Richardson Berkner, Forney, Waxahachie, Keller face big challenges

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Here are five Dallas-area storylines to follow in Week 7 of the Texas high school football regular season.

Richardson Berkner can take full control of District 7-6A if it can win at six-time state champion Highland Park on Friday. Berkner (4-2, 4-0) would remain the only team that was unbeaten in 7-6A play, and it would own wins and the head-to-head tiebreaker over both Highland Park (4-1, 2-1) and Lake Highlands (4-2, 3-1), which were expected to be the top two teams in the district.

Berkner’s last three district games are against Jesuit, Irving Nimitz and Irving MacArthur, which are a combined 4-13. Only Jesuit (3-3, 2-2) in that group would be expected to give Berkner trouble after it nearly beat Highland Park last week, falling 15-13.

But a Highland Park win on Friday would create chaos in the district and could set up for a points tiebreaker to decide the district title. A Highland Park win would mean that HP had beaten Berkner, Berkner had beaten Lake Highlands (55-35) and Lake Highlands had beaten Highland Park (51-41).

Richardson (3-2, 2-1) is the other team with one loss in 7-6A play, falling 46-21 to Berkner. But Richardson still has to play Lake Highlands, Highland Park and Jesuit over the last four weeks.

Forney has been one of the most dominant teams in the state so far, outscoring the opposition 290-31 during a 5-0 start. Forney’s only game that was decided by fewer than 50 points was a 42-21 win over Lufkin.

But the first big challenge of the season waits on Friday, when Forney — ranked No. 10 in the state in Class 5A Division I — hosts No. 2 Longview at City Bank Stadium. Longview, a state semifinalist last year, has won four in a row — including a 42-0 rout of Lufkin — since a season-opening 23-21 loss to state-ranked Class 6A McKinney.

Five-star Oklahoma pledge Taylor Tatum, the No. 1-ranked running back in the nation in the Class of 2024, has run for 650 yards and 10 touchdowns for Longview. He is coming off a 250-yard, three-touchdown game in a 52-35 win over Lancaster.

Forney’s defense is led by four-star Oregon pledge Aaron Flowers at safety and four-star junior linebacker Kelvion Riggins (38 college offers), and the team has its own star running back in Javian Osborne, who leads area 5A players in rushing touchdowns (14) and ranks sixth in rushing yards (708). Osborne, a sophomore, already has offers from four nationally ranked teams — Texas, Oklahoma, USC and Washington.

Forney (5-0, 2-0) and Longview (4-1, 2-0) are tied with McKinney North (4-1, 2-0) for first place in District 7-5A Division I. This is the start of a crucial stretch for Forney, as it has to play Longview, Lancaster and McKinney North in a four-week span. McKinney North will host Longview on Oct. 20.

Forney will be looking to avenge a 46-7 loss to Longview last year, a game in which Tatum ran for 131 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries. Forney managed only 148 total yards in that one.

The only game that Duncanville didn’t lead going into the fourth quarter last year was against Waxahachie. That game was tied 7-7 after three quarters before Duncanville pulled away to win 24-7 en route to a 15-0 season and Class 6A Division I state title.

The teams will meet again Friday at Waxahachie, and this time Duncanville is ranked No. 6 in the nation by MaxPreps and has yet to be challenged. Duncanville (4-0, 2-0 District 11-6A) has allowed only 13 points all season, it is averaging 52.5 points per game, and it has won its last three games by a combined score of 176-0.

The Cowboys used to have their legendary “Triplets,” with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin. Perhaps that nickname would also fit Duncanville’s superstar trio of four-star SMU pledge Keelon Russell at quarterback, four-star LSU pledge Caden Durham at running back and five-star LSU pledge Dakorien Moore at wide receiver.

Moore has been the best big-play receiver in the area, averaging 36.2 yards per catch with 17 receptions for 616 yards and seven touchdowns. Russell has thrown for 912 yards and 12 touchdowns, with no interceptions, and Durham has averaged 8.2 yards per carry while running for 335 yards and seven touchdowns in four games.

Waxahachie (4-1, 1-1) gave nationally ranked DeSoto a scare on Sept. 22, with the game tied 28-28 in the third quarter and DeSoto (4-0, 2-0) leading just 42-35 with three minutes left before winning 56-35. Duncanville will need to devote a lot of attention to Waxahachie dual-threat quarterback Ramon McKinney Jr., who accounted for 304 yards of total offense and three touchdowns against DeSoto.

One of the biggest games in Keller history will take place Thursday when it hosts eight-time state champion Southlake Carroll at Keller ISD Stadium in a matchup of 5-0 teams. Both teams are tied with Trophy Club Byron Nelson, also 5-0, for first place in District 4-6A.

Keller also started 5-0 each of the past two years before losing to Carroll both times — 49-13 in 2021 and 38-35 last season. Keller has had only one double-digit win total in the last 29 years, and that came last year, when it finished 10-3.

Carroll played its last game, on Sept. 22, without three-star quarterback Graham Knowles, who is committed to Georgia Tech. Angelo Renda started in his place and threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns in a 66-14 rout of Haltom. Carroll coach Riley Dodge did not respond to messages seeking comment on Knowles’ status.

This could be the debut of Carroll three-star running back Riley Wormley, a transfer from Colleyville Heritage. On Sept. 25, the UIL ruled that Wormley is now eligible for varsity athletics, overturning its previous ruling that he was ineligible and had transferred for athletic purposes.

One matchup that fans should keep an eye on this week is Thursday’s Mansfield Summit at Midlothian Heritage game. That could end up deciding the District 5-5A Division II title.

Midlothian Heritage (5-0, 2-0) and Summit (3-2, 2-0) are tied with Ennis (2-2, 2-0) for the district lead. Heritage has already beaten six-time state champion Stephenville and two-time state champion Waco La Vega, as Carter Rutenbar has thrown for 999 yards and 16 touchdowns and Stetson Sarratt is averaging 27.7 yards per catch with 18 receptions for 499 yards and eight touchdowns.

A win Thursday could help propel Heritage to one of the best seasons in school history. A team that is in just its eighth season of varsity football set a school record for wins in a season when it went 12-1 in 2017, and it has already won 11 or more games four times.

Summit, a state semifinalist in 2020 and 2021, will look to avenge a 44-20 loss to Heritage last year. Summit couldn’t stop Heritage’s passing game, as Kaden Brown threw for 345 yards and five touchdowns.

On Twitter/X: @DMNGregRiddle

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