The stakes were clear for Richardson Berkner. If they beat Irving MacArthur in the final game of the regular season, they'd secure District 7-6A's fourth and final playoff spot. Yet with 2:21 left in the third quarter, the Rams were plodding through a 6-6 tie. That's when MacArthur made their first big mistake of the night.

They sailed a kickoff directly into the hands of freshman Dameon Crowe. 

Crowe started jogging to his right so the coverage team could converge on him. Then, the 5-foot-7-inch wide receiver darted to his left and turned on the jets through a seam that had opened up for a 93-yard touchdown. The stalemate was broken. Berkner went on to win 34-12 and nab their playoff spot.

It was yet another example of the electric athleticism that had placed Crowe on the Varsity team as a freshman in 6A football. But Crowe wasn't just content to suit up on Friday night. He dominated. Crowe led the Rams with 30 receptions for 719 yards on a whopping 23.97 yards per catch, more than enough to earn him Offensive Newcomer of the Year honors. 

Now entering his sophomore year, Crowe has an entirely changed mental makeup that can only come from the experience of playing on high school's biggest stage before he could even drive.

"First game, I'm not going to lie, I was scared," Crowe said. "But more into the season (as I got) more weight on me, I definitely improved just getting that work in.”

And the college coaches have rewarded that improvement. Crowe's secured offers to North Texas and Texas State, and on June 2 he got an offer to Oklahoma. While he's grown up rooting for LSU, Crowe says OU is one of his dream schools, and the Sooners have an entrenched recruiting pipeline in North Texas. But Crowe isn't the only member of Berkner's offense who'll play at the next level.

Fellow all-district wide receiver Kobi Foreman, who holds offers from Baylor, North Texas and SMU, will again team up with Crowe. Rising senior running back Jamary Williams returns after posting 1,069 on 180 carries. All three of these prospects have vastly improved their speed over the summer each competing in the 100m dash during track season. Williams (10.76), Crowe (10.80) and Foreman (10.86) all ran individually and as part of Berkner's district champion 4x100 relay team.

Head coach Trey Bryant has guided the Rams to back-to-back playoff appearances in his first two seasons after taking over a program that hadn't reached the postseason since 2011. Bryant, who graduated from Berkner in 2005 before becoming a captain for the Baylor Bears and playing for the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL, has instilled a player-led atmosphere in the locker room that has Crowe confident they can make the playoffs once again.

"We got some leaders that get us real pumped up for games and tell us to go to practice after school and work," Crowe said. "So we are really confident with our captains.”