The Panthers narrowly escaped in a close contest at home in one of the most interesting high school football games of the week.
One of the biggest high school football games of the week was No. 2 Duncanville versus No. 23 St. Frances, which went down to the wire, despite Duncanville being one of the best teams in the country.
Both sides saw their offenses and defenses make clutch plays, while some highly-touted recruits led the way.
Here’s a full recap of the Friday night contest, as well as a breakdown of Duncanville five-star quarterback Keelon Russell’s performance in Week 2.
Duncanville (TX) vs. St. Frances (TX)
Seen as pretty heavy favorites entering the matchup, Duncanville played a tightly contested game against St. Frances last Friday, narrowly winning 28-24.
Duncanville started off the scoring on the opening drive of the game, as five-star and Alabama commit quarterback Keelon Russell found wideout Ayson Theus for a five-yard touchdown, providing an early 7-0 lead.
Duncanville really had a chance to blow the game open early, driving yet again on their second drive after forcing a stop, but fumbled deep in the red zone, leading to a touchback and a huge break for St. Frances.
After some good defense from both sides led to a pair of punts, St. Frances finally got on the board with a 41-yard field goal early in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 7-3. They caught another break again, forcing a second fumble, to which they returned for a 25-yard touchdown for a defensive touchdown, taking the lead 9-7 and providing some major momentum.
Duncanville’s struggles didn’t stop there, however, as they had a fumble on a punt return to begin the second half, giving St. Francis the ball, which they immediately responded with a 39-yard rushing touchdown to create a 16-7 lead.
The Panthers needed a response badly, and they got one, as the offense drove down the field, with Keelon Russell capping the drive with a four-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 16-14.
But, the fireworks didn’t stop there, as Duncanville missed a 35-yard field goal on their ensuing drive, failing to capitalize on yet another opportunity, keeping this game in the hands of St. Francis.
However, that didn’t last long, as the Panthers forced a three-and-out and quickly sprung together a touchdown drive, thanks to a dazzling throw from Russell, who found Ayson Theus again, this time for a 60-yard touchdown to give Duncanville a 21-16 lead with the third quarter winding down.
Defense led the way to begin the fourth quarter, with both sides forcing an array of punts, so Duncanville maintained their lead heading into the final five minutes of the game. That’s when things started to ramp up.
Duncanville got the ball back with 5:54 remaining in the game and began to drive down the field to seal the deal, reaching the St. Francis 25-yard line. However, star cornerback Blake Woodby intercepted Russell, taking the pass all the way back to the Duncanville six-yard line before being wrapped up.
St. Francis quickly capitalized, as running back Maurice Medley rushed in for an 11-yard touchdown following a false start, while also getting the two-point conversion to make it a 24-21 game with 4:26 left on the clock.
Keelon Russell and Co. were then looking at having to complete an incredible comeback.
Despite Duncanville starting all the way back on their own 13-yard line, a major run by JaQualon Armstrong sparked the drive, and the Panthers successfully marched 87 yards down the field, with Russell hitting tight end Zach Turner multiple times, including for the go-ahead 14-yard touchdown, putting his team up 28-24 with 1:57 left.
With a play needing to be made, linebacker Nehemiah Borner came to play, as he got sacks on 2nd & 11 and 3rd & 19 to seal the deal for Duncanville, improving their record to 2-0 on the season in a closely-contested game. Borner ended the game with three sacks and was one of the defensive stars of the game.
Keelon Russell
Of course, much of the attention was on five-star quarterback Keelon Russell, who showed off his dual-threat ability yet again for Duncanville.
Russell completed 20 of 26 passes for 265 yards, three passing touchdowns, and an interception, while rushing for another score.
While he has looked for five-star wideout Dakorien Moore as his top target over the past two years, it was the Ayden Theus and Zach Turner show this past Friday, as both players caught touchdown passes and eclipsed the 100-yard mark for Duncanville, directly helping the Panthers in a much-needed victory.
The Alabama commit has now tossed for 612 yards and eight touchdowns in his first two games of the season, leading Duncanville to a 2-0 record, while rushing for 82 yards as well.
Duncanville will look to continue their undefeated season next when when they host Waxahachie, with Russell leading the charge for the Panthers.
