Friday night was a historic one for Duncanville. Reginald Samples hit 300 career wins as a head coach in Texas High School Football. According to Greg Tepper of Dave Campbell’s TF, he is the 13th coach in the state’s history to accomplish the feat.
Duncanville and its players celebrated accordingly on DeSoto’s home turf after the 42-31 win, giving Samples a few Gatorade ice showers before the final whistle. But the game was not the easiest of the 300 on the resume.
DeSoto began the game up 14-0 early in the first quarter. After a Devyn Bobby interception on the one-yard line, four-star 2023 prospect Johntay Cook took it to the house for 99 yards. A nice move from Cook and blown coverage for the Panthers left one of the best receivers in the state with acres of space.
99 yard touchdown for @_jayythegreat_
7-0 DeSoto pic.twitter.com/YCXehloBgE
— Griffin McVeigh (@Griffin_McVeigh) September 18, 2021
On the next drive, Oregon commit and wide receiver Stephon Johnson Jr. made it 14-0 to give the Eagles the early lead. From there, it was all Duncanville, especially on the ground.
Three-star offensive tackle Cameron Williams anchored the right side, leaving plenty of holes for running backs Malachi Medlock and Caden Durham. The two combined for 280 yards and four touchdowns on 36 carries.
Non-offensive touchdowns played a role as well. Lamodrick Spencer took an interception to the house after a tipped ball from 2024 defensive end Collin Simmons (more on him later). Davion Bluitt took a punt return back just at the stroke of halftime as well.
Duncanville only managed 44 passing yards on 18 attempts. Getting the job done with a solid run game was the clear plan for Samples’ staff on Friday.
After being down by two touchdowns in the second quarter, Duncanville scored 35 unanswered at ease. The celebration was on for Coach Samples, with banners and a rivalry win to show for it.
Coaches in attendance
It was a star-studded night of coaches in attendance at Eagle Stadium. Beginning with Texas, offensive line coach Kyle Flood and tight ends/special teams coach Jeff Banks took in the first half. The latter is known as one of the ace recruiters on staff and spent time with both coaching staffs on the field before the game.
A conference foe in Gary Patterson was there as well.
Oregon offensive line coach Alex Maribal wins the award of furthest traveled, though. He was there to see two Duck commits in offensive tackle Cameron Williams and wide receiver Stephon Johnson Jr.
Other players of note
Collin Simmons – ’24 DE Duncanville
The defensive MVP for Duncanville was defensive end Collin Simmons. The sophomore was disrupting the DeSoto passing game all night, living in the backfield. He ended up with two fumble recoveries and even tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage resulting in a pick-six.
247Sports has already rated Simmons as the No. 8 player from the state of Texas in the 2024 class. Marshall, Michigan State, and SMU are the only three to reach out so far. At this point, the clock is ticking on this recruitment blowing up.
Five-star Omari Abor even said Simmons will definitely end up being better than him.
Devyn Bobby – ’22 S DeSoto (Baylor)
Duncanville tried the passing game early on and was shut down by Devyn Bobby. He finished with one interception and should have had another the following defensive drive. Bobby was all over the field at free safety, not letting any Panther receivers behind him. And if they did, he would find a way to make a play on the ball.
Baylor currently has a commitment from Bobby. Texas has not offered the three-star but he was in Austin over the summer. Certainly an option to look at pending other 2022 defensive back results.
I can play both đ(pick) pic.twitter.com/y1Mu5KgOcN
— Devyn Bobby (@Deev2x) June 12, 2021
Remaining notes
I was excited to see two pass rushers tonight in Abor and DeSoto’s 2024 pass rusher Caleb Mitchell.
Abor did not suit up at all, dealing with a shoulder injury. He seemed to be in good spirits, though, cheering on Duncanville’s defensive performance throughout.
As for Mitchell, I assume an injury kept the sophomore off the field. Seeing him go up against Williams or 2022 Florida State commit Jaylen Early would have been a treat.
