Tag: Duncanville High School (Duncanville TX)

Pony up to ‘Bama? Alabama football flips Keelon Russell from SMU

Keelon Russell is headed to Alabama.

Alabama football pulled off a big-time flip on Wednesday, landing quarterback Keelon Russell. The four-star had been committed to SMU before committing to the SEC juggernaut.

It is a big-time recruiting win for Alabama to not just land the consensus four-star recruit but to flip him from his hometown school.

247Sports has Russell as the No. 39 player in the nation in the 2025 class. According to ESPN, he is the top quarterback recruit in the class.

Baylor, Duke, Florida, Ole Miss, Oregon, TCU and Virginia Tech were all offers in what was a crowded recruitment for Russell.

For SMU, losing Russell stings. The starting quarterback at Duncanville High School (Duncanville, Texas), Russell played in SMU’s backyard. Duncanville finished sixth last season in the USA TODAY HSS Super 25.

Last year, Russell completed 74.1 percent of his passes for 3,267 yards. He had 35 touchdowns and three interceptions.

 

With the commitment of Russell, the Crimson Tide now have nine commitments. They now have the eighth-best recruiting class in the nation in the 247Sports rankings.

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No. 6 North Shore head coach Willie Gaston on state championship with No. 10 Duncanville: ‘This is a heavyweight fight’

No. 6 North Shore is set to face No. 10 Duncanville on Saturday.

There is a big on Saturday in Texas with two teams in the USA TODAY Sports HSS Super 25 squaring off for a state championship.

AT&T Stadium in Dallas will be the venue as No. 6 North Shore (Houston, Texas) plays No. 10 Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas).

Willie Gaston, in his first year as head coach of North Shore, has his team playing at a high level and peaking coming into the playoffs. Last week, they had a 23-14 win over previously undefeated Westlake (Austin, Texas).

“We have to make sure we come out, keep this game close and then play this game with all three phases from offense, defense and special teams,” Gaston told FOX 26 in Houston this week.

“It’s going to be one of those games that is a heavyweight fight battle. Our biggest thing is to give ourselves the opportunity at the end to win it.”

The 6A Division I game will be streamed on Bally Sports Southwest beginning at 3 p.m. local time.

Gaston is a former NFL player with the Baltimore Ravens. He played his college football at Houston. Earlier this week, the Touchdown Club of Houston named Gaston one of two UIL Coaches of the Year.

“It is a great award, it is a great accomplishment,” Gaston said on FOX 26.

“Like I said last night, when you get an award like that, it’s a program award, it’s an award for the whole program. It’s a testimony to what these kids have done, what the coaches have done.”

The game between North Shore and Duncanville will be streamed by Bally Sports Southwest at 3 p.m.

Ohio State QB commit Quinn Ewers does ‘O-H’ to Alabama signee

Quinn Ewers decided to have some fun with Alabama signee Kendall Blackshire after Southlake Carroll’s upset of Duncanville on Saturday.

Top 2022 quarterback recruit and Ohio State commit Quinn Ewers decided to have a little fun with Alabama signee Kendrick Blackshire after Southlake Carroll’s stunning upset over Duncanville in the Texas 6A semifinals on Saturday.

With the National Championship game between Alabama and Ohio State only 48 hours away at the time, the beef spilled over to the high school football field. Video caught Ewers flashing Ohio State’s famous “O-H” symbol at Blackshire when the two met at midfield postgame.

It goes without saying Ewers’ gesture was done in good nature, as both players shared a smile and a laugh. Ewers got the best of Blackshire and Duncanville in the end, though, throwing for 167 yards and registering two touchdowns in a win over the Panthers.

Blackshire will now begin preparing for his career at Alabama, while Ewers’ focus shifts to Austin Westlake in the Texas 6A championship game this weekend. Who knows, though? Maybe Blackshire and Ewers will meet again in a national championship game of their own down the line.

No. 2 Duncanville dominates in season opener without 2019 National Coach of the Year Reginald Samples

Duncanville dominated its season opener despite not having 2019 USA Today national coach of the year Reginald Samples because of suspension.

Duncanville High School (Texas), ranked No. 2 in USA Today’s Super 25, dominated in its season opener on Friday night despite missing a key figure on the sideline.

2019 USA Today national coach of the year Reginald Samples did not coach in the Panthers’ 41-3 win over South Oak Cliff because of a one-game suspension instituted by the University Interscholastic League. According to Greg Riddle of the Dallas Morning News, the UIL’s state executive committee found Duncanville violated the UIL rule regarding the employment of coaches by using a coach on staff that was not a full-time district employee. Assistant head coach and defensive line coach Ramel Borner ran the show in place of Samples.

Under Samples’ guidance, Duncanville has reached consecutive Class 6A Division I championship games and has amassed a 29-2 record the last two seasons (14-1 in 2018, 15-1 in 2019). The Panthers were originally scheduled to open their 2020 season against Fort Worth Nolan last week, but the game was canceled because a Nolan football player tested positive for COVID-19.

Samples will be back on the sideline next week when Duncanville hosts No. 1 IMG Academy in Arlington on Saturday, Oct. 10 after it confirmed it still plans to travel to Texas for the game amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Plenty of talent will be on the field when the two teams take the field next weekend, as IMG Academy features three of the top 64 recruits in the class of 2021. Duncanville offensive lineman is ranked 43rd in the class of 2021 according to 247Sports.

Top 10 holds strong in Week 1 Super 25 Boys Basketball Rankings

Montverde Academy remains No. 1 in Week 1 of the USA Today Super 25 boys basketball rankings.

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The proverbial dust has settled on the preseason Super 25 Boys Basketball rankings, and the top 10 have remained intact in the Week 1.

FULL RANKINGS: Super 25 Boys Rankings, Week 1

Top-ranked Montverde (Florida) Academy had a strong showing at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Dallas this past weekend, demolishing then No. 22 Duncanville (Texas) 84-51 and then Yates (Houston) 98-46.

RELATED: ALL-USA Boys Basketball Teams

Eagles point guard Cade Cunningham, an Oklahoma State signee who is ranked No. 1 overall in USA Today Sports’ Chosen 25 for 2020, led a balanced attack averaging 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the weekend.

Prolific Prep (Napa, California), ranked No. 5, was also impressive at the Hoopfest, but the Crew will face its toughest challenge of the early season when they square off against No. 3 Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix) at Hoophall West on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2).

McEachern (Powder Springs, Georgia), ranked No. 6, had an impressive 87-79 home win over then-No. 12 Mayfair (Lakewood, California) at the Thanksgiving Shootout; reigning ALL-USA Player of the Year Sharife Cooper, an Auburn signee who is ranked No. 2 in the Chosen 25, posted 44 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the win.

RELATED: Chosen 25 Basketball Rankings

Both Duncanville and Rancho Christian School (Temecula, California) suffered two losses and subsequently fell out of the rankings, which opened the door for Briarcrest Christian School (Eads, Tennessee) and Gonzaga College (Washington, D.C.) to debut in the Super 25.

Thanksgiving Hoopfest moving to American Airlines Center

The Thanksgiving Hoopfest will give high school players a chance to play on an NBA court.

Prolific Prep (Napa, California) point guard Nimari Burnett is the last player on the roster who needs extra motivation to get up for games.

“I’m just always ready to compete,” said Burnett, a Texas Tech signee.

Still, come Nov. 30 when he and the Crew lace ‘em up for the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Dallas, he’ll have a little built-in motivation.

RELATED: Super 25 Boys Basketball Rankings

To accommodate the massive number of fans unable to attend the Hoopfest due to the showcase selling out within the first hour tickets went on sale, Hoopfest founder Glenn Smith has decided to move the venue on the second day to American Airlines Center, the home of the Dallas Mavericks.

Games will remain at Duncanville (Texas) High School on Nov. 29 and for the morning session on Nov. 30.

That night, games will tip at AAC, beginning with Prolific Prep (Napa, California), ranked No. 5 overall in the USA Today Super 25, against St. Mark’s School (Dallas) at 5 p.m. The Hoopfest will provide a comp ticket for every ticket purchased for Saturday’s games at Duncanville.

“I’ve never played on an NBA court before so I’m hype,” said Burnett, who is ranked No. 15 overall in USA Today Sports’ Chosen 25. “We’re all ready to get out there and get that experience.”

RELATED: Day one of the Early Signing Period

Prolific Prep is one of three Super 25 competing in the Hoopfest; No. 8 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California) and No. 22 Duncanville (Texas) will also participate. The Hoopfest made our list for the top 16 high school hoops events of the year.

“My dream is to play in the NBA, and to know that I’ll be able to play on an NBA court in high school is like a dream come true,” Burnett said. “We go hard in every game, but I know we’ll be going extra hard in this one.”

AAC schedule for Nov. 16:

5 p.m: (Boys) Prolific Prep (Calif.) vs St. Marks School (Texas)

6:30 p.m: (Girls) Sierra Canyon (Calif.) vs. Duncanville (Texas)

8 p.m: (Boys) Sierra Canyon (Calif.) vs. Duncanville (Texas)

9:30 p.m: (Boys) Yates (Houston) vs. Montverde (Fla.) Academy

Follow Jason Jordan on Twitter: @JayJayUSATODAY