MESQUITE – It was the Caden Durham show on Saturday as the LSU committed running back rushed for 224 yards and FIVE touchdowns in Duncanville’s route over North Crowley 52-10 in a Class 6A Division 1 state semifinal game at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.
The win pushed Duncanville into next week’s state championship game where it will face…you guessed it – Galena Park North Shore.
It will be Duncanville – North Shore PART V as the two teams have squared off for the title five times in the past six seasons. North Shore won in 2018, 2019 and 2021 before Duncanville took it last year.
The Panthers and Mustangs will kick off at 3 pm next Saturday 12/16 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
North Crowley ends 14-1 and #6 in the state rankings.
It’s the program’s deepest playoff run since winning the Class 4A D1 title in 2003.
“They’ve been tested and they know what it looks like. Their guys are really big up front and fast. You really have to tip your hat to them because they did a really good job today,” NC coach Ray Gates said. “With a loss like that there’s nobody in this program that’s gonna take this loss but me, this one is on me.
“This group has been unbelievable. Our senior leadership. They bought in and they believed everything that we’ve asked them to do. They went to work from day one and they helped take this program to another level. We checked a lot of boxes this year, but we left one unchecked and that’s how it is sometimes in life and you have to go through these situations in these moments in order to learn from these moments in these situations. It’s just another opportunity for us to learn and to grow and we’ll be better because of it.”
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SLOW FIRST QUARTER
Duncanville only led North Crowley 7-0 after the first 12 minutes.
The game started with a flag on NC. On the kickoff, North Crowley kicked it short and a Duncanville player signaled fair catch, but was hit hard which resulted in a 15-yard penalty.
The play excited the NC sideline and crowd.
On the re-kick, Ayson Theus returned it 29 yards for Duncanville to the NC 37. But QB Keelon Russell threw three straight incomplete passes and NC took over on downs. But North Crowley’s offense had trouble moving the chains for most of the first half – plus having to punt into the wind, which was blowing at least 15 MPH.
Those short punts gave Duncanville great field position.
Duncanville capped off a 12-play 39-yard drive with a touchdown from Durham. It was third and goal from the 1 before a false start pushed it back to the 6. But on the next play, NC was called for a pass interference which gave Duncanville a fresh set of downs at the 2.
Durham punched it in for a 7-0 lead with 5:36 left in the first quarter.
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PICKING UP SPEED
Duncanville scored three times in the second quarter and led 24-0 at halftime.
North Crowley did manage to cross midfield and converted a fourth-and-2 when Cornelius Warren took a hand off and gained nine yards to the Duncanville 40. NC got to the 38, but then QB Chris Jimerson (TCU commit) was tackled by Nehemiah Borner for a loss of 3 to force another punt.
But the snap went Braylon Turner in an apparent fake punt attempt.
The play didn’t gain a yard and Duncanville took over.
Russell hit Zach Turner for 37 yards to the NC 23 and Durham capped it off with a 16-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 midway through the second. On the ensuing drive, Jimerson was picked off by Tyren Polley who returned it to the NC 25.
North Crowley nearly picked off a pass in the end zone.
Duncanville settled for a 22-yard field goal by Jonathan Batres with 2:49 left in the half. Duncanville added one more touchdown before the break on Durham’s third – a 23-yard TD run to go up 24-0 with 1:13 on the clock.
“It was a huge win, over a good North Crowley team and I feel very confident going to state next week,” Duncanville 5-star Texas commit Colin Simmons said. “They have never faced a team like us. They have never faced a defense like us and we obviously showed them that.
“I lost to North Shore once and I beat them once so I got to break the tie. This is personal for me. It will mean everything if we win back to back.”
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SECOND HALF
North Crowley avoided the shutout with a 30-yard field goal from Anthony Pope early in the third.
But Durham added his fourth touchdown – on a 9-yard run to extend the lead to 31-3 with 4:46 left in the quarter. Then Russell and Dakorien Moore connected on a 43-yard TD pass and catch to make it 38-3 with 3:25 left in the third. Russell is committed to SMU.
Moore is committed to LSU and among the top players in the Class of 2025.
Durham scored his fifth – from 56 yards out to push it to 45-3 late in the third.
Durham, who was voted state champ offensive MVP in last year’s title game vs North Shore, ended the night with 224 yards rushing on 29 carries.
North Crowley scored its only touchdown midway through the fourth when Jimerson found Quentin Gibson from 46 yards. The final score came from Duncanville freshman QB Maximus Denson’s 41-yard TD run.
Duncanville rushed 47 times for 309 yards.
Jimerson was held to 9 of 32 passing for 147 yards.
