The Red River Rivalry is coming to high school football next season.
The Cotton Bowl will host a historic game Aug. 28 when
Jenks (Okla.) meets
Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas) to open the 2026 season.
The matchup pits two schools with championship pedigrees against each other in a prep version of the famed college rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas, which has been played continuously since 1929.
Expected to be back under center for Jenks in 2026, quarterback Landon Kizzar is coming off a junior campaign where he threw for 2,775 yards and 28 touchdowns in just 11 games. (PHOTO: Ron Lane)
The open date for Southlake Carroll and first-year coach Lee Munn came about when Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) pulled out of its game after a coaching change. Jenks head coach Adam Gaylor reached out prior to the cancellation, Munn told the
Houston Chronicle, and the seed was planted.
"We were kicking back and forth about where we were going to play: home or away, maybe a neutral site, and then one of my assistants mentioned that maybe we should play the Cotton Bowl and just kind of took off from there," Munn said.
Jenks is an 18-time Oklahoma state champion, including 11 between 2000 and 2021. The Trojans were 10-2 last season and averaged more than 50 points per game.
Southlake Carroll is an eight-time Texas state champion with the last coming in 2011 though the Dragons made a state final appearance as recently as 2024. Munn takes over this season from Riley Dodge, who left to coach tight ends at SMU.
"I think everybody's just excited to not only play a new team, but also play a team that we know is going to be competitive and is going to push our guys," Munn said. "And I think time will tell, but I think the game is going to present itself that way. I think it's going to be highly, highly competitive between two storied programs."
