Texas top 10 high school football games of the week

Video: Jay'ln Bellinger's highlights vs. South Grand Prairie
Watch the Duncanville sophomore wideout in action.

A pair of match-ups involving unbeaten teams highlights the Week 9 menu of top 10 games to watch.

In Central Texas, Class 5A power Cedar Park is faced with holding off up-and-coming Pflugerville Connally, a program that failed to make the playoffs a year ago and was a preseason pick to finish sixth in District 19-5A.

East-side Dallas suburban schools Rowlett and Sachse go into their District 10-6A showdown with matching 7-0 season records and are 3-0 in league play.


1. Pflugerville Connally (Austin) 7-0 at Cedar Park 7-0, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Connally quarterback Robert Patterson has thrown for 1,236 yards, rushed for 538 and had a hand in 23 touchdowns. Defending Class 5A-DII state champion Cedar Park, with a 23-game winning streak, counters with junior Mak Sexton's 1,433 passing yards. Both teams are 5-0 in District 19-5A. 2. Rowlett 7-0 at Sachse 7-0, 7 p.m. Friday
The neighboring schools are both 3-0 in District 10-6A. Rowlett's two-quarterback system has worked well for receiver Ladarius Dickens, who has 38 catches for 658 yards. Sachse junior quarterback Jalen Mayden has already thrown for 1,635 yards and 17 touchdowns. Rowlett won last year's game, 44-34.

3. Stratford (Houston) 6-1 at Klein Collins (Spring) 6-1, 7 p.m. Friday
Each team comes into this District 15-6A showdown with a 4-0 league record. Juniors Chaise Ellis (560 yards) and Mark Murdock (1,001 yards) lead the Spartans in rushing and passing respectively. D'Anthony Doyle is the Tigers' leading rusher with 928 yards.

4. DeSoto 7-0 at Duncanville 6-1, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Duncanville's improvement under head coach Reginald Samples adds intrigue to this District 7-6A rivalry  match-up. DeSoto is led by quarterback Shawn Robinson, a TCU pledge, with 1,463 passing yards and 493 on the ground. Duncanville dual-threat quarterback Jaylin Nelson, a Texas State pledge, is a transfer from DeSoto.
DeSoto is 4-0 in league play and Duncanville is 3-1.

5. Hallettsville 8-0 at Rice Consolidated (Altair) 6-0, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Quarterback Scooter Adams has a pair of talented targets in Kraegan Matula and Colton Starns for the visitors. Sophomore Larry Henderson is averaging a team-high 9.4 tackles per game for Rice Consolidated. Hallettsville is 4-0 in District 14-3A DI and Rice Consolidated is 3-0.

6. Vela (Edinburg) 6-1 at Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North (Pharr) 7-0, 7 p.m. Thursday
Both teams are 4-0 in District 31-6A. Nathan Garcia has thrown for 1,206 yards and 18 touchdowns for Vela while Rene Ramirez has rushed for 556 yards for the Raiders.

7. Tyler 6-1 at Longview 6-1, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Longview is the District 11-6A leader with a 4-0 record and Tyler is a game back. Bryson Smith leads Tyler with 1,615 passing yards and 19 touchdowns. Since losing their opener at Lufkin, the Lobos have won six straight. The series dates to 1912 with Longview leading 46-36 with seven ties.

8. Sonora 6-1 at Reagan County (Big Lake) 8-0, 7:30 p.m. Friday
In this encounter matching unbeaten teams in District 3-3A DI, Sonora has the more prolific passer in Kaden Cordell (1,828 yards, 24 touchdowns). Reagan County counters with the churning legs of Carlos Del Rio (895 yards, 14 touchdowns).

9. Wimberley 7-1 at Navarro (Geronimo) 7-0, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Middle linebacker Ty Shelton, the leading Navarro tackler at 12.7 per game, will be paying special attention to Wimberley's leading rusher, Hunter Williams (627 yards, eight touchdowns). Wimberley is 2-0 in District 13-4A DII and Navarro is 1-0.

10. Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu) 7-1 at New Caney 6-1, 7 p.m. Friday
Under former Allen coach Tom Westerberg, Barbers Hill has already surpassed last season's four wins and is looking for more. Marte Allison is the New Caney rushing leader with 892 yards and 17 touchdowns. Barbers Hill is 5-1 in District 21-5A and New Caney is 5-0.