10 of the greatest running backs in Texas high school football history

Here are 10 of the greatest high school running backs in Texas history.

Some of the most outstanding performers in the history of the sport got their start playing high school football in Texas. That tradition is especially rich at the running back position, where the state has produced several all-time special athletes. Some of them went on to win Heisman trophies, others had prestigious awards named after them and some even played in the NFL and became Pro Football Hall of Famers.

Here are 10 of the greatest high school running backs in Texas history. All high school stats are courtesy of MaxPreps.

High school football game in Texas turns into an all-out brawl between teams, fans

It got violent enough for the game to be called off and both teams were disqualified.

Emotions run high in Texas when it comes to high school football. Unfortunately, every once in a while, that passion turns into an ugly incident—like this past Friday night. 

According to a report by WFAA, a game between Dallas Roosevelt High School and Fort Worth Eastern Hills High School turned into a brawl in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. It got violent enough for the game to be called off, and both teams were disqualified.

One person in the stands captured the fight on their phone and shared it on Youtube:

Dallas ISD released the following statement about the fight:

“The UIL is aware of the incident involving Fort Worth Eastern Hills and Dallas Roosevelt high school students during a football game on Thursday September 8, 2022… The school and the local district executive committee are investigating and have the authority to impose penalties for involved students. The UIL will continue to gather information.”

Players who were involved in the fight will miss half of the next game they play.

This week Eastern Hills is scheduled to play Kennedale (Texas) on Friday at home, while Roosevelt visits Italy (Texas) on Thursday.

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Report: Ex-Del Valle HC Charles Burton, 5-star WR Caleb Burton to join Lake Travis

The five-star wide receiver and his father are set to join forces again at Texas powerhouse Lake Travis, according to reports.

With Charles Burton not returning as Del Valle High School’s football coach next season, five-star wide receiver Caleb Burton decided to play his senior season elsewhere.

Now, the two are joining forces once again at a Texas high school football powerhouse.

According to Thomas Jones of the Austin American-Statesman, Charles Burton is joining Lake Travis High School’s coaching staff, with his son set to transfer into the school as well. Charles Burton’s hire won’t be approved by the Lake Travis school district until later this month and he won’t begin working at the school until next school year.

Charles Burton was recently replaced at Del Valle by IMG Academy’s Bobby Acosta. The elder Burton went 29-51 in eight seasons at Del Valle and was the school’s longest-tenured head coach before resigning from the position in March. Burton made just one playoff appearance in his tenure at Del Valle and went 3-6 last season.

RELATED: IMG Academy looking for new football coach after Bobby Acosta leaves for Del Valle

Caleb Burton, meanwhile, is committed to Ohio State and caught 82 passes for 1,515 yards and 18 touchdowns in his freshman and sophomore years before missing his junior year with an injury. Once he returns, he will bolster a Lake Travis team that averaged 52.6 points per game and went 6-1 last season.

Lake Travis welcomes back eight starters on defense and five on offense next season, headlined by quarterback Bo Edmundson.

Former Arkansas, SMU coach Chad Morris named new football coach at Allen HS

Chad Morris was named Allen High School’s new football coach Wednesday.

Former Arkansas and SMU head coach Chad Morris has himself a new gig — in the high school ranks.

Morris has been named Allen High School’s new football coach. The Texas powerhouse went 10-1 last season under Terry Gambill, who retired earlier in March.

“I am honored to join Allen ISD and the Allen Eagles football program,” Morris said in a statement. “Allen High School is known throughout the state and nation for having a storied tradition of excellence in everything it does, and the football team is certainly included in that discussion. My roots run deep in Texas high school football, and I’m excited for the opportunity to get back to coaching young student-athletes and making an impression on their lives. As a coach, I’ll expect our students to work hard, but I want them to know that I care about their overall development as leaders both on and off the field. It’s my goal to establish a culture that can impact our student-athletes in a positive way, and I believe that will allow us to compete for championships on a consistent basis.”

Morris recently worked as Auburn’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under close friend Gus Malzahn in 2020. Prior to that, he served as the head coach at Arkansas in 2018 and 2019, and SMU from 2015 to 2017. Morris posted a 14-22 record in three seasons at SMU before landing at Arkansas, where he went 4-18 and 0-14 in SEC play in two seasons with the Razorbacks.

Before spending a decade coaching in the college ranks, Morris was a revered high school football coach in Texas, amassing a 169-38 record in stops at Stephenville and Lake Travis. Morris led Lake Travis to consecutive state championships in 2008 and 2009 with current Dallas Cowboys quarterback Garrett Gilbert under center.

RELATED: Arch Manning cracks top 5 of 247Sports’ first 2023 Top247 rankings

Austin Westlake defeats Southlake Carroll to win Texas 6A Division I title

Austin Westlake downed Southlake Carroll in the “Dodge Bowl” to take home the Texas 6A Division I state title on Saturday night.

New division, same result for Austin Westlake in a Texas 6A state championship game.

One year after winning the 6A Division II title, Austin Westlake defeated Southlake Carroll by a final score of 52-34 to win the 6A Division I championship at AT&T Stadium in Dallas on Saturday night.

Junior quarterback Cade Klubnik shined on Texas high school football’s biggest stage, throwing for 220 yards and a touchdown on 18-20 passing to go along with 97 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground. Sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse posted five receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown, while Southlake Carroll star Quinn Ewers, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2022 went 23-for-39 for 351 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Southlake Carroll jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but Austin Westlake answered right back on its first play from scrimmage with a long touchdown run by senior tailback Zane Minors. Ewers led Southlake Carroll back down the field for another score on its second series with a 51-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout and Minnesota signee Brady Boyd to put the Dragons up 14-7 midway through the first quarter.

The two teams traded blows for the rest of the first half from that point on, with Austin Westlake taking a 28-21 lead into halftime after a Klubnik rushing touchdown on a read-option play with 1:12 remaining in the second quarter.

Austin Westlake picked up where it left off at the end of the first half coming out of the locker room, scoring on its opening drive of the second half. Michael Taaffe then came down with a spectacular one-handed interception that led to another Austin Westlake score, putting it up 42-21. The 21-point deficit proved to be too much for Southlake Carroll to overcome, as Austin Westlake scored the first 24 points of the second half and went up by as much as 52-21.

Austin Westlake’s win gives head coach Todd Dodge household bragging rights until his team meats Southlake Carroll again, as he defeated his son Riley, who serves as the Dragons’ head coach. The matchup was deemed the “Dodge Bowl” in the week leading up to the game.

It also gives Austin Westlake the third state championship of its storied program. With the Chaparrals returning Klubnik, Greathouse and other pieces of its core next season, there is certainly a chance Austin Westlake makes it three state titles in a row in 2021.

‘The Dodge Bowl’: Texas 6A-1 state title game creates father vs. son coaching matchup

Father and son will do battle as Austin Westlake and Southlake Carroll play for a Texas 6A-1 state championship on Saturday.

Saturday’s Texas 6A-1 state championship game between Austin Westlake and Southlake Carroll is more than just an unlikely matchup between two teams that had to pull off upsets for a chance to play for hardware.

It is also the “Dodge Bowl.”

When Austin Westlake and Southlake Carroll clash this weekend, so will father and son. Legendary Austin Westlake coach Todd Dodge will do battle against his son, 32-year-old Southlake Carroll coach Riley Dodge.

It’s not really something that you ever really think about,” Todd said, per KVUE ABC. “As a son and father, you sit around and talk about, ‘We’d love to coach together someday. I’d love to coach you at the college level. I’d love to win a state championship together’ – which we got to do – but to coach against each other … never.”

Todd coached Riley at Southlake Carroll throughout his high school career before accepting the head-coaching job at North Texas. Todd returned to the high school ranks in 2012 with Marble Fall High School (Texas) before accepting the job at storied Austin Westlake in 2014. In seven seasons at Austin Westlake, Todd has accumulated an 87-12 record to go along with a Texas 6A-2 state title in 2019.

Riley, meanwhile, still dons the Southlake Carroll green and white after taking over as the program’s head coach in 2018. He is 38-3 in three seasons at the helm, but has yet to win a state championship.

Austin Westlake and Southlake Carroll were supposed to meet at AT&T Stadium to kick off the 2020 season before COVID-19 scrapped the father-son meeting. Now, the two will duke it out on Texas high school football’s biggest stage.

“Neither one of us, I don’t think, believed [we would make it here] because we’ve been sharing ideas with each other like we were just two old guys who were never going to play each other,” Todd said. “I think sometimes we wish we wouldn’t have shared as much info.”

WATCH: Auburn signee Dematrius Davis breaks loose for incredible touchdown run

WATCH: Auburn signee Dematrius Davis breaks loose for incredible touchdown run against Austin Westlake in the Texas 6A semifinals.

Auburn signee Dematrius Davis reminded everyone why he is one of the most electric dual-threat quarterbacks in the class of 2021 against Austin Westlake in the Texas 6A semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

Down by 10 late in the third quarter against Austin Westlake, Davis broke loose for an incredible 50-yard touchdown run in which he made multiple defenders miss in the open field. The score cut North Shore’s deficit to 17-14, where it currently stands in the fourth quarter.

Davis has led North Shore to a top-five ranking in the USA Today Super 25 this season, but its season is currently in peril. Knowing Davis’s flair for the dramatics, though, it’s safe to assume he could have something up his sleeve to propel North Shore back out in front before the clock hits triple zeroes on its 2020 season.

Top 2022 QB recruit Quinn Ewers returns, leads team to playoff win

Top 2022 quarterback recruit Quinn Ewers was back under center for Southlake Carroll in the Texas state playoffs on Christmas Eve.

Two months on the sideline did little to deter top 2022 quarterback recruit Quinn Ewers from leading his team to a playoff victory on Christmas Eve.

Ewers, who had not started a game since Oct. 30 due to a sports hernia, returned for Southlake Carroll in the second round of the Texas 6A Division 1 playoffs and powered the Dragons to a 30-26 win over Martin High School with 251 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air.

“What a game,” Ewers said, per Darren Lauber of the Star-Telegram. “It feels amazing to be back out here with my guys. Being on the sideline is just horrible and I hate that feeling. You feel useless at some point, but it feels so great to be back out here.”

Southlake Carroll will now face Euless Trinity in the 6A Division 1 quarterfinals. Euless Trinity needed some fireworks of its own to advance in the postseason, as junior running back Ollie Gordon rushed for 455 yards and six touchdowns on 49 carries to spark an upset over Allen, ranked No. 13 in the USA Today Super 25.

As for Ewers, he has made headlines throughout the last couple of months despite suiting up. The No. 1 recruit in the class of 2022 according to 247Sports backed off his commitment to Texas in November and flipped to Ohio State on Nov. 19.

“I loved the University of Texas and it had nothing bad towards them obviously, but I just felt like it wasn’t the right fit for me right now and I just realized that and I looked into Ohio State pretty hard and I realized that was the right spot for me to be,” Ewers told 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong.

WATCH: Texas commit Ja’Tavion Sanders makes absurd one-handed touchdown catch

If the 2020 high school football season has taught us anything, it’s this: Texas commit Ja’Tavion Sanders is a walking highlight reel.

If the 2020 high school football season has taught us anything, it’s this: Texas commit Ja’Tavion Sanders is a walking highlight reel.

Sanders took the field for Ryan (Texas) against Frisco Lone Star High School on Friday night and did not disappoint, making a ridiculous 25-yard, one-handed touchdown catch in a 35-21 Ryan win. Sanders finished with six receptions for 80 yards and a score. He also took four carries for 10 yards as Ryan capped a 9-0 regular season.

What makes Sanders’ grab even more impressive is that he is slated to play defensive end at Texas. That’s right, a future college defensive lineman is going up over defensive backs to make one-handed touchdown catches and thrashing opposing secondaries on a weekly basis.

Only in Texas.

Top 2022 quarterback recruit Quinn Ewers decommits from Texas

Quinn Ewers, the No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2022, decommitted from Texas on Wednesday.

Quinn Ewers, the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the class of 2022 according to 247Sports, has decided to reopen his recruitment and decommit from Texas.

Ewers originally committed to Texas on Aug. 14, making him the program’s highest-rated quarterback commit since Vince Young in 2002. Two months later, Ewers is back on the market, taking to Twitter on Wednesday night to back off his pledge to the Longhorns.

“Recently, as I’ve competed alongside my teammates during my junior season at Southlake Carroll, I’ve also taken some time to think about my future,” Ewers said. “Given the COVID-19 pandemic facing us, this has been a challenging year for students like myself, with the support of my family, I tried to navigate the recruiting process the best way I could. With the process being abnormal this season, I tried my best to keep an open mind to all possibilities.

“However, the more I’ve considered the more I’ve come to realize I didn’t explore all options as thoroughly as I would have liked. Therefore, I’ve decided to de-commit and reassess the situation before making such an important decision on my future.”

Ewers’ decommitment comes in wake of Texas’ struggles to begin 2020. The Longhorns are off to a 2-2 start, dropping consecutive contests to TCU and Oklahoma before bouncing back with a win over Baylor last weekend. Texas’ tumultuous start has landed Tom Herman on the hot seat, and losing Ewers pushes him even closer to the brink.

Ohio State is perceived to be the favorite to land Ewers now that he is back on the open market, as his 247Sports Crystal Ball currently reads 100% in favor of the Buckeyes.

“Good height with a plus frame. Pro-style QB with athleticism and mobility that qualify for a dual-threat label. Elite improvisational QB who can extend plays and remain accurate on the move,” 247Sports’ Gabe Brooks said in his scouting report of Ewers. “Throws with a smooth, easy delivery and varies arm angles as needed. Impressive velocity and spin rate really show on routes over the middle and down the seams. Field-stretching vertical arm strength to consistently hit big plays over the top. Also shows encouraging touch on timing patterns and downfield routes that require it.

“Good runner by design or scramble. Understands how to protect himself as a runner and minimize shots. Shows encouraging pocket presence and awareness. Senses pressure and knows how to react to it. Also willing to stand and deliver under duress and will take a big shot if it means hanging in there to make the necessary throw. Occasionally will take risks, but that also is part of what makes him so good. Release quickness is good in general but could still quicken a bit at times. Elite QB prospect at the top of the 2022 cycle, at his position and across the board.”