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The teams of seven Texas Longhorn football commits had a bye last week, and another sat out his team’s game with an injury. This week will be a lot more active by comparison, with only two commits having an off week, not counting the three who aren’t playing due to injury, ineligibility, or opting out of the season.
Six of the team’s in-state commits play for ranked teams, while the same is true for at least four commits from out-of-state schools. Justice Finkley’s team lost to the top-ranked team in Alabama last week, and on Friday his fellow defensive commit Ronald Lewis will take the field against Louisiana’s top-ranked team.
Texas high school teams are going into week five of the regular season, and most teams have either already started their ever-important district schedule, or will this week. Below is this week’s schedule for each #22EFFECT commit, and my weekly notes. The start times listed for all games are listed according to Central Time.
2022 QB Maalik Murphy — Gardena (California) Junipero Serra
No game this week
Note: Murphy did not play last week after leaving Junipero Serra’s previous game late in the first half due to a shoulder injury. In his absence, Serra demolished Carson 54-0. Serra has a bye this week before beginning Mission League play on October 1.
2022 RB Jamarion Miller — Tyler Legacy
No game this week
Note: Tyler Legacy fell short last week in its second straight non-district game against a ranked opponent. After losing to top-ten 5A Division I opponent Longview on September 10, the Raiders lost 49-28 to Allen, the #15 team in Class 6A. Jamarion Miller finished the game with 13 carries for 91 yards, and he also caught 5 passes for another 12 yards. Miller’s backfield mate Bryson Donnell, who is committed to Texas Tech, gained 190 yards from scrimmage on 12 offensive touches and scored all four of Legacy’s touchdowns.
They’ll have a bye this week before starting district play on October 1 versus Dallas Skyline, which is winless after its first four games.
2022 WR Armani Winfield — Lewisville
Friday, September 24 at 7:00, vs Plano West
Lewisville and its opponent this week, Plano West, are both coming off bye weeks, and Friday night’s game will be the first district contest for both teams. Lewisville is 3-0 and ranked #22 in Class 6A by TexasFootball.com, and is the Dallas area’s 9th-ranked 6A team, according to the Dallas Morning News. The DMN has Plano West ranked 18th in the area for that classification.
2022 OL Cole Hutson — Frisco
Friday, September 24 at 7:00, at Frisco Lebanon Trail (at Toyota Stadium)
Note: Frisco had a bye last week. The Raccoons are 3-0 and ranked #7 among Dallas-area Class 5A teams, according to the Dallas Morning News. Frisco is averaging 450 rushing yards per game so far in the 2021 season, and in their next game the Raccoons will face Lebanon Trail, which is coming off of a 56-32 loss to Lake Dallas in which its defense allowed 323 rushing yards. Frisco beat that same Lake Dallas team 70-27 two weeks ago.
2022 OL Connor Robertson — Austin Westlake
Friday, September 24 at 7:00, at Del Valle
Note: The Westlake Chaparrals, the top-ranked team in Texas, are coming off a bye week and will begin district play on Friday night against 0-3 Del Valle, a team that was outscored 104-13 in its two most recent games. Westlake won last year’s matchup between the two teams 58-0.
2022 DL Aaron Bryant — Southaven (Mississippi)
Friday, September 24 at 7:00, at Olive Branch (Mississippi) Center Hill
Note: Southaven evened its season record at 2-2 last week after a 22-20 win over Lake Cormorant. The Chargers will play their first district game on Friday against Center Hill, a team they beat 14-7 a year ago.
2022 DL Justice Finkley — Trussville (Alabama) Hewitt-Trussville
Friday, September 24 at 7:00, vs. Birmingham (Alabama) Huffman
Note: Hewitt-Trussville suffered its first loss of the season last week, falling 42-9 to Thompson, Alabama’s top-ranked team with a roster loaded with college prospects.
The Huskies will attempt to get back on track on Friday night when they host 1-4 Huffman for their homecoming game.
2022 DL Kristopher Ross — Galena Park North Shore
Friday, September 24 at 7:00, at Beaumont West Brook
Note: North Shore beat Klein Oak 58-34 last week and will open district play on Friday night by traveling to face the 3-1 West Brook Bruins. North Shore is currently ranked 10th in Class 6A.
2022 DL Zac Swanson — Phoenix (Arizona) Brophy Prep
Friday, September 24 at 9:00, vs. Scottsdale (Arizona) Notre Dame Prep
Note: Brophy Prep suffered its second consecutive loss last week, losing by a score of 37-12 to Chandler Basha. Basha rolled for 527 offensive yards while holding Brophy Prep to 227. Basha’s sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who reportedly already holds offers from Arizona, Colorado, Iowa State, and TCU, among others, compiled 428 total yards (315 passing, 113 rushing) and four total touchdowns himself.
On Friday, Brophy Prep will host Notre Dame Prep, the alma mater of erstwhile Texas Longhorn receiver Jake Smith (now at USC).
2022 DE J’Mond Tapp — Donaldsonville (Louisiana) Ascension Catholic
Friday, September 24 at 7:00, at Abbeville (Louisiana) Vermilion Catholic
Note: Playing in their first game of the season, the Ascension Catholic Bulldogs beat Archbishop Hannan 30-8 last week. J’Mond Tapp’s highlights from the game show him forcing a fumble on a sack. Ascension Catholic’s Maxpreps page shows the team having won an August 26 game against Baton Rouge Episcopal, but that was apparently a scrimmage, as local reports indicate that last week’s game was the team’s first of 2021. Ascension Catholic is currently ranked fourth in Class 1A, and it will face 1-2 Vermilion Catholic on Friday.
2022 DE/LB Derrick Brown — Texarkana Texas
Friday, September 24 at 7:30, vs. Mt. Pleasant
Note: The Texas Tigers are coming off a bye and will host the Mt. Pleasant Tigers on Friday night for their homecoming game. Mt. Pleasant is 0-2 on the season, and had an unexpected off week when its game last Friday with Texarkana Arkansas was canceled two days before kickoff. Texas High has beaten Mt. Pleasant in their last six meetings, all by margins of at least 18 points, with last year’s game ending in a 42-24 score.
2022 LB Eoghan Kerry — Santa Ana (California) Mater Dei
Friday, September 24 at 9:00, vs. La Mirada (California)
Note: Mater Dei had a bye last week and remains the top-ranked team in this week’s USA Today Super 25 rankings.
The 2-0 Monarchs will host the 3-2 La Mirada Matadores on Friday night.
2022 DB Bryan Allen — Aledo
Friday, September 24 at 7:00, vs. Everman
Note: Aledo manhandled Burleson in its district opener last week, 56-14. The Bearcats held Burleson to just 47 rushing yards on 25 carries, and twice intercepted quarterback Dylan Raiola, a sophomore who reports offers from Baylor, Florida State, Georgia, and seven others, and who 247Sports currently rates as the state’s #7 overall prospect in the 2024 class.
The 4-0 Bearcats are ranked #1 in Class 5A Division II and on Friday will host 2-2 Everman, which is likely, at worst, their district’s third-best team. A blowout on Friday means Aledo won’t be breaking much of a sweat this season until the second or third round of the playoffs in November. Aledo beat Juan Davis’s Everman team in 2020 by a 35-0 score.
2022 DB Austin Jordan — Denton Ryan
Thursday, September 23 at 7:00, vs. Frisco Wakeland
Note: Denton Ryan, the top-ranked squad in Class 5A Division I, beat cross-town rival Denton High for an 18th consecutive time last week, winning by a score of 55-28. Austin Jordan was not credited with any tackles but he did have a pick-six on the night.
Ryan is 2-0 in district play and will host undefeated Frisco Wakeland on Thursday, which will be the second of four consecutive Thursday night games the Ryan Raiders have on their schedule. Though Texas Football ranks Denton Ryan atop its classification, the Dallas Morning News now ranks Ryan 2nd among Dallas-area 5A teams, behind Highland Park. The News also rates Wakeland as the area’s #18 Class 5A team.
Austin Jordan hasn’t posted any 2021 game highlights to his Hudl page, but you can see his interception return TD at about the 1:24 mark of this recap video from last week’s game.
2022 DB Ronald Lewis — New Orleans (Louisiana) Warren Easton
Friday, September 24 at 7:00, at Catholic-Baton Rouge (Louisiana)
Note: Ronald Lewis at long last got to begin his senior season last Friday, after his Warren Easton team had multiple games canceled due to the effects of Hurricane Ida. The Easton Eagles had a belated start to their season against Class 5A’s eighth-ranked team, Scotlandville, and came away with a 42-28 win.
Warren Easton is now ranked #3 in Class 4A and will have the stiffest of challenges on Friday night when it travels to face the state’s top-ranked team, Class 5A #1 Catholic-B.R. of Baton Rouge, a team that has already posted wins over the current #6 (Acadiana) and #7 (West Monroe) teams in Class 5A, Louisiana’s highest classification.
2022 ATH Anthony Jones — Henderson (Nevada) Liberty
September 24 at 8:00, vs. Las Vegas Faith Lutheran
Note: After a lopsided loss to national #1 Mater Dei, Liberty got back to its winning ways with a 49-7 win over North Las Vegas Legacy last week. Anthony Jones was credited with two tackles and one tackle for loss in the win. The Las Vegas Review-Journal ranks Liberty as Nevada’s #2 team in Class 4A.
Liberty’s opponent this week is 1-3 Faith Lutheran, a team that has two losses to teams Liberty handily beat. Liberty opened its season with a 42-14 win over Arbor View (the current #3 team in 4A), and the following week Arbor View beat Faith Lutheran 23-3. In its second game of this season, Liberty beat Canyon Springs 40-0, and three weeks later Canyon Springs beat Faith Lutheran 28-27 in overtime.
2022 K Will Stone — Austin Regents School
Friday, September 24 at 7:00, vs. Austin St. Michael’s
Note: Regents is the state’s top-ranked private school team and is coming off its bye week. Regents will host fellow Austin private school St. Michael’s on Friday. Regents has won the last five meetings between the schools by a combined score of 220-39.
2022 LS Lance St. Louis — Gilbert (Arizona) Williams Field
Friday, September 24 at 9:00, at Gilbert (Arizona) Campo Verde
Note: Williams Field is 2-0 and coming off a bye. It will visit fellow Gilbert high school Campo Verde on Friday night. Campo Verde opened in 2009 and Williams Field has won all ten matchups between the two schools, most recently by a 18-8 score last season.
Other commits not playing this week
2022 RB Jaydon Blue (Klein Cain)
Cain opted out of playing in the 2021 season. Unless there is a change with his status I will not be posting Klein Cain’s weekly schedule.
2022 DL Jaray Bledsoe (Marlin)
After previously attending Bremond High School, Bledsoe transferred in the summer of 2021 to Marlin High School, which is 17 miles away from Bremond. He was subsequently ruled ineligible for the 2021 football season, and in late August the U.I.L. denied his eligibility appeal. Unless there is a change in Bledsoe’s eligibility status, I will not be posting updates on Marlin’s season.
2022 LB Trevell Johnson (Arlington Martin)
After dealing with a hip issue for several months, Johnson attempted to play in week one, but afterwards elected to have a surgery that will cause him to miss his senior season. I will not be posting weekly updates on Martin’s games unless one of Johnson’s teammates commits to Texas.