Texas high school football: Five storylines to follow at UIL championships

The game will feature a matchup between Duncanville's Dakorien Moore, the top junior wide receiver in the country, and North Shore's Devin Sanchez, the No. 1 junior cornerback in the nation.

Duncanville's defense also has two five-star prospects up front in senior Texas pledge Colin Simmons, the nation's top edge rusher and defensive lineman Kevin Ford Jr., the top sophomore recruit in the state. They will be tested against junior running back D’Andre Hardeman Jr., who went over 100 rushing yards in North Shore's 23-14 semifinal win over Westlake (Austin).

The Summer Creek defense has limited opponents to just 12.7 points per game this year. The Bulldogs have the tools to contain DeSoto's ground attack in four-star senior linebacker Xavier Atkins, an LSU commit who leads the team in tackles.

Summer Creek's only loss came against North Shore 31-21 in a game that was tied heading into the fourth quarter.

Tolar (14-1) is playing in its first state championship game. Led by a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Isaac Blessing and Garrison Nation, the Rattlers have won 12 in a row. In five postseason contests, Tolar is averaging 51 points per game.


Senior quarterback Hauss Hejny has helped Aledo score at least 50 points in eight games this season. Four-star sophomore Kaydon Finley — son of Super Bowl champion Jermichael Finley — is one of his top targets.

Defensively, the Bearcats are led by Arizona State commit Chris Johnson Jr., the son of the NFL cornerback of the same name. His matchup could be one to watch with four-star senior Texas commit Freddie Dubose at wide receiver for Smithson Valley.

SMU has its best recruiting class since the 1980s and eight players committed to the program will be playing at AT&T Stadium this week.

Since 2000, SMU has had just four signees who were regarded as a four-star prospect. Five of the program's current commits have earned that status, including Duncanville quarterback Keelon Russell, DeSoto wide receiver Daylon Singleton, Chapel Hill (Tyler) running back Rickey Stewart and athlete Demetrius Brisbon Jr., who will all be playing this week.

Once one of the most prominent programs in the country with icons like Doak Walker and Eric Dickerson, SMU has had trouble recovering since getting hit with NCAA sanctions that shut the program down for two seasons in 1987 and 1988. The Mustangs have won just 38.5 percent of their games since but the tide may be turning with head coach Rhett Lashlee, who has an 18-8 record since taking over in 2021.