Previews and predictions for the best Texas high school football regional final playoff games of 2024

North Crowley (13-0) vs Allen (13-0), 2 p.m. Saturday at Mansfield’s Newsom Stadium: It’s a rematch of last year’s Region I final, but this time both teams come in undefeated and fresh off hard-fought regional semifinal wins last week. North Crowley took control in the second half last week in a 35-24 win over previously unbeaten Coppell. UNLV RB commit Cornelius Warren had a huge game running for 203 yards and three touchdowns to pace the Panthers. After allowing three first half touchdowns, the Panthers defense adjusted and held Coppell to just three total points in the second half. Allen escaped the always physical Trinity Trojans last week in a 22-21 win as the Eagles got 234 yards of offense and two rushing touchdowns from QB Brady Bricker. A surprise two-point conversion from Josyah Johnson in the first quarter proved to be the difference. Allen was a huge underdog last year in this matchup and they pushed North Crowley to the brin. They’ll have a good gameplan to contain one of the state’s most explosive offensive attacks, but in the end North Crowley’s got too many weapons and they operate behind one if the state’s best offensive line units. Stepp’s Pick: North Crowley by 13

Denton Guyer (10-3) vs Southlake Carroll (13-0), 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Denton’s DATCU Stadium: It’s a rematch of the regional final in 2022 in which a Jackson Arnold-led Guyer squad took down Southlake Carroll. The banged up Dragons will look for a little payback as they’ve been the definition of “survive and advance” the past two weeks. Last week Carroll slipped past a tough Lewisville Hebron squad 42-37 as QB Angelo Renda led the charge with 304 yards and two touchdowns passing, while adding in 103 yards rushing and three touchdowns. WR Brock Boyd, a TCU commit, hauled in a dozen passes for 227 yards and a score for the Dragons. The big concern aside from injuries at the running back spot is Carroll’s defense the past two weeks has been touched up, allowing nearly 40 points per game. Denton Guyer blasted upstart Crowley 44-7 a week ago as the Wildcats ran out to a 30-0 halftime lead and never looked back in a dominant victory. Guyer’s defense forced three Crowley turnovers and QB Kevin Sperry, a Florida State commit, threw for 76 yards and a touchdown and added 195 yards and a score. Carroll’s defense will be tested against Guyer’s physicality. They’ll need to win early downs and force the Wildcats into obvious passing downs. A fully healthy Carroll squad is the favorite here, but this is a depleted team winning games on determination and great coaching. That’s only going to take you so far into the playoffs and I think Guyer slips by Carroll in a close one. Stepp’s Pick: Denton Guyer by 4

DeSoto (11-2) vs Longview (11-2), 3 p.m. Saturday at Waco’s McLane Stadium: Two-time defending a state champion DeSoto had an odd game Saturday night in a 55-35 win over Willis. After falling behind 14-0 early, the Eagles scored the next 42 points and appeared to be in cruise control. Willis then rattled off three straight touchdowns to make it a 42-35 game going into the fourth before DeSoto pulled away late with the final two scores. Texas A&M RB commit Tiger Riden has been a menace the last two weeks rushing for 554 yards and seven touchdowns as DeSoto’s massive offensive line and trio of talented ball carriers just grinds teams into dust. The Eagles rolled up 503 yards on the ground a week ago. After struggling in the first two weeks of the playoffs, Longview played maybe its best game of the season as the Lobos routed Klein Collins 42-28 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score. Longview led 42-7 into the fourth quarter. The Lobos defense continues to play very well and the offense, while not flashy was effective as Kelvin Washington raced for 200-plus yards and four touchdowns to lead the Lobos attack. Washington also broke the Longview single season rushing record, which considering the lineage of Lobo running backs, you know that’s quite the achievement. Longview’s offense will try to keep the ball away from DeSoto, shorten the game and then hope their tough run defense can hold up against the DeSoto onslaught. That’s easier said than done and DeSoto wears on the Lobos in the fourth to pull away for beat Longview for the first time in school history. Stepp’s Pick: DeSoto by 16

Denton Ryan (12-1) vs Aledo (12-1), 2 p.m. Saturday at Fort Worth’s Crowley ISD Stadium: It’s a district rematch in 5A-Division I as Denton Ryan in the regular season meeting featuring these two raced out to a big early lead only to see Aledo dominate the second half to keep their district winning streak alive. A week ago Aledo went out to West Texas and absolutely obliterated Amarillo Tascosa 62-7 as QB Gavin Beard completed all fifteen of his passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns, all in the first half as he didn’t play in the second half as AHS held a 49-0 halftime lead. WR’s Blake Burdine and Kaydon Finley each hauled in two touchdown passes, one thing to watch is the status of RB Raycine Guillory who only had one carry in the game before departing with an injury, he was a key cog in Aledo’s regular season win over Ryan. After struggling a bit in the area playoffs with Lubbock Monterey, Denton Ryan looked primed and ready for their showdown with Aledo as they knocked off Richland 48-35 last week. The Raiders defense forced three turnovers, while QB Quinn Henigan, RB’s Tre’Vaughn Reynolds and Nemo Warmate had strong outings. Ryan’s X-Factor will be ATH Braden Mussett, if he has a big afternoon, the Raiders are fully capable of pulling the upset as they have the defensive personnel to slow Aledo down. Aledo took the regular season meeting and on paper, they are the favorite, but I picked Ryan in the pre-season and before the playoffs to take down Aledo, so I won’t back off now. Stepp’s Pick: Denton Ryan by 2

Angleton (12-1) vs La Porte (10-3), 2 p.m. Saturday at Houston’s NRG Stadium: The district rematch theme remains in Region III of 5A-Division I as district rivals Angleton and La Porte clash for a spot in the state semifinals. Angleton won a thriller over College Station High 35-34 as QB Bryce Duron tossed three touchdown passes, including the game winner with under a minute left and the ensuing PAT proved to be the difference for the Wildcats. La Porte, who won the 11-5A Division I title has rattled off ten straight wins and may be the hottest team in the state after the Bulldogs ripped past previously unbeaten A&M Consolidated 34-17 a week ago. After falling behind 10-0 early and trailing 17-7 at the half La Porte dominated the second half outscoring the Tigers 28-0. RB Tyrese Barnes ran for 127 yards and four scores to lead the charge, while freshman sensation Sean Simon added 180 yards on the ground as well for the Bulldogs. These two know each other well, it was a seven-point game in the first meeting and expect a close one here, but it’s hard to pick against momentum and La Porte’s got plenty of it right now. Stepp’s Pick: La Porte by 4

Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (12-1) vs Smithson Valley (11-2), 2 p.m. Saturday at San Antonio’s Alamodome: The Flour Bluff road warriors will head back to the Alamodome this week where they’ll basically play their fourth straight game on the road against a tough and surging Smithson Valley squad. The Hornets last week again needed some late heroics, but they found a way through in a 35-28 win over previously unbeaten San Antonio Southwest. QB Jayden Paluseo threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score, RB Tylor Simpson have the Hornets balance with 144 yards and a touchdown on the ground. WR Cameran Dickson, a Vanderbilt commit caught the game winning touchdown and then on the next series on defense sealed the win with an interception for the Hornets. Smithson Valley rolled past district rival New Braunfels 56-21. It was a balanced and brutally efficient effort from the Rangers offense as QB Cade Spradling had 191 yards of total offense, with three rushing scores and a passing score. RB’s Brad Sowersby and Daniel DeHoyos combined for 156 yards on the ground and three scores as well. Smithson Valley’s defense will be key if they can contain the ‘Bluff passing attack, they should be able to out-physical the Hornets, but this game is close late, don’t bet against Flour Bluff, they’ve got the close game magic. Stepp’s Pick: Smithson Valley by 9

South Oak Cliff (11-2) vs Port Neches-Groves (12-1), 7 p.m. Friday at Nacogdoches’ Bryce Stadium: The last two state championship games in 5A-Division II have been decided by these two teams and the series is split 1-1, so after a quirk in UIL Realignment put PNG in Region II we get the rubber match in the regional finals. SOC’s been dominant in the playoffs rolling to lopsided wins the past two weeks over Huntsville and Marshall behind a devastating rushing attack and a suffocating defense that’s controlled the line of scrimmage against run oriented teams. RB Mikail Trotter led the Golden Bears rushing attack with 118 yards and two scores, while RB Levon Morton chipped in two rushing scores. Port Neches-Groves went out of state and came back from Louisiana with a hard-fought 31-28 win over previously undefeated Texarkana Texas High. The Indians bruising rushing attack wore the Tigers down as Mason Weunschel who is a LB that doubles as a wildcat QB ran for two scores and threw a touchdown pass, while RB Tyson Henry added two touchdowns on the ground for PNG as well. The matchup of the SOC defensive line going against the PNG offensive line will be absolute must-see TV, these are two of the best individual units in the state and it won’t be for the faint of heart. The edge here is the SOC offense against the PNG defense, PNG has had struggles at times against really athletic teams and SOC has that edge even though their nature is to be a physical football team that wins games up front. Stepp’s Pick: South Oak Cliff by 7

Richmond Randle (13-0) vs Iowa Colony (12-1), 6 p.m. Saturday at Houston’s NRG Stadium: It’s another district rematch, this time in 9-5A Division II as unbeaten Richmond Randle takes on Iowa Colony, whose only loss came to Randle earlier this season. Both programs are in their third year of existence and have quickly established themselves as elite 5A programs in the Houston area. Last week Randle got pushed but survived a tough Brenham squad 28-14 as RB Landen Williams-Callis led the way with a touchdown run and a highlight reel 73-yard touchdown reception in the win. Iowa Colony last week took care of district rival Fort Bend Marshall 31-21 as WR Jayden Warren hauled in a touchdown pass and ran for a score, while sophomore QB Carson White continued his stellar play running for two scores and adding a touchdown pass to lead the Pioneers. The story in this game will be the Randle defense, which has not allowed more than 14 points in a game all season. The Lions are a lockdown unit and they’ll keep that explosive Iowa Colony offense under wraps. Stepp’s Pick: Richmond Randle by 13

Quick Picks

Duncanville (12-0) vs Cypress Bridgeland (12-1), 2 p.m. Saturday at Hewitt’s Panther Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Duncanville by 17

Humble Summer Creek (11-2) vs Humble Kingwood (9-4), 2 p.m. Saturday at Humble’s Turner Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Humble Summer Creek by 21

Austin Vandegrift (12-1) vs San Antonio Harlan (12-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday at San Marcos’ Bobcat Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Austin Vandegrift by 16

Frisco Lone Star (12-1) vs Highland Park (12-1), 7 p.m. Friday at Frisco’s Ford Center Stepp’s Pick: Highland Park by 8

Lovejoy (10-3) vs Argyle (12-1), 7 p.m. Friday at Prosper’s Children’s Health Stadium Stepp’s Pick: Argyle by 11

Corpus Christi Miller (11-2) vs Boerne (10-3), 7 p.m. Friday at San Antonio’s Alamodome Stepp’s Pick: Corpus Christi Miller by 6

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Last Week: 25-7 78.1%

Playoff Record:  78-18 81.3%

Season: 214-62 75.6% 77.5%