Here are 10 players to watch during the regional semifinals of the Texas high school football playoffs.
Brock Boyd, Southlake Carroll, WR
Southlake Carroll vs. Prosper, 7 p.m. Friday at Choctaw Stadium
Notable: The Ohio State pledge had eight catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 72-7 rout of San Angelo Central and now has 75 catches for 1,145 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season. This week’s game will be a matchup of the top two Class 6A passing attacks in the Dallas area, with Prosper averaging 314.7 yards and Carroll averaging 303.4 yards. Boyd will be facing a Prosper defense that allowed 342 passing yards in its playoff opener against Hebron before holding Richardson Berkner to 137 yards through the air last week.
LeBron Bauer, Allen, DB
Odessa Permian vs. Allen, 6 p.m. Friday at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene
Notable: This is a matchup of two legendary programs, with Permian having won six state titles and Allen winning five state championships. Allen’s last state title came in 2017, and Permian hasn’t won state since 1991. Bauer, who lists 13 college offers, had two interceptions, two blocked punts and a 50-yard kickoff return in a 41-7 win over Lake Highlands last week. He is the leader of an Allen defense that is allowing 8.8 points per game, second-best among area 6A teams behind Southlake Carroll (6.8).
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Damarion Mays, North Crowley, WR
North Crowley vs. Coppell, 1 p.m. Saturday at Midlothian ISD Stadium
Notable: The four-star sophomore is rated the seventh-best wide receiver in the nation in the Class of 2028 and already has 30 college offers. Mays had five catches for 79 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 63-17 win over Midland Legacy as defending Class 6A Division I state champion North Crowley won its eighth game in a row and scored more than 60 for the sixth time in the last eight games. Mays has 50 catches for 811 yards and 11 touchdowns.
AdvertisementJavian Osborne, Forney, RB
Forney vs. Willis, 7 p.m. Saturday at the Ford Center at The Star
Notable: The four-star Notre Dame pledge became Forney’s all-time leading rusher last week and now has 6,506 yards in his career. That includes 2,064 yards this year after he ran for 301 yards and five touchdowns and had the game-winning 21-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter in last week’s 48-44 win over Killeen Harker Heights. The previous week, Osborne broke Forney’s school record for career touchdowns.
Ethan Feaster, DeSoto, WR
DeSoto vs. The Woodlands College Park, 3 p.m. Friday at Cedar Park’s Gupton Stadium
Notable: The four-star USC pledge, rated the fourth-best wide receiver in the nation in the Class of 2026, had nine catches for 112 yards and a touchdown in last week’s 60-28 win over Longview. Three-time state champion DeSoto avenged a 50-14 loss to Longview in a 2024 regional final as Feaster went over 100 yards for the eighth time this season. DeSoto will be facing a College Park defense that is allowing 12.4 points per game for the season and that hasn’t allowed more than 11 points in five of the last six games.
Ayson Theus, Duncanville, athlete
Duncanville vs. Klein Collins, 4 p.m. Saturday at Hutto’s Memorial Stadium
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Notable: The three-star recruit is committed to TCU as a wide receiver but has been Duncanville’s leading rusher in each of the first two playoff games. He had five carries for 129 yards in last week’s 43-6 win over Rockwall-Heath, to go with two catches for 22 yards, and the week before he had six carries for 53 yards and a touchdown in a 35-14 win against Temple.
Taylen Strange, Waxahachie, RB
Waxahachie vs. Cypress Ranch, 2 p.m. Saturday at Waco ISD Stadium
Notable: The sophomore ran for a season-high 204 yards in a 37-20 win over North Forney and has rushed for 1,029 yards and eight touchdowns on the season. Strange has run for more than 100 yards five times, and all were against playoff teams — Ennis, Forney, Cedar Hill, Waco Midway and North Forney.
Parker Almanza, Trophy Club Byron Nelson, QB
Trophy Club Nelson vs. Denton Guyer, 7 p.m. Friday at Northwest ISD Stadium
Notable: The three-star Baylor pledge is rated the 79th-best tight end in the nation in the Class of 2026 but has been playing quarterback for Byron Nelson as a senior. Going into last week, he had thrown for 2,498 yards and 27 touchdowns while completing 63% of his passes, and he had run for a team-high 486 yards and eight scores. He will be facing a Guyer team that ranks fifth among area 6A schools in total defense, allowing 224.6 yards per game.
AdvertisementJayden Williams, South Oak Cliff, QB
South Oak Cliff vs. Terrell, 6 p.m. Friday at North Forney’s Better Life Stadium
Notable: Williams came into his junior year having never thrown a pass at the varsity level for South Oak Cliff, but he has thrown for 2,171 yards and 26 touchdowns, with only two interceptions, while completing 65% of his passes. He had a pair of touchdown passes in last week’s 46-7 win over Mount Pleasant as SOC extended its winning streak to 10 games. He may need a big game this week, as 12-0 Terrell can score points in bunches and leads area 5A teams in scoring at 56.4 points per game.
Cam Newton, Prosper Walnut Grove, RB
Argyle vs. Prosper Walnut Grove, 2 p.m. Friday at Choctaw Stadium
Notable: The uncommitted senior leads all Dallas-area players in rushing yards (2,214) and rushing touchdowns (38). Newton ran for 132 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s 55-13 win over Lubbock Cooper after rushing for 249 yards and two scores in the first round of the playoffs against Arlington Seguin. He has at least 125 yards in every game and has gone over 200 yards three times for a 12-0 team that averages 52.4 points. Argyle has been tough against the run, allowing 132.4 yards per game.
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