The Texas high school football season just ended, so in typical modern sports media fashion, we’re turning our attention to next season.
The new year is approaching, and we’re already pondering the storylines we anticipate following next fall:
Who’s on Duncanville’s sideline?
A big story we’re going to be following all offseason is whether or not 2025 was the final season for Reginald Samples as Duncanville head coach. Retirement has been a looming question, and Samples was hesitant to give a resolution following his team’s loss to Galena Park North Shore in the Class 6A Division I state championship.
If he does come back, we can presume that business will be as usual for Duncanville. It’ll be state-championship-or-bust and the roster will be littered with Samples’ newest crop of future college football stars. You know the drill by now.
High School Sports
But let’s not shy away from the potential domino effect across Texas high school football if Samples retires. Duncanville would be the biggest job opening in the state, and if the program hires from outside Samples’ staff, the schools it would look to could have the second-biggest job opening.
Duncanville is the type of job that resets the coaching carousel for everyone. Consider LSU hiring Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss. Not only was LSU a major job, but the prospect of the Ole Miss job opening also created intrigue.
There’s also the question of what Duncanville looks like post-Samples. Skyline has been up and down since his departure. Could Duncanville face similar obstacles?
Who stops DeSoto in Class 5A Division I?
The University Interscholastic League’s biennial February realignment is upon us. DeSoto, which just won its fourth overall state championship in Class 6A this past Saturday, could drop to 5A Division I because it had even lower enrollment numbers than the previous cycle, when the school opted to remain in 6A.
All three of DeSoto’s state championship wins under coach Claude Mathis have come by an average of 36 points … in Class 6A. Who could pose a challenge in 5A?
In previous seasons, you would’ve immediately said Aledo, but the 12-time state champion is moving up to Class 6A. That leaves Frisco Lone Star, Denton Ryan and Highland Park as immediate threats in the D-FW area. Melissa’s state semifinal runs should add them to that mix.
Expanding to the rest of the state, reigning Division I state champion Spring Branch Smithson Valley is a team used to proving doubters wrong, winning back-to-back championships in 5AI. Class 5A Division II finalist Richmond Randle is set to move up out of the Houston area, too.
Those are all formidable teams consisting of reigning and former state champions, but that still might not answer the initial question of who stops DeSoto.
DeSoto head coach Claude Mathis talks with running back Sarod Baker (5) on the sidelines during the first half of the 6A Division II football state championship game against C.E. King at AT&T Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
Can SaRod Baker break single-season rushing record?
Kenneth Hall’s single-season rushing mark stood for over 70 years, and we’re already talking about Kaegan Ash’s record standing for only one. The Mount Enterprise running back, who’s signed to Texas Tech, became the new rushing king of Texas this season, finishing with 4,045 yards.
DeSoto’s SaRod Baker ran for 3,081 yards this season, meaning he’ll need a staggering 965 more yards to break it as a senior. Is that a high bar? Absolutely. The record took over 70 years to break for a reason. But can it happen? It’s not as wild as you might think.
Baker started the season fairly modest compared with how he ended it. He ran for just 34 yards in the season opener against Creekside (Ga.) and didn’t have over 250 yards until Nov. 6 against Lancaster.
With DeSoto losing five-star wideout Ethan Feaster and quarterback Legend Howell, the offense could depend more on Baker as its sole returning star. The added workload could provide the foundation for another historic season.
What’s next for Southlake Carroll?
This felt like the perfect season to rechristen head coach Riley Dodge and Southlake Carroll as state champions. They brought back 10 starters on offense, including quarterback Angelo Renda, receiver Brock Boyd and running back Davis Penn, after just falling short of a Class 6A Division II state championship last season.
Plus, emerging prospects such as receiver Brody Knowles and Tristan Dare along the offensive line provided a plethora of weapons that had Dodge’s team near the top of our preseason top 20 in Class 6A.
This season felt like a missed opportunity to win the program’s first state championship since Dodge’s father, Todd, was on the sideline. But Carroll almost always makes deep playoff runs and seemingly grows talented quarterbacks on trees, so you can’t count out the Dragons in 2026.
Who’s next season’s “Melissa”?
Melissa earned the right to be used as a descriptive noun this season: a team that missed the playoffs a year before making a deep run the next season.
Matt Nally’s team went 6-4 in 2024 before going 11-2 this season and making the state semifinals for the first time since 2011.
Who are the teams to watch next year that could achieve the same?
Three teams come to mind: Mansfield Summit, Flower Mound Marcus and Rockwall. Summit finished 6-4 and were eliminated from playoff contention by one point in the regular season finale to Arlington Seguin, 23-22. The bulk of its defense will return, minus leading tackler Avery Hardman and running back Omogbolahan Daudu.
Marcus has arguably the best player of the three teams in four-star quarterback Colton Nussmeier and also narrowly missed the postseason thanks to close district losses to rivals Lewisville and Hebron, by five and seven points, respectively. Any time you have a top prospect at the quarterback position, you’re one breakout season away from making something happen.
Speaking of close losses in district, Rockwall lost to Forney, a regional semifinalist, by one point and area finalist Rockwall-Heath by six. The tricky part is Rockwall will need to find a new quarterback, but leading rusher Kaydon Castro will return with one of the top defensive players, Christian Lawyer, to lead that side of the ball.
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.