The second week of Texas high school football included a special appearance by Mother Nature. Several games across the state were delayed by lightning, moving some finishes past midnight, or cancelled.
There were still plenty of top-caliber performances and thrilling wins as some teams wrapped up non-district play.
The Sporting News narrowed down 25 standout players from Week 2. We will continue to do so each week of the season leading up to the UIL state championships in Arlington in December.
(The list is in alphabetical order)
Top performances from Week 2 of Texas high school football
Brayden Arnold, Duncanville: The Panthers used a balanced offensive attack to knock off Dallas South Oak Cliff in their season opener, including a brilliant rushing performance by the sophomore. Arnold finished with 105 yards (7.0 per carry) and two touchdowns on 15 attempts for the No. 5 team in The Sporting News national top 25.
Kaegan Ash, Mount Enterprise: The man. The myth. The legend. Ash was at it again in a dominant 64-27 win over Alba-Golden, ringing up 218 yards and three touchdowns on — are you ready for this? — four carries. That’s 54.5 yards per attempt for the Texas Tech commit who now has more than 7,000 career rushing yards and 100 touchdowns.
Tradarian Ball, Texarkana Texas High: There was no stopping the Tiger senior in last week’s 49-37 win over Argyle Liberty Christian. Ball rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries (7.8 yards per carry) and hauled in three catches for 84 yards and another score. Texas High is 2-0 on the young season.
Brennan Barton, Fort Worth Benbrook: The Bobcats came away victorious in a 52-38 shootout against Whitney. Barton, a senior quarterback, was 21-of-45 for 410 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 58 yards and another four scores on 19 attempts.
Kayson Brooks, Kilgore: The Bulldogs bounced back from a season-opening home loss to defending Class 4A Division II state champion Carthage with a big 49-14 road win at Whitehouse. Brooks, a senior quarterback, was dealing all night. He threw for 264 yards and four touchdowns.
Takaiden “TK” Brown, Tyler Legacy: Brown was all over the field for the Red Raiders in a 48-21 victory over cross-town rival Tyler. The speedy junior hauled in five catches for 122 yards and three touchdowns, including a 46-yarder for the first points of the game.
Chuck Cox
John Catlin, Jr., Denton Ryan: The junior cornerback had a monster game to help the Raiders hold off Mansfield Timberview, 20-12, last Thursday. Catlin Jr., the younger brother of Carolina Panthers tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders, blocked two extra points, recovered a fumble and made an interception.
Hayden Drinkard, Richmond George West: The Longhorns lost to Clear Falls, 44-30, last week, but Drinkard stood tall for George West. The senior rushed for 267 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries (20.5 yards per carry) and caught four passes for 59 yards.
DeShawn Edwards, Mansfield Lake Ridge: Edwards and the Eagles are flying high after a 40-27 win over Haltom. The junior signal-caller led the offense by throwing for 189 yards and a touchdown on 18-of-32 passing and rushing for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 13 attempts (10.9 yards per carry).
Adriel Gomez, Katy Mayde Creek: The Rams scored points in bunches on their way to a 63-28 victory over Fort Bend Austin. The junior quarterback was on-point with 368 yards and three touchdowns without an interception on 16-of-25 passing.
Brayden Hamill, Holliday: The Eagles beat Muenster in a shootout for the second straight season with a hard-fought 48-44 win. The difference is the Hornets are the defending Class 2A Division II state champions this time around. Hamill figured prominently in the win, rushing for 118 yards and three touchdowns on 13 attempts (9.1 yards per carry).
Vann Hopping, Austin Lake Travis: The Cavaliers notched a solid 28-20 home victory over Rockwall behind a big game from the senior running back. Hopping tallied 232 yards on 25 carries (9.3 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. The Princeton commit was big in the passing game, too, hauling in four catches for 67 yards and another score.
Braeden Imhoff, Prosper: The Eagles followed up an impressive win over Austin Westlake with another big victory over Rockwall-Heath, 45-27. Imhoff was electric, going 17-of-25 for 403 yards and three touchdowns. The senior signal-caller added a rushing score.
Kiante Ingram, North Crowley: Ingram was a workhorse in the Panther backfield with 169 yards and two touchdowns to lead his team to a weather-delayed 36-27 win over DeSoto. North Crowley, ranked No. 2 in The Sporting News Texas top 25, has won 18 straight games.
London Morgan, Leander Rouse: Morgan and the Raiders are off to a hot start to the 2025 season, including last week’s 49-43 overtime win over Liberty Hill. The senior QB1 threw for 422 yards and five touchdowns on 30-of-41 passing. That’s not all. Morgan, a Navy commit, rushed for 61 yards (20.3 yards per carry) and a touchdown on three attempts.
Ryelan Morris, Honey Grove: The run-heavy Warriors breezed past Marlin, 40-7, with the help of a big game from the senior running back. Morris tallied 181 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries (13.9 yards per carry).
Cam Newton, Prosper Walnut Grove: Newton came up big for the Wildcats in a 49-24 victory over Little Elm. The senior rushed for 283 yards on 31 carries (9.1 per carry) and found the end zone five times. Newton added a pair of catches for 25 yards.
Gabriel Peach, Buda Hays: Peach capped off a huge game by punching in a 34-yard touchdown with 24 seconds remaining to lift the Hawks to a 35-31 win at Pflugerville. Peach rushed for 72 yards on 14 carries (5.1 yards per carry), caught four passes for 97 yards, had four kickoff returns for 66 yards and one punt return for five yards. Peachy.
Camelo Perez, Cuero: Behind a big night from Perez, a junior running back, the Gobblers notched a 49-41 win over La Vernia. He answered the call with 197 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries (15.2 yards per carry) to help Cuero improve to 2-0.
Robert Pineda, Los Fresnos: The senior quarterback had another of his big games last week, leading the Falcons to a 38-24 victory over McAllen Rowe. Pineda threw for 92 yards and two touchdowns, but he also rushed for 179 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries (9.9 yards per carry). He now has more than 100 career touchdowns.
Ernie Powers, El Paso Franklin: Although his team dropped a tough 40-30 decision to El Paso Del Valle, Powers was super. The senior running back tallied an eye-popping 324 yards and four touchdowns, giving him nine for the season, on 40 attempts. He also managed two catches for 29 yards. Have a day, Ernie Powers.
Jerry Prieto Jr., Dayton: Behind the junior quarterback, the Broncos improved to 2-0 with a 62-19 win over Kingwood Park. Prieto Jr. went 16-of-24 for 288 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 22 yards on four carries.
Noah Spinks, Humble Summer Creek: Spinks was on the money in leading the Bulldogs to a 58-14 win over Houston Lamar. The junior quarterback went 25-of-30 for 286 yards and four touchdowns without a pick. He added a rushing touchdown to help Summer Creek improve to 2-0 on the season.
Micai Thompson, San Antonio Brennan: The Bears are off to another great start this season, including last week’s 30-21 win over defending Class 5A Division I state champion Smithson Valley. Thompson was a huge weapon for Brennan, rushing for 119 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries (7.0 yards per carry) with three catches for 21 yards.
Tre Williams, Lewisville: The Fighting Farmers are off to a 2-0 start after a 38-21 win over Trophy Club Byron Nelson. Williams shook off a pair of interceptions to come away with 283 yards and five touchdowns on 22-of-28 passing for Lewisville.
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