Best Texas high school football playoff performances in 2023 bi-district round
As the opening round of the Texas high school football playoffs continued across the Lone Star State, SBLive Texas is keeping tabs on the latest scores, top storylines and best performances throughout the bi-district round.
Which players had the best individual performances in the first round?
After looking at the top games in the Class 6A, Class 5A and small school (1A through 4A) brackets, we're zeroing in on the best breakout efforts.
Here are the top performances across Texas in the first round to the playoffs, spanning all corners of the state and schools all shapes and sizes.
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TOP STARS FROM TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL BI-DISTRICT PLAYOFFS
Collin Blackstock, sr., Lone Star
Blackstock passed for 258 yards and five touchdowns in a 49-14 rout of White.
Nehemiah Borner, jr., Duncanville
Borner picked off a pass in the end zone during Duncanville’s 63-7 throttling of Hutto and four-star quarterback Will Hammond.
Blaine Bullard, jr., Klein Cain
Bullard, a Texas A&M baseball commit, caught seven passes for a single-game school-record 250 yards and three touchdowns as Klein Cain defeated Bridgeland in overtime, 50-49.
Austin Carlisle, jr., Ridge Point
Carlisle passed for 305 yards, rushed for 92 and accounted for four total touchdowns — three passing, one running — in a 49-44 win over Tompkins.
Atzel Chavez Jr., sr., United
Chavez Jr., a Texas-Rio Grande Valley commit, threw for 318 yards and five touchdowns as United took down Taft, 35-28.
Cannon Davis, sr., Randle
Davis returned an interception 52 yards for a touchdown as Randle defeated Fort Bend Marshall, 35-24. It was the first postseason win in program history.
Deonte Dean, sr., Lake Highlands
Dean turned 38 carries into 281 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-38 win over South Grand Prairie.
Braydon Doane, so. Lake Travis
There was a little bit of kicking in Lake Travis' stunning first round upset of No. 6 Vandegrift on Friday night. Sophomore Braydon Doane booted a 34-yard field goal through the uprights with a second left to lift Lake Travis to a 13-10 win.
Hudson Emeterio, sr., Argyle
Emeterio, a Baylor baseball commit, had 12 total tackles (three for loss), a sack and an interception in Argyle’s 45-14 victory over Wyatt.
Khalil Ewell, sr., South Oak Cliff
Ewell ran for 140 yards and three scores as South Oak Cliff defeated Everman, 42-19.
Ryan Gafford, jr., Stephenville
Completed 8 of 8 pass attempts for 231 yards and five total touchdowns — one on his feet and four through the air.
Raydin Garcia, jr., Angleton
Garcia scored the game’s first points on a fumble return touchdown in a 40-34, double-overtime win over Ball. Angleton trailed 34-13 at the break but ended the game with 27 unanswered points.
Korrian Gray, fr., Legacy Christian Academy
Gray recorded two interceptions as Legacy Christian Academy blanked Southwest Christian School, 31-0.
Quinton Gray, sr., Clear Creek
Gray, a Colorado School of Mines commit, had a 20-yard pick-six in a 27-14 victory over Dawson.
Edward Griffin, jr., Coppell
Griffin finished 17 of 25 passing for 353 yards and five touchdowns in a 35-21 win over Guyer.
Trever Ham, sr., Melissa
Ham threw for 261 yards and five touchdowns as Melissa blew past Whitehouse, 49-21.
Ashton Hampton, sr., Pearland
Hampton, a Texas Tech commit, picked off a pass and blocked a potential game-winning field goal as Pearland survived a marathon five-overtime affair with Dickinson, 16-14. Neither team scored during the first four overtime periods.
Hutson Hendrix, jr. Boerne
Logged a team-high 11 tackles (three for loss) and an interception on defense and 106 yards and two rushing on 16 carries on offense as Boerne beat Taylor 42-28.
Caleb Hoover, sr., Rockwall-Heath
Hoover, an Oklahoma State baseball commit, completed 30 of 39 passes for 462 yards and six touchdowns in a 56-42 win over Sachse. His favorite target was Drew Smith, who caught 13 balls for 250 yards and five TDs.
Lorenn Johnson, jr., Johnson
Johnson ran for 126 yards and a pair of touchdowns and caught four passes for 56 yards — including the game-winning TD in the final minute — in a 36-31 victory over New Braunfels.
Jake Krekeler, sr., Argyle
Krekeler tallied 159 yards on the ground and found the end zone four times as Argyle dominated Wyatt, 45-14.
DJ Lagway, sr., Willis
Lagway, a five-star Florida commit, passed for 286 yards and three touchdowns while running for 121 yards and three more scores in a 62-34 rout of Nimitz.
Kasey Mraz, sr., Little River Academy
Threw two touchdown passes and 118 yards, rushed for 106 more and logged 12 tackles (team-high), a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in a 42-36 win over Hitchcock.
Broxton Robinson, so., Panhandle
Robinson scored 10 total touchdowns — five passing, four rushing and one on special teams — in a 93-54 victory over Tahoka. The sophomore completed 12 of 15 passes for 285 yards, ran for 217 yards on 19 carries and had an 88-yard kick return score.
Uzziah Warmate, so., Ryan
Warmate had three sacks and a rushing touchdown in a 38-13 win over Lake Belton.
Kai Wheaton, so., Allen
Wheaton recorded the game-sealing interception in Allen’s 18-17 victory over Lewisville.
Trevin Williams, sr., Lamar
Williams returned a fumble for a touchdown in Lamar’s 63-0 shutout of Jersey Village.
-- Bob Lundeberg | @sblivesports
Lead photo by Dustin Nguyen.
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MORE #TXHSFB PLAYOFFS:
The bi-district round runs through Saturday, the area round is Nov. 16-18, regionals are Nov. 23-25, the regional quarterfinals Nov. 30-Dec. 2, setting up state championship week: semifinals and finals Dec. 7-9 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Stay up on the final SBLive Texas Power 25 rankings, SBLive's South Texas Top 25 and SBLive's computer rankings for each classification.
