Hot ticket
SportsDay Staff
Lewisville at Allen
When/where: 7 p.m. Thursday at Eagle Stadium
Allen has knocked Lewisville out of the playoffs in the first round the last two years, winning 18-17 in 2023 and 17-3 last year. Allen, ranked No. 2 in the state in 6A, is 10-0 and has won at least 10 games for the 18th time in 20 years. Allen is winning by an average of 44.5 points, tied with Southlake Carroll for the widest margin among Dallas-area schools. Lewisville quarterback Tre Williams has thrown for 2,300 yards and 28 touchdowns but will be facing an Allen defense that allows an average of 102.7 passing yards per game.
Riddle’s pick: Allen 35, Lewisville 14
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SportsDay Staff
Arlington Seguin at Prosper Walnut Grove
When/where: 7 p.m. Friday at Children’s Health Stadium
Walnut Grove is 10-0 and ranks second among area 5A teams in scoring (53.9 points per game) and total offense (509.5 yards per game). Walnut Grove has the area’s leading rusher in Cam Newton, who has run for 1,833 yards and 31 touchdowns, and quarterback Hayes Hackney has thrown for 2,309 yards and 29 touchdowns. Seguin, the fourth-place team from District 3-5A Division II, has had its last three games all decided by one point, losing 42-41 to Colleyville Heritage in overtime, beating Everman 22-21 and defeating Mansfield Summit 23-22.
Riddle’s pick: Prosper Walnut Grove 42, Arlington Seguin 21
SportsDay Staff
Crowley at Southlake Carroll
When/where: 7 p.m. Thursday at Dragon Stadium
Southlake Carroll has won 27 consecutive first-round playoff games, with its last loss being 32-6 to Everman in 1995. Carroll missed the playoffs just twice during that streak, in 1996 and 1999, while winning five of its eight state titles. Carroll, ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 11 nationally, has a quarterback who has thrown for nearly 3,000 yards (Angelo Renda), has two running backs who have combined for 25 rushing touchdowns (Davis Penn and Brooks Biggers) and has two wide receivers with more than 900 yards apiece (Blake Gunter and Brock Boyd).
Riddle’s pick: Southlake Carroll 49, Crowley 14
SportsDay Staff
Hebron at Prosper
When/where: 7 p.m. Thursday at Children’s Health Stadium
A 9-1 Prosper team is winning by an average of 31.7 points and ranks third in passing offense (305.3 yards per game) among area 6A teams. Braeden Imhoff has 29 touchdown passes, while his two big playmakers have been Tulsa pledge Lathon Latiolais (1,189 receiving yards, 16 touchdowns) and running back Bryce Robinson (1,163 yards, 15 touchdowns). Hebron quarterback Brady Brock has thrown for 2,039 yards and 22 touchdowns and will need his best game of the season to keep up with Prosper’s prolific offense.
High School Sports
Riddle’s pick: Prosper 38, Hebron 20
SportsDay Staff
Frisco Reedy at Carrollton Creekview
When/where: 7 p.m. Thursday at Standridge Stadium
Reedy nearly pulled off one of the biggest surprises in the area this season, losing 28-26 last week to undefeated Frisco Lone Star, ranked No. 2 in the state in 5A Division I. Reedy held four-star Florida pledge Davian Groce from Lone Star — rated the third-best athlete in the nation — to a combined 67 yards rushing and receiving. Reedy beat Creekview 55-16 in the first round last year and went on to reach the third round of the playoffs, matching the second-deepest playoff run in school history.
Riddle’s pick: Frisco Reedy 42, Carrollton Creekview 17
SportsDay Staff
Euless Trinity at Mansfield Lake Ridge
When/where: 7 p.m. Friday at Vernon Newsom Stadium
Three-time state champion Euless Trinity hasn’t missed the playoffs since 1997 but has lost in the first round in four of the last 10 years. Lake Ridge, meanwhile, is in the playoffs for the first time since 2018. Trinity averages just 12 pass attempts per game and has run for 2,688 yards, led by running back JT Harris (982 yards, nine touchdowns). Lake Ridge has a pair of 1,000-yard rushers with quarterback Deshawn Edwards (1,130 yards, 18 touchdowns) and running back Jaiden Cotton (1,013 yards, 11 touchdowns).
Riddle’s pick: Euless Trinity 35, Mansfield Lake Ridge 28
SportsDay Staff
Anna at Mansfield Timberview
When/where: 7:30 p.m. Friday at R.L. Anderson Stadium
Anna has gone at least three rounds deep in the playoffs the last three years, winning the Class 4A Division I state title in 2023 before moving up to 5A Division II last year. Anna quarterback Ziondre Williams has 33 touchdown passes and nine touchdown runs this season and has accounted for 141 touchdowns over the last three years. Anna has four receivers with more than 400 yards apiece — Michael Kennedy (598), Ace Traylor (524), Keshawn Myles (500) and Cor’Mond Houston (413) — and those four have combined for 23 touchdown catches. Timberview was a regional finalist in 2022 but has lost in the first round the last two years.
Riddle’s pick: Anna 34, Mansfield Timberview 21
SportsDay Staff
Colleyville Heritage at Melissa
When/where: 7:30 p.m. Friday at Coach Kenny Deel Stadium
Melissa quarterback Brett Holloway has been sensational after transferring from Allen, throwing for 1,894 yards and 28 touchdowns, with only two interceptions, and running for a team-high 710 yards and 13 touchdowns. His top two receivers, Jacob Swain and Dalton Dababneh, have combined for 58 catches for 1,456 yards and 19 touchdowns. They both average better than 23 yards per catch, and that big-play ability will be crucial, given that Colleyville Heritage has its own prolific quarterback in Bodey Weaver (27 touchdown passes, 12 touchdown runs, 2,739 yards of total offense).
Riddle’s pick: Melissa 42, Colleyville Heritage 28
SportsDay Staff
Lake Highlands at South Grand Prairie
When/where: 7 p.m. Friday at Gopher-Warrior Bowl
This is the sixth straight year these teams have met in the first round of the playoffs, with South Grand Prairie winning in 2020 and 2022 and Lake Highlands winning in 2021, 2023 and 27-0 last year. SMU pledge Christian Rhodes ran for 127 yards for Lake Highlands in last year’s matchup, while San Diego State pledge Josiah Lucas managed just 62 yards on 19 carries for SGP. How each of them does will go a long way toward determining this year’s winner.
Riddle’s pick: Lake Highlands 28, South Grand Prairie 24
SportsDay Staff
Plano at Coppell
When/where: 7 p.m. Friday at Buddy Echols Field
Plano is looking for its first playoff win since 2009 and has lost its last six bi-district games. Coppell has reached the third round the last two years and posted impressive first-round wins over Denton Guyer in 2023 and over Prosper last season. Coppell quarterback Carter Zingelmann has only attempted an average of 13 passes per game, but he is completing 71% of his throws and has run for 642 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns.
Riddle’s pick: Coppell 35, Plano 20
SportsDay Staff
Keller at North Crowley
When/where: 7 p.m. Friday at Crowley ISD Stadium
Defending Class 6A Division I state champion North Crowley has won 10 of its last 11 playoff games, and that includes a 42-26 win over Keller in the first round in 2023. North Crowley was shut out in the first half last week before rallying to beat rival Crowley 27-6 as Pryce Demerson had four catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. Demerson and Damarion Mays have combined for 13 touchdown catches, but this has been a run-heavy offense, as Kiante Ingram and G’Yrell Smith have combined to rush for 2,011 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Riddle’s pick: North Crowley 49, Keller 14
SportsDay Staff
Temple at Duncanville
When/where: 7 p.m. Friday at Reginald Samples Field at Panther Stadium
Duncanville will be matched up against a Temple defense that is led by four-star defensive lineman Jamarion Carlton, a Baylor pledge who is rated the seventh-best recruit in Texas in the Class of 2026. But Duncanville hasn’t lost a first-round playoff game since 2011, and it has won its last nine bi-district games by an average of 43 points. That includes a 49-7 win over Temple last year. Four-star junior Trenton Yancey had two touchdown catches in that game, and he leads Duncanville in receiving this year with 497 yards to go with five touchdown catches.
Riddle’s pick: Duncanville 42, Temple 10
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