Below is a roundup of Montgomery County high school football games from the regional semifinals.Â
DeSoto 65, Willis 31
Willis ran with the defending state champions at the start. But, No. 2 DeSoto ran away with the game by halftime.
A historic season for Willis ended Friday night in the Region II-6A Division II semifinals, 65-31, at the Alamodome.
No. 14 Willis (12-1), which missed the playoffs last year, reached the third round for the first time since 1994. It’s first trip to the regional championship will have to wait at least another year.
DeSoto (12-0), which has won 19 straight dating back to October 2022, pulled away to a two-touchdown lead at halftime after it was 17-all halfway through the second quarter. The Eagles built up to a 45-17 lead before the Wildkats had an answer.
Willis five-star senior quarterback D.J. Lagway made his own history in defeat. Lagway, a Florida commit, set the Class 6A passing touchdown record as he had two on the night to reach 58 on the season and No. 100 in his career. The 57 passing touchdown mark was set by Garland’s Cergio Perez two years ago.
Jalen Mickens caught the record-tying throw for 59 yards. With 2:35 left in the third quarter, DeBraun Hampton caught a 9-yard pass for the record. Hampton’s touchdown grab snapped a 28-0 run by the Eagles.
Down 3-0 early in the first quarter, Lagway ran in a 68-yard score on Willis’ first play from scrimmage.Â
Wildkats kicker Justin Willis added a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter. Daylion Robinson scored a 1-yard touchdown with 2:18 left in the game.
The Eagles came into the night allowing just 15 points per game.Â
DeSoto quarterback D.J. Bailey, a Sam Houston commit, threw four touchdown passes, three of which went to Antonio Pride.
DeSoto reaches the regional championship for the 10th time in program history. It will meet Saturday’s winner between Tomball and Cedar Hill.
Willis won its first district title since 2011 and scored its most points (714) in program history.
Duncanville 49, The Woodlands 21
The Woodlands didn’t have an answer for Duncanville quarterback Keelon Russell in a Region II-6A Division I semifinal game at Hutto Memorial Stadium.
No. 5 Duncanville (11-1), the defending state champions, also eliminated The Woodlands (9-4) last year at the same juncture.
Russell ran for two scores and passed for another in the decisive second and third quarters as the Panthers pulled away to the victory.
Duncanville will next meet Westfield (11-2) in the region championship game next week.
The Panthers grabbed an early 7-0 lead on a 20-yard run by Ayson Theus before The Woodlands tied the game on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Mabrey Mettauer to Jackson Bolender in the second quarter.
The Panthers, though, would be in charge thereafter.
Duncanville’s ground attack was powered by running back Caden Durham, who rushed 26 times for 297 yards and a second-half touchdown.
Duncanville moved ahead for good at 13-7 on a 28-yard run by Russell midway through the second quarter.
Russell then connected with Dakorien Moore for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 3:11 left in the half, and a two-point conversion produced a 21-7 lead at intermission.
The talented Russell scrambled 30 yards for a touchdown and a 28-7 lead at 4:15 of the third quarter before the Panthers opened a 35-7 advantage on a 2-yard run by Durham just three seconds before the period’s end.
JaQualon Armstrong scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Duncanville as the lead swelled to 49-7.
Patrick Miller threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes for The Woodlands.
The first of those was a 6-yard pass to Quanell X Farrakhan Jr. and the second went for 14 yards to Shane Walker.
Mettauer finished the game with 12 completions in 27 attempts for 49 yards.
Conroe Covenant 74, Pasadena First Baptist Academy 62
Conroe Covenant has struggled with Pasadena First Baptist in recent memory. Friday night started similarly in the TAPPS Division II 6-man semifinals at Concordia Lutheran High School.
The Cougars, in the state semifinals for the third straight year and second time against the Warriors, trailed 32-16 after the first quarter. They battled back for a 40-34 deficit by halftime, tied it in the third quarter and won the fourth quarter for a 74-62 final score and a trip to the state championship on Thursday.
Covenant (12-1) had lost seven previous games to the Warriors (12-1), including a 67-20 loss back in October and a 84-46 loss in last year’s state semifinal.
It all came down to the final quarter, where Covenant outscored First Baptist 30-22.
The Cougars went up 20 points with 2:19 left in the game on a Charlie Wade reception from quarterback Jackson Rudy. First Baptist drew within 12 points with a touchdown with 1:28 left before Covenant ran out the clock.
Rudy threw seven touchdown passes and rushed for two more. He totaled 335 passing yards and 86 on the ground. Wade, Colby VanBruane and Nate Eichenhorst totaled two touchdown receptions. Keaton Campbell led with 88 receiving yards and also scored a touchdown. Wade had 83 receiving yards and Eichenhorst had 82.
The Cougars will meet Abilene Christian School (12-1) in the state championship, 7 p.m. Thursday at Waco ISD Stadium.
