As District 9-5A play begins this weekend, Skyline has established itself as the team to beat. The Raiders (3-0) are the only unbeaten team in the district and have played at a high level in all three of their games.
Lake Highlands gets first crack at knocking off Skyline on Friday night, but before district play begins, let’s take a look at each of the 9-5A teams:
SKYLINE (3-0): With nine Division I commitments, and maybe more before Signing Day, Skyline has abundant talent and a coach in Reginald Samples who knows how to win. The Raiders opened with a 51-2 win over undermanned Kimball, earned a 35-27 win over a tough Arlington Bowie team and made easy work, 45-19, of a Plano East team that knocked off Colleyville Heritage. Skyline was also loaded last year and, in its second year playing the Richardson and Carrollton schools, knows what to expect from 9-5A.
LAKE HIGHLANDS (2-1): The defending district champions have been up-and-down in non-district play. An encouraging win over Mesquite was followed by a flat performance against Mesquite Horn. Lake Highlands regained momentum with a gritty, 7-6, win over a ranked Garland team. LH went undefeated in district play last year, but while Creekview has taken a step back, Skyline and Berkner appear improved. It’s hard to say yet whether Lake Highlands is better than last year’s 10-3 team, but the Cats certainly haven’t had any dropoff.
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BERKNER (2-1): Junior Aric Stock has taken over at quarterback has has shown a knack for the pitch play on the option. Grant Nakwaasah is a dangerous runner. Berkner’s defense is much improved – the Rams nearly knocked off a loaded DeSoto team in a 13-10 loss. Berkner still doesn’t throw the ball well, but with a good defense and a tricky triple option attack, it may not need to.
RICHARDSON (2-1): The Eagles are legitimate playoff contenders. Running backs D.J. Jackson and Jordan Booty are home-run hitters and Christian Cline is an unusually adept passer for a quarterback in a ground-oriented offense. The Eagles pounded Denton and The Colony and were competitive with rival Pearce, a top 4A team, for a half. They are capable of upsetting one of the established contenders in 9-5A, or else it could come down to a Week 10 showdown with Creekview for the final playoff spot.
W.T. WHITE (2-1): The Longhorns are averaging 26.6 points a game. Their wins are over winless Hillcrest and R.L. Turner. The loss was 45-38 to a competitive Lakeview Centennial team. W.T. White has the potential to be competitive this year.
CREEKVIEW (1-2): Graduation losses and the transition to a new coach have taken the Mustangs down a notch from a year ago, but they are still an established program with some talent. Creekview lost its opener to a talented Arlington team but bounced back with a romp over Grand Prairie. However, Creekview suffered a 41-18 setback to Rowlett in its final non-district game.
SUNSET (0-3): The Bison played their best game last week in a 34-14 loss to 4-0 Fort Worth Poly. They came back from a 27-0 deficit to make it a game, which shows progressl. Sunset wasn’t close in losses to North Dallas and Fort Worth Trimble Tech.
MOLINA (0-3): Molina coach Charles DeVille knows how to get the most out of his talent, but this year has been a real struggle with lopsided losses to Fort Worth Dunbar and Pinkston. The other loss was 3-0 to Fort Worth North Side in a rainy, fumble-prone game.
