Rematches and renewed rivalries redefine this weekend’s regional finals in 4, 5, and 6A classifications.
When the bell rings this Friday, student athletes will enter the field of eight remaining 2025 UIL football playoff teams. Practices resume today as teams turn their focus to somewhat familiar teams and new teams in familiar rivalries. The celebration of last week’s successes, though the stuff of football lore will have to be short-lived. By the end of this week, locker rooms will be overflowing with bulletin board material and plans laid to demolish the wall standing in the way of state championship quarterfinals next week. To make it out of this round, teams will have eliminated potential state champions. That’s how fierce this weekend is. Each bracket consists of legitimate championship contenders.
Before we look at this weekend’s matchups, let’s revisit last week’s games.
New to this met true to this when 12-time state champion Aledo faced off against a rising program from Fort Worth’s Arlington Heights. The first drives were complimentary as Arlington Heights stalled but held Aledo to only a field goal. From there, it was clear that the Yellowjackets wouldn’t take off as Aledo stifled their ground game and grounded their aerial attack. The final score of 55-0 was indicative of Aledo’s dominance in all three phases of the game.
North Crowley continued its quest to defend last year’s state championship in a game that started chippy and ended with all questions answered. North Crowley coach Ray Gates said that they carried receipts and never forgot that at the end of last year’s game, Coppell’s coach Antonio Wiley told the Dallas Morning News that the better team lost that day. In his postgame comments to the team, Gates made it clear that the better team on the field at Midlothian ISD’s Multi-Purpose Stadium was the North Crowley Panthers who cruised to a 39-21 romp of Coppell’s Cowboys.
Read about all last weekend’s gridiron craziness in Dave Campbell’s Texas Football
If you know North Texas weather, you know that the weather could always become the MVP and ruin every team’s plans. After Southlake’s overnight victory at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington. Friday night’s lightning delay stalled the game between Southlake Carroll and Prosper for exactly four hours and fifteen minutes. Read more about the game and delay in The Sporting News. Carroll’s 49-31victory over Prosper didn’t come until 1:43 A.M. Saturday morning. The delay must have impacted the Dragons’ defense as they allowed the most points all season. Credit to Prosper for hanging in there and putting up a fight against such a formidable team from Southlake. With such an unprecedented delay, who knows how well the teams were prepared for such a late kickoff. Carroll moves on to face Denton Guyer this weekend at Crowley ISD Stadium.
Waxahachie erased a 10-point deficit against Cypress Ranch in regulation with only ten seconds remaining to force overtime. The game seemed all but sealed with 1:24, but the Indians roared back in overtime to punch their ticket to the Regional finals. They’ll face a determined Duncanville team looking to ‘get their lick back!’ The Indians surprised the Panthers earlier this season in. a 28-27 shocker that has Duncanville is all too excited to avenge.
Denton Guyer needed every second against Byron Nelson. Their walkoff field goal punched their ticket to face Southlake Carroll this weekend. That sigh of relief is only as brief as the time left on the clock when play resumed (one second). Guyer hopes to have caught their breath to survive a suffocating Southlake team focused on avenging last year’s championship game loss to Austin Vandergrift.
Other big wins locally: Celina rolls on in a commanding win over Decatur, 33-7. Alvarado pummeled Pojo in a 64-13 win over Springtown and Stephenville steamrolled Randall 51-6, setting up this weekend’s clash against West Plains in Lubbock. DFW
4A Division 1 UIL Football Playoffs (Elite Eight)
Region 1 Final: West Plains vs. Stephenville
Region 2 Final: Alvarado vs. Celina
Region 3 Final: Kilgore vs. Almeta Crawford
Region 4 Final: Davenport vs. La Vernia
4A Division 2 UIL Football Playoffs (Elite Eight)
Region 1 Final: Greenwood vs Brock
Region 2 Final: Athens vs. Carthage
Region 3 Final: West Orange-Stark vs. La Vega
Region 4 Final: Cuero vs. Sinton
5A Division UIL Football Playoffs (Elite Eight)
Region 1 Final: Aledo vs. Ryan
Region 2 Final: Lone Star vs. Highland Park
Region 3 Final: Port Arthur Memorial vs. Barbers Hill
Region 4 Final: Smithson Valley vs. New Braunfels
5A Division 2 UIL Football Playoffs (Elite Eight)
Region 1 Final: Melissa vs. Argyle
Region 2 Final: South Oak Cliff vs. Port Neches- Groves
Region 3 Final: Randle vs. Iowa Colony
Region 4 Final: Boerne vs. Alamo Heights
6A Division 1 UIL Football Playoffs (Elite Eight)
Region 1 Final: North Crowley vs. Allen
Region 2 Final: Duncanville vs. Waxahachie
Region 3 Final: North Shore vs. Dickinson
Region 4 Final: Lake Travis vs. Johnson
6A Division 2 UIL Football Playoffs (Elite Eight)
Region 1 Final: Southlake Carroll vs. Guyer
Region 2 Final: Desoto vs. Willis
Region 3 Final: Summer Creek vs. King
Region 4 Final: Vandergrift vs. Dripping Springs
