5 Texas high school football games you should not have missed in Week 8 (10/15/2023)
Week 8 of the Texas high school football season produced tremendous individual performances, compelling storylines and a lot of Power 25 chalk.
SBLive was on sidelines and in press boxes from Humble to San Antonio to Pineland in rural east Texas to bring you stories from the ground — while the SBLive scoreboard gave live-updated finals from every game across the state.
Here are five games you should not have missed:
REAGAN TRIUMPHS IN STONE OAK SUPER BOWL
The San Antonio game of the year met the hype.
Reagan running back Cole Pryor entered Friday 139 yards short of 1,000 rushing yards on the season. He surpassed the mark in an impressive four-touchdown performance and led Reagan to a signature win.
The Rattlers (7-0), the No. 19 team in Texas, beat Johnson 41-27 and escaped Heroes Stadium in San Antonio as the sole undefeated team atop District 28-6A.
Pryor finished with 213 yards on 34 carries, while Johnson was led by TCU commit Ty Hawkins, who had an answer on nearly every drive.
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HONEY GROVE UNANSWERED POINTS STREAK ENDS
The Warriors remained undefeated on the season on Friday night but did something they hadn't done all season:
Concede points.
Through five games, Honey Grove had outscored opponents 273-0 entering Week 8 — the last remaining team in Texas to not have allowed points in 2023.
The impressive streak came to an end during a blowout win. Boles kicked a field goal in the second quarter Friday in a 47-3 Honey Grove road win behind a massive game from Jarrmez Daniels. The sophomore quarterback took seven carries for 241 yards and four touchdowns.
After Week 8, the Tigers' point discrepancy on the season is 320-3.
Honey Grove (6-0-1, 3-0) and Cooper (6-1, 3-0) are the lone undefeated teams in District 9-2A and go head to head at Cooper on Friday.
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AUSTIN WESTLAKE SURVIVES DISTRICT UPSET
Despite Dripping Springs' 79-yard touchdown on the third play from scrimmage, Westlake didn't get spooked.
The Tigers even led at halftime after quarterback Maddox Maher's play action house call to wideout Kyle Koch over the top of the defense.
Still, the nationally ranked Chaparrals rallied back and pulled away for a 27-14 win in the second half.
Sophomore running back Rees Wise took 18 carries for 59 yards and all three of his team's touchdowns and quarterback Rees Wise completed 15 of 20 passes for 209 yards.
Westlake has won its past 30 district games.
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VANDEGRIFT CREATES SEPARATION ATOP DISTRICT
Vandegrift solidified its separation atop District 25-6A, thumping Round Rock on the road. Both teams entered the matchup 3-0 in district play.
The Vipers reached the 6A Division II championship game last year, where they lost to DeSoto. After Week 8, there is still an outside chance at jumping to the Division I playoffs.
In UIL Class 6A, two of the top-four teams with the highest enrollment are designated to Division I, and there is an outside chance Vanderbilt could end up in the top two, if Stony Point and Round Rock-Westwood both slipped out of the top 4.
Check out the breakdown of the District 25-6A standings and enrollment:
1. Vandegrift (4-0) - 2,726
2. Round Rock (3-1) - 3,847
T3. Vista Ridge (2-2) - 2,612
T3. RR-Westwood (2-2) - 2,819
T3. Stony Point (2-2) - 2,877
[FULL STANDINGS]
DISTRICT 25 ENROLLMENT
1. Round Rock (3-1) - 3,847
2. Stony Point (2-2) - 2,877
3. RR-Westwood (2-2) - 2,819
4. Vandegrift (4-0) - 2,726
5. Vista Ridge (2-2) - 2,612
6. Round Rock McNeill (1-3) - 2,594
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UNDERDOG ALLEN EXTENDS WIN STREAK VS. NO. 21 MCKINNEY
Allen (Texas) scored three straight touchdowns and didn't look back as the Eagles rolled to an upset win over No. 21 McKinney at McKinney ISD Stadium on Friday night.
If there were oddsmakers, the Lions would have entered Friday the favorite. Instead, Allen extended its consecutive games won against its District 5-6A foe to 24. The last time McKinney beat Allen was 1999.
The win signals a remarkable turnaround for Allen (5-2), which dropped its first two games of the season to DeSoto and Houston King.
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MORE WEEK 8 COVERAGE:
-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx
Westlake-Dripping Springs photos by Chuck Cox, for SBLive Sports
