Still a freshman, Kaleb Bailey won 6A DI Texas title and picked up 1st offer over weekend

Kaleb Bailey led North Shore to the biggest Texas high school football championship and then picked up his first offer the next day.

The 6A Division I championship in Texas is the biggest game in the country. Tens of thousands of fans pack into AT&T Stadium to watch two high school teams duke it out, and the winner is anointed the champion of the state—a state that argues it is the biggest and best of all in the high school football landscape.

This past Saturday, it was 42,544 fans who jostled into the NFL stadium to watch North Shore (Houston) and Duncanville (Texas) battle it out for the third time in four years. Like the other two times, North Shore came out on top — but unlike the others, it was a freshman at the helm.

Kaleb Bailey had himself a heck of a weekend, passing for two touchdowns in North Shore’s 17-10 championship victory, being named Offensive MVP of the title game, and then picking up his first college offer the next day.

Win a game like this and it’s no surprise that a school came calling. On Sunday, Bailey tweeted that UTSA gave him his first offer.

Rivals reports that seven schools have expressed interest in Bailey, including LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M. Even if this championship game is all you’ve seen of Bailey, it’s clear why there is interest.

The freshman stood tall on the biggest of stages, completing 10 of 13 passes for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns and rushing for 54 yards. His second touchdown pass was a dime, a late-game 39-yard throw to David Amador in the end zone. It ended up being the game-winning score.

 

Doing that at this stage at this age is no small feat. Bailey took the place of Dematrius Davis, North Shore’s four-year starting quarterback who won a pair of state championships before heading to Auburn. But even Davis wasn’t able to win a championship as a freshman.

On Saturday, Bailey and North Shore came through. Running back Xavier Owens rushed 19 times for 72 yards. The defense only allowed one touchdown to a Duncanville team who had scored more than 50 points eight times this season, racked up a 13-game winning streak and outscored opponents 698-120 entering the night. The Mustangs got back to the top of the Texas high school football chain.

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Five-star CB Denver Harris commits, signs with Texas A&M after winning state championship

Denver Harris announced his signing with Texas A&M after North Shore beat Duncanville for a state championship.

Saturday will be a day five-star North Shore (Texas) cornerback Denver Harris never forgets.

Harris ended his senior season by leading No. 22 North Shore to a state championship over No. 11 Duncanville. Shortly after the game ended, he took to Twitter to announce that he would be staying in the Lone Star State and playing his college football at Texas A&M.

Harris is the No. 17 recruit in the class of 2022, according to 247Sports’ industry-generated Composite rankings and is the fifth five-star prospect to join Texas A&M’s 2022 recruiting class.

Harris ultimately picked Texas A&M over a group of finalists consisting of Alabama, LSU and Texas. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound cornerback starred for North Shore as a senior, bouncing back from a knee injury suffered in last year’s state semifinals. Harris missed the first half of his final season of high school football, but eventually returned to being a full-time player by the beginning of North Shore’s state title run.

“Tall, long cornerback prospect with elite frame potential relative to the position,” 247Sports’ Gabe Brooks said in his scouting report of Harris. Size already gives opposing wideouts problems. Possesses a ton of potential as a jammer. Uses frame to advantage and plays physical brand of coverage.

“Physical nature translates to tackling ability. Light on his feet and sinks hips. Shows impressive redirecting ability, whether in coverage or pursuit. On-field top-end speed looks encouraging. Flashes turn-and-run ability to shadow wideouts in vertical passing game.”

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Texas offers four-star linebacker Colin Simmons out of Duncanville

Colin Simmons is one of the fastest rising prospects in the 2024 class. Five-star edge Omari Abor believes he will end up being better than him.

Colin Simmons is one of the fastest rising prospects in the 2024 recruiting class. Continue reading “Texas offers four-star linebacker Colin Simmons out of Duncanville”

Sooners commit has big night in Mater Dei win over Duncanville

Sooners 2022 commit Raleek Brown makes big plays in huge win for Mater Dei on Friday night.

Friday night football is back. In a rare interstate matchup, the Max Preps No. 1 team in the country, Mater Dei of Santa Ana, traveled to North Texas to face Duncanville. Mater Dei dominated in a 45-3 win over the Panthers.

2022 Sooners commit Raleek Brown had a big day for the Monarchs, carrying the ball five times for 83 yards, and a touchdown. He added one catch for 17 yards to give him 100 yards from scrimmage in the blowout win.

Brown’s big moment came when he took the first-quarter handoff and showed his impressive vision and elusiveness. After finding a lane to the second level, Brown displayed the game-breaking speed, leaving Panthers defenders in the dust on his way to a touchdown.

While the running back position is left with some question marks for the Sooners, the future looks incredibly bright with Brown coming to town. His versatility as a pass-catcher and his explosiveness will provide Oklahoma with a playmaker who can score from anywhere on the field.

Combined with another top 2022 commit, Gavin Sawchuk, and 2023 commit Treyaun Webb, the Sooners have top talent coming down the pipeline for DeMarco Murray’s backfield. Though the 2021 depth chart looks a little thin, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel that will have better depth beyond this season.

High School Football: Duncanville, Mater Dei to play in August

The two high school powerhouses will meet in Texas early in the 2021 high school football season.

Two of the top high school football programs in the nation will do battle this upcoming season, as Duncanville and Mater Dei announced Friday that they will play in August.

Mater Dei will travel to Texas to take on Duncanville, which has amassed a 50-5 record over the last five seasons. Mater Dei is 45-3 over that same span.

Mater Dei’s trip to the Lone Star State will mark the first time a nationally ranked California team traveled to Texas since De La Salle High School lost to Trinity High School in 2015.

Both Duncanville and Mater Dei will feature loaded rosters per the usual in 2021. Duncanville boasts 10 players who are three-star recruits or better in the class of 2022, according to 247Sports. Headlining that group is five-star defensive lineman Omari Abor, three-star linebacker and Oklahoma State commit Jordan Crook and four-star interior offensive lineman Jaylen Early.

Mater Dei, meanwhile, has 12 players rated as a three-star recruit or better. Five-star cornerback and USC commit Domani Jackson and four-star running back and Oklahoma commit Raleek Brown are two of the biggest names among the group. The Monarchs also have a rising star under center, as quarterback Elijah Brown looked the part as a freshman.

RELATED: Freshman QB Elijah Brown stars as Mater Dei topples St. John Bosco

Duncanville’s 2021 schedule features high-profile Texas matchups against DeSoto on Sept. 17 and Cedar Hill on Oct. 22, as well as an out-of-state matchup against Bishop Sycamore in September. Mater Dei’s schedule is loaded with the top programs in California, such as Centennial on Aug. 20, St. John Bosco on Oct. 1 and Servite on Oct. 22.

Oklahoma among top 10 schools for 2022 Duncanville offensive tackle

The Oklahoma Sooners were among the top 10 schools listed for offensive tackle Jaylen Early out of Duncanville.

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On Wednesday, Jaylen Early from Duncanville, Texas, released his top 10 schools for recruitment. The 2022 four-star offensive tackle has the Oklahoma Sooners among the schools in consideration. One of the top competitors should come as no surprise: The Longhorns are also among the top schools.

It is quite possible Lincoln Riley goes right back to the same school he grabbed Savion Byrd from. Early is listed as the No. 27 rated offensive tackle in the country according to 247Sports composite rankings. His highest ranking as the No. 15 offensive tackle comes from the 247Sports ranking.

The Sooners have no commitments from an offensive lineman, but it is very early in the process. All told, Riley and offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh have 23 offers out to offensive tackles in the 2022 recruiting class.

Jaylen Early’s Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
247 4 146 22 15
Rivals 3 37 37
ESPN 4 168 27 25
247 Composite 4 209 33 27

Vitals

Hometown Duncanville, Texas
Projected Position Offensive Tackle
Height 6-4
Weight 260

Recruitment

  • Offered on March 27, 2020
  • No official visits during the NCAA’s dead period

Offers (Top 10)

Film

Twitter

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WATCH: Michigan State commit Emoni Bates highlights in 28-point game in Texas

Emoni Bates dropped 28 in a loss in Texas on Saturday. Here are the highlights.

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Every few years, there is a player at the high school level who has everyone buzzing. Zion Williamson, Kevin Durant, Lebron James are some of these players. The latest is Michigan State Basketball commit Emoni Bates, who currently plays for Ypsi Prep will fellow future Spartan Jaden Akins.

Bates and Akins both played against Duncanville on Saturday night in the American Airlines Center (home of the Dallas Mavericks), and while Ypsi wasn’t able to pull out the win, Bates put on one heck of a show in Texas.

You can watch his highlights below:

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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.

2020 Recruiting Target: Ennis Rakestraw

The Texas Longhorns are wrapping up their 2020 recruiting class and are set to meet with three-star cornerback Ennis Rakestraw.

There is less than a week to go before the final National Signing Day of the 2020 recruitment cycle. One target that remains in the sights of the Texas Longhorns will be teammate of Ja’Quinden Jackson, Ennis Rakestraw. The two helped lead Duncanville to a state championship game. Rakestraw is currently ranked as a three-star cornerback.

The top three schools believed to be in the running for his recruitment are Alabama, Missouri and Texas. According to 247, they project that Rakestraw will sign with Alabama on February 5th. He is scheduled to meet with Texas on January 31st.

At this point of the recruiting cycle, John Tyler’s Kitan Crawford is the only other cornerback of the 2020 class. Rakestraw was named Dallas Morning News Defensive Player of The Year. At this point it seems all signs point to him joining Alabama but crazier things have happened on National Signing Day.

Two quarterbacks sign with Texas

The first of two National Signing Days are taking place today. UT started the day out strong, locking up two of their top recruits.

The early signing period is finally here and the first of two National Signing Days are taking place today. The Longhorns started the day out strong, as they locked two of their top recruits.

Ja’Quinden Jackson from Duncanville, TX and Hudson Card from Austin, TX both signed their national letter of intent this morning, making their verbal commitment official. Both players are quarterbacks, each playing at Texas high school football’s highest division. Each of them are a four star recruits and they are currently the two highest signed players so far today, according to 247Sports.

Jackson is officially listed as an athlete according to 247Sports, but played quarterback at Duncanville High School. In his playoff semi final game, it is being reported that he tore his ACL and will be out for awhile.

Getting another quarterback out of the Austin area, Card went to Lake Travis High School. He has been committed to Texas since May of 2018 and has been wanting to be a Longhorn for most of his life.

Having depth at quarterback is always a good thing and Texas has that with these two signees. Sam Ehlinger is expected to come back for his senior season, but third string Roschon Johnson played running back all season. A quarterback room of Ehlinger, Casey Thompson, Johnson, Jackson, and Card will provide the Longhorns with depth for years.

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