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Here are eight of the most challenging non-district football schedules in the Dallas area for 2024, plus other notable non-district games.
Week 1: Galena Park North Shore
Week 2: Duncanville
Week 3: Longview
This is arguably the toughest non-district schedule in the state, with Class 6A Division I state runner-up North Shore, back-to-back 6A Division I state champion Duncanville and a Longview team that is moving up to 6A after being ranked No. 2 in the state in 5A Division I for much of last season. South Oak Cliff, the 5A Division II state champion in 2021 and 2022 and the state runner-up last season, had originally scheduled 12-time state champion Aledo for Week 3 but had to switch to Longview after Aledo was put in a nine-team district. This will get SOC ready for the rigors of the playoffs, where it could now face defending 5A Division II state champion Port Neches-Groves earlier in the playoffs — perhaps in a regional final — after PNG was moved to Region II in realignment. The teams met in the last two 5A Division II state championship games.
Week 1: North Crowley
Week 2: Aledo
Week 3: Hebron
Lancaster’s schedule was going to be tough enough, as it moved up to 6A and was placed in District 11-6A with back-to-back state champions DeSoto and Duncanville and three-time state champion Cedar Hill. But to make it even more grueling, Lancaster scheduled 2023 6A Division I state semifinalist North Crowley in Week 1 and 12-time state champion Aledo in Week 2. Lancaster may have the hardest regular-season schedule in Texas when you include their district games.
Week 1: Still looking for an opponent
Week 2: North Crowley
Week 3: Corpus Christi Miller
Back-to-back 6A Division II state champion DeSoto will face 2023 5A Division I regional finalist Corpus Christi Miller in Week 3. The game is tentatively scheduled to be played in San Marcos. Miller moved down to 5A Division II in realignment. North Crowley is one of the rising powers in the state.
Week 1: Aledo
Week 2: Arlington Martin
Week 3: North Crowley
Guyer always plays a challenging non-district schedule, and 2024 will be no different. First up is defending 5A Division I state champion Aledo, which is coming off a 16-0 season. That is followed by games against 2023 District 8-6A champion Arlington Martin and 6A Division I state semifinalist North Crowley.
Week 1: Midland Legacy
Week 2: Cedar Hill
Both Midland Legacy and Cedar Hill are three-time state champions, with Legacy winning its titles from 1998 to 2000 when it was called Midland Lee. Legacy is coming off a 10-3 season, and Cedar Hill was a regional finalist last season. Allen was originally going to also play Arlington Martin, but it had to drop that game after Allen was placed in a nine-team district.
Week 1: Little Rock (Ark.) Parkview
Week 2: Frisco
Little Rock Parkview has won Arkansas’ last two 5A state championships and was undefeated in 2023. Frisco is 41-15 over the last five seasons. Melissa was originally scheduled to also play Denton Ryan but had to drop that game after both teams were placed in nine-team districts.
Week 1: Rockwall-Heath
Week 2: Lovejoy
Week 3: Jesuit
Six-time state champion Highland Park faces brutal travel by being placed in a district with Lufkin, Tyler, Joshua, Burleson Centennial, Cleburne, Midlothian and Red Oak. To warm up for that challenge, Highland Park will play non-district games against Rockwall-Heath, Lovejoy and Jesuit, which were a combined 29-9 in 2023.
Week 1: Ennis
Week 2: Coppell
Week 3: Forney
Waxahachie vs. Ennis — the Battle of 287 — is one of the best rivalries in Texas and celebrated its 100th meeting in 2021. The series is now all tied, at 50-50-2. After that, Waxahachie will play regional semifinalist Coppell and state semifinalist Forney.
Plano vs. Odessa Permian: These are two of the most storied programs in Texas high school football, with Plano winning seven state titles and Permian winning six state championships. Plano’s last title came in 1994 and Permian’s was in 1991.
Duncanville vs. South Oak Cliff: The matchup of South Dallas powers will continue as Duncanville and South Oak Cliff will meet for the sixth consecutive season. Duncanville has won the past five meetings, including 34-13 in 2023. The game will feature several of the state’s marquee recruits, including Duncanville five-star wide receiver Dakorien Moore, Duncanville four-star quarterback Keelon Russell and SOC linebackers Jayden Shelton and Jamarion Phillips. Duncanville was planning to play Humble Atascocita, which has won 10 or more games in eight of the last nine seasons and was an 11-win regional finalist each of the last three years. That game is no longer happening, according to the schedule that Atascocita posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday afternoon.
Lovejoy vs. Highland Park: Legendary coach Todd Dodge takes over as Lovejoy’s new coach and schedules six-time state champion Highland Park in non-district.
Denton Ryan vs. Mansfield Timberview: Three-time state champion Denton Ryan will play a Mansfield Timberview team that was ranked as high as No. 3 in the state last season.
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
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2024-02-01 23:48:45
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