AllSportsPeople High School Football Game of the Week: No. 10/SN No. 6 Allen vs. No. 22/SN No. 25 North Crowley

Kendall Webb

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AllSportsPeople High School Football Game of the Week: No. 10/SN No. 6 Allen vs. No. 22/SN No. 25 North Crowley image

No. 10/SN No. 6 Allen faces its biggest test, yet, against defending state champion and current No. 22/SN No. 25 North Crowley.

Texas hasn't been in the spotlight much this season, as AllSportsPeople Preseason High School Football Top 25 teams from the Lone Star State mostly faltered coming out of the gate.

The Duncanville [TX] Panthers debuted as the top team in Texas at No. 7 on that initial list, and another group of Panthers from North Crowley [Fort Worth, TX] checked in at No. 13. The DeSoto [TX] Eagles also made the cut at No. 18 along with the No. 24 Southlake [TX] Carroll Dragons.

By September 19, however, the top three teams in Texas had each suffered a loss already, and only Southlake Carroll from that original quartet has managed to survive unscathed so far. The Dragons are ranked No. 4 in the most recent edition of The SN Top 25, and they remain firmly in the national title picture.

In place of those initial frontrunners, the current No. 6 Allen [TX] Eagles have emerged as one of the top teams in the state along with the No. 13 Aledo [TX] Bearcats, No. 14 Randle [Richmond, TX] Lions and No. 20 South Oak Cliff [Dallas, TX] Bears.

But despite their early losses, Duncanville and North Crowley have rebounded to win every game since their respective defeats, and they currently rank No. 12 and No. 25, respectively. They are both very much alive in the Texas UIL Class 6A Division I playoffs, and now those early frontrunners are in line to get a shot at one of those late arrivals to the Top 25 party... Namely, those Allen Eagles, who also remain in the national title conversation with Southlake Carroll which is competing in the Class 6A Division II bracket.

North Crowley is first up, and they'll take on Allen Friday night in AllSportsPeople High School Football Game of the Week – the third straight year they've met in the regional finals with the Panthers winning the previous two (49-37 in 2023 and 30-8 in 2024). But, if North Crowley can't stop the Eagles this time, then those other Panthers from Duncanville could possibly get a shot at them next week if they can get past the Waxahachie [TX] Indians – the team responsible for their only loss – on Saturday afternoon.

Yeah, it's starting to get interesting in the Lone Star State as all the favorites, new and old, start to cross paths in the postseason, and the results of those games will bring even more clarity to the state and national championship pictures in the weeks to come.

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No. 10/SN No. 6 Allen [TX] Eagles vs. No. 22/SN No. 25 North Crowley [Fort Worth, TX] Panthers

LAST WEEK'S GAME OF THE WEEK No. 13/SN No. 10 Carrollton [GA] Trojans 34, No. 2/SN No. 2 Grayson [Loganville, GA] Rams 14

Friday, December 5, 2025
DATCU Stadium, Denton, Texas | 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)

Local Media Coverage: Dallas Morning News High School Football

School Athletics Websites: Allen Eagles Athletics | North Crowley Panthers Athletics

School Social Media: North Crowley Panthers on X.com @northcrowley_FB | Allen Eagles on X.com @alleneaglesfb

The Background

North Crowley entered the season ranked No. 13 in The SN Top 25, but the Panthers were shaky early on and ultimately lost to the unranked Rockwall [TX] Yellowjackets on September 18 to fall to 3-1. That loss knocked the Panthers out of the Top 25 at the time.

But it also seemed to wake the Panthers up, and they've rolled off nine straight wins in blowout fashion to claw their way back into the Top 25 this week in the final position on that list. They'll take on an Allen squad that started the season outside the Top 25, but the Eagles have climbed all the way to the No. 6 position in the latest rankings. The two teams have been on a crash course to meet for the third consecutive season in the regional finals all season long, and the time has finally come to settle things on the field again.

Top Recruits

Allen has two 3-star senior recruits in WR Caleb Smith {Arizona Wildcats} and CB Kai Wheaton (Oregon State Beavers). Wheaton's junior defensive backfield mate James Roberson also has a 3-star rating although he remains uncommitted for now.
North Crowley counters with two 4-star prospects – senior OT John Turntine III (6-2, 270 lbs., Texas Longhorns) and junior S Jerry Outhouse Jr. Senior 3-star S Aaron Bradshaw (Texas Tech Red Raiders) is also on the roster along with a bevy of 3-star juniors in TE Jeramie Cooper, CB Elijajuan Houston, and RB Kiante Ingram.

When Allen has the ball...

Senior QB Jeremiah Daoud directs the Allen attack with a high level of efficiency, completing 71.4 percent of his passes for 2,532 yards with 25 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. He's also effective with his feet rushing 33 times this season for 292 yards and 5 more scores. The Arizona signee Smith is the main target (73 rec.-852 yards, 7 TDs), but sophomore Josyah Johnson has also reeled in 56 catches for 708 yards with 10 trips to pay dirt. Senior Carter Harris is a threat to go the distance every time he catches the ball with 33 receptions for 997 yards – an average of more than 30 yards per catch with nine of them ending in the end zone. The running game is in the capable hands of Lyndon Spriggs (126-834 yards, 15 TDs).

When North Crowley has the ball...

North Crowley has a two-headed monster at running back with Ingram and G'Yrell Smith combining for more than 2,400 yards rushing with the future Texas Longhorn Turntine paving the way. Quarterback Hayes Cloutier is a solid dual-threat who put up 152 yards passing and 92 yards rushing in a dominant all-around performance against the Coppell [TX] Cowboys last week.

Keys to the game

Allen wins if the Eagles can stretch the field with their dynamic passing game to open up rush lanes for Spriggs. They're used to playing with big leads, but they've also shown they can win the close games in a 31-30 victory at the Prosper [TX] Eagles and a tight 22-15 win in a first-round playoff game against the Lewisville [TX] Farmers. Still, they Eagles' formula works best when they dictate the pace and force their opponents to keep up with them on the scoreboard so they'll try to go out and seize the early momentum against the Panthers who will almost certainly be the most talented team they've faced all year.

North Crowley wins if they play like the team that has dominated contests during their nine-game win streak. They were vulnerable early in the season when their first four games all finished within nine points or less, culminating in that loss to Rockwall. But since then, the Panthers have averaged 57.4 points per game, and they do it but establishing their running game and supplementing it with Cloutier's arm by picking their spots. When the passing game is successful, it also sets Cloutier up to make plays with his feet in the passing game, too, as he did against Coppell last week in a surprisingly one-sided win.

Looking Ahead

The winner of this game gets the winner of Duncanville and Waxahachie in the state semifinals so it's not going to get any easier moving forward. This is the beginning of a three-week gauntlet to the state title which could include facing an undefeated Lake Travis [Austin, TX] Cavaliers' squad from the other side of the bracket in the state title game.

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