On a night when Allen was out-gained in total yards 474 to 295, the top-ranked team in MaxPreps Texas Top 25 still found a way to win.
The Eagles dodged an upset bid by Marcus (Flower Mound) with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns for a 35-24 come-from-behind victory in the District 6-6A contest to extend their winning streak to 32 games.
Marcus (3-2) used a 343-yard, ball-control running attack to establish a 24-21 lead with a touchdown in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
Allen quarterback Kyler Murray, a Texas A&M pledge, rallied his team, throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to Lee Morris with nine minutes remaining for a 28-24 lead. After a Marcus fumble, Murray iced it three minutes later with an 8-yard scoring run.
Murray, inserted as the starting quarterback as a sophomore in midseason of the 2012 campaign, remains unbeaten as a starter and has guided the Eagles to two state titles.
No. 2 DeSoto had an easier time than Allen with a 53-0 win over 3-2 Grand Prairie in a District 8-6A opener behind four touchdown runs by Larry Nixon.
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Soso Jamobo and Plano West have reached the rankings with their 4-0 start.
Photo by Neil Fonville
Larry Nixon, DeSoto
Photo by Robbie Rakestraw
Trailing by three points early in the fourth quarter,
Kyler Murray threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to
Lee Morris and ran for an 8-yard score for a 35-24 win over 3-2 Marcus (Flower Mound) to extend the Eagles' victory streak to 32. Murray finished with three touchdown passes and two more on the ground. Up next is a Saturday afternoon contest with 2-2 Lewisville.
2. DeSoto 5-0 (2)The Eagles went over the 50-point mark for the fourth time this season with a 53-0 blanking of 3-2 Grand Prairie in a District 8-6A opener.
Larry Nixon rushed for 172 yards and four touchdowns while sophomore quarterback
Jaylin Nelson threw for 225 yards and rushed for 90 more. After an open date, the Eagles host 3-2 Mansfield on Oct. 10.
3. Skyline (Dallas) 4-0 (5)Daleon Ward rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-6 triumph over 0-4 Irving in a District 9-6A opener.
Chase Lodree threw for 145 yards and two scores. Up next is a showdown with 3-1 Jesuit (Dallas) on Friday.
4. Manvel 4-0 (3)Quarterbacks
D'Eriq King and
Kyle Trask combined for 481 passing yards and seven touchdowns in a 63-7 rout of 2-3 Pasadena.
Gary Haynes and
Reggie Hemphill-Mapps each had over 130 receiving yards with two touchdown catches. On Friday the Mavericks will host 2-3 South Houston.
5. Cedar Hill 3-1 (4)Coming off an open date, the Longhorns begin District 8-6A play by hosting 2-3 Midlothian on Friday.
6. Katy 4-1 (6)Rodney Anderson rushed for 227 yards and three touchdowns in a 50-7 romp over 3-1 Katy Taylor.
Garrett Doiron threw for 155 yards and a score. The defense limited Taylor to 46 rushing yards on 33 attempts. After an open date, the Tigers on Oct. 11 face 4-0 Seven Lakes (Katy).
7. Pearland 5-0 (7) The Oilers reeled off 35 first-quarter points and rolled to a 49-7 triumph over 2-3 Pasadena South Houston.
Jake Blumrick threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.
Deonte Givens returned a fumble 23 yards for a score. Up next is a Friday showdown with 3-1 Dawson (Pearland).
8. Trinity (Euless) 5-0 (8)Ja'ron Wilson rushed for 179 yards and both touchdowns in a 14-0 victory over 2-3 Heritage (Colleyville) in a District 7-6A opener. Quarterback
Tobias Natee rushed for 120 yards and a 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter. Up next is a Friday road trip to 0-5 Haltom (Haltom City).
9. Steele (Cibolo) 4-1 (9)The Knights rallied from an early 20-point deficit to take down 2-3 Smithson Valley (Spring Branch) 31-20 in a District 25-6A opener. Quarterback
L.g. Williams rushed for a pair of touchdowns and hooked up with
Cj Williams on a 51-yard score.
Chris Boring returned a fumble for a score. Up next is a Friday home game against 2-3 Clemens (Schertz).
10. Cy-Fair (Cypress) 4-0 (10)The Bobcats' defense racked up its third shutout of the season with a 71-0 blanking of 0-4 Cypress Lakes (Katy).
Clayton Kopecky threw for 170 yards and three touchdowns. Up next is a Thursday meeting with 0-4 Cypress Ridge (Houston).
11. Carroll (Southlake) 4-0 (11)
Wesley Moss, Brennan
Photo by John Godwin
rushed for 125 yards and four touchdowns in a 63-28 rout of 4-1 Abilene in a non-district game matching teams with a combined 15 state football titles (eight for Carroll). Backup quarterback
Montana Murphy came off the bench to run for two scores and pass for another. Up next is a Friday home date against 3-2 Coppell in a District 7-6A opener.
12. Brennan (San Antonio) 5-0 (12)Junior quarterback
Taveon Tolefree rushed for 158 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-0 victory over 2-3 Marshall (San Antonio). Tolefree connected with
Wesley Moss on a touchdown pass and the Bears defense forced five turnovers in recording its second shutout. Up next is 2-3 Taft (San Antonio) on Saturday.
13. The Woodlands 4-1 (13)A 50-yard punt return for a touchdown by
Antoine Winfield jr and a 40-yard fumble return for a score by
A.j. Mason helped the Highlanders pull away to a 50-3 victory over 3-2 Conroe in a District 16-6A opener.
Patrick Carr rushed for 127 yards and a score. Up next is a Saturday home showdown against 5-0 Atascocita (Humble).
14. Atascocita (Humble) 5-0 (14)Dominique Harrison's 36-yard interception return for a touchdown in the game's first minute put the Eagles on the path to a 46-21 victory over 1-4 College Park (The Woodlands).
Patrick Taylor rushed for 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Up next is a Saturday District 16-6A showdown with The Woodlands (4-1).
15. Midway (Waco) 4-0 (15)Coming off an open date, the Panthers begin District 12-6A play by hosting 4-1 Harker Heights on Friday.
16. Klein Collins (Spring) 4-0 (16)Justin Pratt rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown in a 28-6 triumph over 3-1 Klein Oak in a District 15-6A opener. Quarterback
Nate Edmonds punched in three short touchdown runs and the Tigers defense did not allow a touchdown. Up next is 2-2 Dekaney (Houston) on Thursday.
17. Highland Park (Dallas) 4-0 (17)The Scots overcame three turnovers and an early 9-0 deficit for a 29-9 victory over 2-2 North Mesquite (Mesquite) in a District 10-6A opener.
Brooks Burgin threw for three touchdowns, two to
Andrew Frost, and
Stephen Dieb rushed for 139 yards and a score. Up next is a home game Friday against 1-3 Pearce (Richardson).
18. Fort Bend Elkins (Missouri City) 4-0 (18)The Knights used fumble recoveries by
Troy Burnett and
Malik Williams as well as an interception by
Andre Mathews to set up all of their touchdowns in a 20-6 triumph over 1-3 Texas City in a District 23-5A opener. Jonathan Giles ran for one score and threw for another. Up next is a Friday home game against 2-2 Ball (Galveston).
19. Brandeis (San Antonio) 5-0 (19)Jaylon Dukes rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-21 triumph over 2-3 Taft (San Antonio).
Paul Lozano threw for 120 yards, including a touchdown pass to Peyton Hall. Up next is a Saturday tussle with 0-5 Holmes (San Antonio).
20. Westlake (Austin) 3-1 (20)
Tyrie Cleveland, Westfield
Photo by John Godwin
Coming off an open date, the Chaparrals under new coach Todd Dodge host 4-1 Bowie (Austin) on Friday.
21. Guyer (Denton) 3-1 (21)Anthony Taylor rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-33 victory over 1-3 Keller in a District 5-6A opener.
Shawn Robinson threw for 135 yards and two scores. Up next is a Friday road trip to 2-2 Northwest (Justin).
22. Westfield (Houston) 3-1 (22)Tyrie Cleveland had touchdown catches of 12 and 58 yards to help the Mustangs to a 20-6 triumph over 3-1 Montgomery in a District 15-6A opener.
Dillon Sterling-cole threw both scoring passes and
Bryce Cook added a 7-yard interception return for a touchdown in the final minute. Up next is a Friday showdown with 4-0 Spring.
23. Rockwall 5-0 (23)Will Reed threw for 332 yards and five touchdowns, four to
Xavier Castille, in a 70-35 crunching of 2-3 Lakeview Centennial (Garland).
Chris Warren rushed for 236 yards and four touchdowns. Castille had 10 catches for 241 yards. Up next is a Friday home game against 1-4 Naaman Forest (Garland).
24. Plano West 4-0 (NR)Soso Jamabo rushed for 242 yards and seven touchdowns in a 62-30 victory over 2-3 Boyd (McKinney). Up next is a Friday clash with 3-2 Plano.
25. Aledo 3-1 (25)Toby Gray caught three touchdown passes and added a 90-yard kickoff return to help the Bearcats to a 68-6 blowout of 1-3 Joshua in a District 8-5A opener.
Luke Bishop in the first half threw for 193 yards and four touchdowns. Up next is a Friday road trip to 3-1 Centennial (Burleson).
Dropped out: No. 24 Abilene
On the bubble:Channelview 5-0
Dickinson 4-0
Fossil Ridge (Keller) 4-0
Jersey Village (Houston) 4-0
Lake Travis (Austin) 3-1
Lamar (Houston) 3-1
Mansfield Timberview (Arlington) 4-1
Martin (Arlington) 2-2
O'Connor (Helotes) 4-1
Temple 3-1
