 2010. Cedar Hill last beat its neighbor on opening night of 2009, 44-41.

Despite losing to DeSoto the last two seasons, Cedar Hill went on to reach the Class 5A Division II state championship game against Katy and won the title last year.

DeSoto saw perfect seasons end in Class 5A Division I state semifinal defeats to eventual state champion Allen each of the last two seasons. The Eagles are still chasing their first state football title. Cedar Hill has two, the first coming in 2006.

Both teams, as usual, are loaded with college commitments. Among them:

Cedar Hill: quarterback Justin McMillan (LSU), running back Aca'cedric Ware (Southern Cal), defensive back Darrell Miller (Tennessee) and linebacker Richard Moore (Texas A&M).

DeSoto: lineman Bryce English (UCLA), defensive back E.J. Muhammad (Nevada), linebacker Chris Orr (Wisconsin) and wide receivers Kevin Thomas (Kansas) and Akile Davis (Brigham Young).

The head coaches, DeSoto's Claude Mathis and Joey McGuire of Cedar Hill, are masters of motivation.

Don't expect anything less than 40 points to be enough to win this one.

Other top games this weekend: Westlake (5-2) vs. Lake Travis (6-1) for Austin-area bragging rights; Klein Collins vs. Montgomery with both teams 6-1; Cy-Fair vs. Cypress Woods also matches teams with 6-1 records and in the San Antonio area Brandeis (7-0) vs. 6-1 O'Connor.

Here's the MaxPreps Texas Top 25 following Week 8 games.

See the MaxPreps Texas Computer Rankings and the MaxPreps Texas pro photo galleries.


1. Allen 7-0 (Last week 1)
Coming off an open date, the Eagles go for their 35th consecutive victory against 1-7 Flower Mound Friday night at Plano‘s John Clark Stadium.

2. DeSoto 7-0 (2)
Larry Nixon rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-10 victory over 5-3 South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie). Sophomore Jaylin Nelson threw for 179 yards and a touchdown. Muhammad contributed an interception. DeSoto increased its regular-season winning streak to 27. Up next is a Thursday showdown for the District 8-6A lead against 6-1 Cedar Hill.

3. Skyline (Dallas) 7-0 (3)
K.C. Johnson connected with Savon Rollison on a pair of touchdown passes to help the Raiders breeze to a 42-0 victory over 4-3 W.T. White. Jalon Spencer and Markevion Coleman turned fumble recoveries into touchdowns as the Skyline defense recorded its second straight shutout. Up next is a Thursday road game against 5-2 MacArthur (Irving).

4. Manvel 7-0 (4)
D'Eriq King threw for three touchdowns and Qyalan Clay rushed for 140 yards and two scores in a 52-7 victory over 3-4 Alvin. Deontay Anderson contributed a 79-yard punt return for a score as Manvel led 49-0 at halftime. The Mavericks improved to 5-0 in District 22-6A. Up next is a Friday road trip to 0-7 Rayburn (Pasadena).

5. Cedar Hill 6-1 (5)
McMillan threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in a 42-7 triumph over 3-5 Grand Prairie. Damarkus Lodge had two touchdown catches and Southern Cal commit Ware rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown on only six carries. Up next is a Thursday showdown against 7-0 DeSoto for the District 8-6A lead.

6. Carroll (Southlake) 7-0 (10)
Lil'Jordan Humphrey rushed for 106 yards and the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with 5:16 remaining to send the Dragons to a 10-6 victory over 7-1 Trinity (Euless) and snap the Trojans‘ 62-game district winning streak. Jake Oldroyd kicked a 37-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter to cut the Trinity lead to 6-3. Up next is a Friday road trip to 4-3 Heritage (Colleyville).

7. Katy 6-1 (6)
Rodney Anderson rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-0 victory over 3-4 Morton Ranch (Katy). Garrett Doiron threw a pair of touchdown passes to Cole Haring. The defense allowed only 117 yards in racking up its third shutout. Up next is a Saturday road game against 3-4 Strake Jesuit (Houston).

8. Pearland 8-0 (7)
Jake Blumrick threw four touchdown passes in a 52-7 triumph over 0-7 Rayburn (Pasadena). Cody Williams and Ryan Diaz had a pair of touchdown catches. The Oilers defense forced four turnovers and four punts. Now 6-0 in District 22-6A, Pearland will face 1-6 Memorial (Pasadena) on Saturday.

9. Steele (Cibolo) (7-1) (9)
L.G. Williams threw for 136 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-10 victory over 1-6 New Braunfels. Anthony Johnson scored on a blocked punt and the Knights defense forced four turnovers. Steele, 4-0 in District 25-6A, on Friday goes on the road to face 4-3 Judson (Converse).

10. Trinity (Euless) 7-1 (8)
The Trojans drove from their 18 to the Carroll (Southlake) 9 only to see time expire before getting off a final play in a 10-6 loss to the Dragons in a showdown for the District 7-6A lead. Ja'Ron Wilson rushed for 93 yards and quarterback Tyler Natee threw for 65 yards and rushed for 60. Trinity's streak of consecutive district wins ended at 62. Up next is a Friday home game against 4-3 Coppell.

11. Brennan (San Antonio) 7-0 (11)
Coming off an open date, the Bears on Thursday will face 2-5 Jay (San Antonio) in a District 27-6A contest. The Bears have a 27-game regular-season winning streak.

12. The Woodlands 6-1 (12)
The Highlanders, riding a six-game winning streak with a 3-0 record in District 16-6A, return after an open date to host 6-2 Oak Ridge (Conroe) on Friday.

13. Midway (Waco) 7-0 (13)
Ben Hicks threw for 349 yards to help the Panthers defeat 5-3 Copperas Cove in a wild one, 66-54. Eric Clayburn rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Joseph Ward had four catches for 143 yards. The Panthers, now 3-0 in District 12-6A, travel to 3-4 Killeen on Friday.

14. Westfield (Houston) 6-1 (14)
Dillon Sterling-Cole threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-19 victory over 5-3 Klein Oak (Spring). Rayquan Jones rushed for a pair of touchdowns. The Mustangs improved to 4-0 in District 15-6A. Up next is a Friday road meeting against 3-4 Dekaney (Houston).

15. Brandeis (San Antonio) 7-0 (16)
Paul Lozano threw for 233 yards and a touchdown, then ran for another in a 44-13 victory over 2-6 Marshall (San Antonio). Jaylon Dukes rushed for 87 yards and two scores. Patricio Botello kicked field goals of 22, 43 and 44 yards. On Friday the Broncos host 6-1 O'Connor (Helotes).

16. Langham Creek (Houston) 6-1 (17)
Paul Watson threw for 382 yards and four touchdowns in a 55-31 triumph over 4-3 Cypress Woods (Cypress). Trelen Norton and Quartney Davis had a pair of touchdown catches and Toneil Carter rushed for 224 yards and two scores. The Lobos, now 6-0 in District 17-6A, will next face 5-2 Jersey Village (Houston) on Friday.

17. Cy-Fair (Cypress) 6-1 (18)
Jacorey Aleem carried 34 times for 210 yards and scored both of his teams second-half touchdowns in a 17-9 victory over 3-5 Cypress Falls (Houston). The Bobcats improved to 5-1 in District 17-6A. Up next is a Saturday face-off with 6-1 Cypress Woods (Houston).

18. Klein Collins (Spring) 6-1 (19)
Down 12-0 after one quarter, the Tigers roared back behind running back Justin Pratt in a 42-25 triumph over 2-5 Klein. Pratt carried 28 times for 266 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Nate Edmonds rushed for 63 yards and two more scores. Now 3-1 in District 15-6A, the Tigers host 6-1 Montgomery on Saturday.

19. Atascocita (Humble) 7-1 (20)
Niyl Campbell ran for a score and connected with Tyvonne Thompson on another in a 27-15 victory over 3-4 Summer Creek (Houston). Dominique Harrison started the scoring with a 43-yard punt return for a touchdown. Now 3-1 in District 16-6A, the Eagles face 2-5 Humble Kingwood on Friday.

20. Guyer (Denton) 6-1 (21)
Shawn Robinson ran for four touchdowns and passed for two more in a 56-27 triumph over 4-3 Keller Central (Keller). Anthony Taylor rushed for 218 yards and two touchdowns as Guyer improved to 4-0 in District 6-6A. Up next is a Friday road game at 2-5 Byron Nelson (Trophy Club).

21. Lake Travis (Austin) 6-1 (22)
Dominic Delira, an Iowa State pledge, threw for three touchdowns in a 62-6 rout of 3-4 Austin (Austin). The Cavaliers by halftime owned a 316-42 edge in total yards and the scoreboard, 49-0. Grant Foster had a pair of touchdown receptions. With only one district loss in the last 10 seasons, the Cavaliers will host 5-2 Westlake (Austin) in a District 14-6A contest on Friday.

22. Rockwall 7-0 (23)
Senior running back Chris Warren carried 27 times for 312 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-35 victory over 4-3 Sachse. Xavier Castille supplied 205 yards of offense and two touchdowns. Quarterback Will Reed threw for three touchdowns, two to Jay Galloway. Up next is a Friday home game against 5-2 Rowlett.

23. Aledo 6-1 (24)
Luke Bishop threw for 112 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half of a 42-20 victory over 3-4 Crowley. Garrett Hyles had two scoring catches and Jess Anders IV rushed for 140 yards. The Bearcats, now 4-0 in District 8-5A, travel to 4-3 Burleson on Friday.

24. Horn (Mesquite) 6-1 (25)
The Jaguars played with heavy hearts five days after the death of teammate Trey Taulton. Chris Robison threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-7 victory over 1-6 Richardson. Robison also rushed for 109 yards and Lincoln Warren went 98 yards for a score on his only carry. On Friday Horn will face 4-3 North Mesquite (Mesquite).

25. Ridge Point (Missouri City) 7-0 (NR)
Remus Bulmer carried 33 times for 206 yards in a 30-21 victory over 6-1 Fort Bend Elkins (Missouri City). KeShawn Ledet ran for a couple of touchdowns and Shyler Staton returned an interception 88 yards for a score. Up next is a Saturday home game against 3-4 Ball (Galveston).

Dropped out: No. 15 Fort Bend Elkins (Missouri City).

On the bubble
Dickinson 7-0, Ennis 5-2, Highland Park (Dallas) 6-1, Tyler 5-2, Lamar (Houston) 6-1, Mansfield Timberview (Arlington) 6-1, Martin (Arlington) 5-2, O'Connor (Helotes) 6-1, Reagan (San Antonio) 7-1, Temple 6-1