MEGA PREVIEW: Every 6A-5A State Semifinal
Previews and predictions for the best Texas high school football state semifinal playoff games of 2024, including Denton Ryan vs. Highland Park and Humble Summer Creek vs. Austin Vandegrift.
Galena Park North Shore (14-0) vs Austin Westlake (13-1), 2 p.m. Saturday at Katy’s Legacy Stadium: North Shore and Westlake will meet in the state semifinals for the fourth time in the past five years with North Shore holding a 2-1 edge in the series and winning the last two matchups. Last week the Mustangs took much better care of the football as they ripped past Humble Atascocita, 49-21, in a rematch from a close district game. QB Kaleb Bailey, a starter since his freshman year, had a monster afternoon rushing for 272 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries and passing for 187 and another two scores. Colorado WR commit Quanell Farrakhan, Jr. had a big day as well with eight catches for 132 yards and two scores. North Shore tallied over 400 yards on the ground and managed three key fourth down stops on Atascocita that helped the Mustangs out to the big lead as Atascocita never got the game closer than two scores after falling behind 21-0 early. Westlake also took care of a district rival last week as for the second time the Chaparrals knocked off Lake Travis, this time 24-17. QB Rees Wise tossed a pair of touchdown passes, including the game winner to RB Brandon Clark, while the Chaps defense forced three turnovers, including a pair of interceptions by Duke LB commit Elliott Schaper. Westlake’s defense and strong special teams play will keep them in the game, but North Shore presents many of the problems for Westlake that Atascocita presented earlier in the year. Keep in mind, Atascocita is the one team that beat Westlake, however North Shore at times has been careless with the football. The key last week was the Mustangs only had one turnover. If North Shore takes care of the ball, they have too much firepower. If they get sloppy, Westlake can knock them off. Stepp’s Pick: Galena Park North Shore by 8
Humble Summer Creek (12-2) vs Austin Vandegrift (13-1), 7 p.m. Saturday at Waco’s McLane Stadium: The last two 6A-Division II state runner-ups will meet up at beautiful McLane Stadium to try and secure the final spot in the 2024 UIL State Championships. Summer Creek rolled past Humble ISD rival Kingwood 51-7 a week ago as the Bulldogs were led by QB Blake Thomas, who tossed four touchdown passes, three going to WR Jamicah Jones. DB Brandon Jones has racked up the interceptions this year and he notched another pick six. After knocking off Cibolo Steele on Thanksgiving, Vandegrift put together another strong effort as the Vipers took down San Antonio Harlan 47-14 as QB Miles Teodecki threw for 232 yards and four scores, while RB Brendan Fournier ran for 100 yards and two scores to pace VHS. Vandegrift has erased the memories from last year’s early exit and are playing their best football at the right time, but Summer Creek’s defense - led by TCU DE commit Chad Woodfork - has been among the best in the state in 2024 and that group takes charge and sends the Bulldogs back to the state title game. Stepp’s Pick: Humble Summer Creek by 13
Denton Ryan (13-1) vs Highland Park (13-1), 7 p.m. Friday at Frisco’s Ford Center: These two programs are intimately familiar with each other having played in the postseason four times between 2016 and 2020; Highland Park won three of the four meetings, but Ryan did take the most recent game. None of the players in this game played in those games, but the coaching staff at both programs is largely intact. Highland Park controlled the game from the outset last week in a 41-28 win over Frisco Lone Star. The Scots were led by talented sophomore QB Buck Randall, who threw for 237 yards and two scores; he added 116 yards on the ground and a score. The HPHS offense rolled up an impressive 528 yards on the night. Ryan avenged their only loss of 2024 as they used a strong second half surge to take down defending state champion Aledo, 31-21. Ryan scored the game’s final 21 points after being down 21-10 early third quarter. QB Quon Henigan threw for 218 yards and two scores, while RB’s Nemo Warmate and Tre’Vaughn Reynolds combined for 218 yards on the ground to pace the Raiders. Reynolds also hauled in an 80-yard touchdown pass from Henigan. That score started the Ryan rally. Ryan’s got the look of a team of destiny at the moment and this defense when firing at peak levels can be scary good. I’m going slight upset here but Ryan gets back to the state title game for the first time since winning it all in 2020. Stepp’s Pick: Denton Ryan by 3
Argyle (13-1) vs South Oak Cliff (12-1), 7 p.m. Friday at Dallas’ Ford Stadium: It’s a state semifinal rematch from 2022 as Argyle will look to prevent South Oak Cliff from playing in their fourth consecutive 5A-Division II state title game. Both teams were impressive in regional final wins last week as Argyle blasted past Lovejoy, 42-17, while South Oak Cliff demolished Port Neches-Groves, 56-14, in a rematch of the 5A-Division II title matchup. Argyle didn’t dominate the stat sheet last week in the win as they only outgained Lovejoy by six yards, but the Eagles forced five turnovers in the victory. WR Julian Caldwell led the way for Eagles with 116 yards receiving and a touchdown, while Watson Bell and Logan Rexroad combined for 137 yards on the ground and two scores. SOC started out fast with two touchdowns in the first 90 seconds of the game and the Golden Bears never looked back in the rout of the Indians. QB Carter Kopecky threw for 151 yards and three scores and added 53 yards on the ground to pace a devastating offensive attack. RB’s Mikail Trotter and Damon Williams combined for 152 yards and three scores on the ground as well. SOC’s defense was stout as well as they dominated the much-heralded Port Neches-Groves offensive line. Argyle’s a tougher matchup for SOC because the Eagles have a lot of PNG’s traits but they are bigger and more athletic at the skill positions, but SOC is a team on a mission and they just are too big, too strong and too fast for Argyle. Stepp’s Pick: South Oak Cliff by 14
Richmond Randle (14-0) vs Boerne (11-3), 7 p.m. Friday at Waco’s McLane Stadium: Richmond Randle needed overtime to get the job done and remain unbeaten, but the Lions survived district rival Iowa Colony on Saturday night with a 21-14 win. ATH Kelian Sweeny was the difference with a pair of touchdown runs and the game winning touchdown catch in overtime from QB Tyler Skrabanek. Randle’s defense, which hasn’t allowed more than 14 points in a game this year stepped up big in key moments and proved to be the big difference in this one. Boerne’s offense could be a test for Randle after the Greyhounds put monster numbers up in a 65-50 win over Corpus Christi Miller. BHS rolled up 627 yards of offense led by QB Hank Hendrix who threw for 435 yards and five touchdowns, RB’s Adam Hicks and Hutson Hendrix chipped in two rushing touchdowns each for Boerne in the victory. Boerne will come into this one as an underdog as Randle will have speed and size advantages at nearly every spot, if Boerne can touch up the Lions defense it could be anyone’s game as we really don’t know how the Lions defense will react if they are put in a tough spot, simply because they haven’t been there yet. Randle sophomore RB Landen Williams-Callis has been held relatively in check the last two weeks, he could be in for a big night in the semifinals this week. Stepp’s Pick: Richmond Randle by 15
Last Week: 11-5 68.8%
Playoff Record: 89-23 79.5%
Season: 225-67 75.6% 77.1%
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