THE ROAD TO AT&T STADIUM RUNS THROUGH FRISCO'S BACKYARD
Six of the state's top ten teams call the DFW Metroplex home. Here's why the 2026 season could be the deepest North Texas has ever produced — and which programs are built to make the run.
Every August, the same question gets asked across the Metroplex: is this the year North Texas produces a true state champion out of the toughest district in the country? Based on where the preseason rankings landed, 2026 isn't just a candidate — it might be the deepest class this region has fielded in a decade. Texas placed 15 teams in the national top 100, more than any other state, and six of the state's top ten come out of DFW alone.
Start with the defending champion. DeSoto closed 2025 by winning the Class 6A Division II state title, and the number behind that run is almost hard to believe: running back SaRod Baker rushed for 1,503 yards and a stack of touchdowns across just five playoff games, including a 402-yard, seven-touchdown eruption in the regional final and a 366-yard, three-score demolition of previously top-ranked Southlake Carroll in the semifinal — capped by a 99-yard walk-off touchdown on the final play. For the full season, Baker finished with 3,206 yards and 43 touchdowns on 345 carries, a 9.29 yards-per-carry average, and was named Offensive MVP of the state championship game. He's a three-star junior on paper. On tape, he's the best running back in Texas.
Duncanville opens the season as the state's No. 1-ranked team after falling three points short of a fourth state title last December, a game in which quarterback Keelon Russell put up 442 yards of total offense in a marquee win over DeSoto earlier that same season. The Panthers return a loaded interior led by Purdue commit Trenton Yancey, and head coach Reginald Samples has now built six state title-game appearances since 2018. This roster looks built to finish what last year's group couldn't.
They won't have to wait long to find out where they stand. Duncanville opens Week 1 against Allen on August 28th — a clash between the state's top two ranked teams to kick off the season. Allen enters with a new era under center, handing the offense to freshman quarterback Ty Snell as the Eagles try to survive arguably the toughest opening stretch in the state: Duncanville, DeSoto, and Southlake Carroll in three straight weeks.
DeSoto and Duncanville will renew the Metroplex's biggest rivalry at the Cotton Bowl on September 12th — a rematch of last year's regular-season shootout that could end up previewing the postseason all over again.
Waxahachie and Southlake Carroll round out the group of North Texas programs positioned to make deep runs. Waxahachie's offense flows through South Carolina commit quarterback Jerry Meyer III, while Southlake Carroll leans on one of the best offensive lines in the state to protect new starter Hudson Tomcheck after falling one win short of AT&T Stadium a year ago.
Six DFW programs sit inside the state's top ten, which means the path to AT&T Stadium in December almost certainly runs through games these teams play against each other before the postseason even starts. That's the North Texas tax: beat each other up all fall, then still have enough left to win in December.
