No. 9 North Crowley overcomes weather in win over DeSoto

In a game that kicked off around around 7 p.m., No. 9 ranked North Crowley and DeSoto wouldn’t get finished up until well after midnight due to weather delays in the area.

When the final horn sounded, it would be the nationally ranked Panthers coming out on top after five-plus hours combined. North Crowley had to overcome a 14-point deficit and inclement weather in pulling off a 36-27 win over DeSoto on Friday night at Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium.

North Crowley may have found their guy behind center

It’s been a struggle for North Crowley (2-0) at the quarterback position, coming off a season where the Panthers didn’t deal with any such issue.

Head coach Ray Gates went with Hayes Cloutier to start the game, but for most of the first half the Panthers were stuck in neutral on offense. Enter Demarcus Harris behind center for North Crowley, as the senior provided a spark right on the first drive he entered the game.

Harris connected on a touchdown pass with Kade Smith just fifteen seconds before intermission to cut DeSoto’s lead to 21-14. All Harris continued to do in the second half was be the steady hand on offense for North Crowley as they were able to find some fluidity in the passing game.

Needing to figure out who will be the longterm solution at quarterback may be a work in progress for North Crowley, but they may have gotten a much better idea on Friday night.

DeSoto shrugged off last week’s bad outing in Georgia

This was an Eagles’ team that was seemingly still reeling from a 70-28 dismantling by Creekside (Ga.) last week. All signs were pointing to a steep fall for DeSoto (0-2) moving forward and despite the loss, the Eagles proved they can still play with the best of ’em in the Lone Star State.

DeSoto found their footing early on offensively behind the play of quarterback DeMarcus Summers, who scored multiple rushing touchdowns to give the Eagles a 21-7 advantage. Senior wide receiver Boobie Feaster (USC commit) made plays through the passing game, but it would be a quiet second half for DeSoto that doomed their chances of coming away with the win.

The Eagles in the final two quarters, which was interrupted by a 2-hour weather delay, could only muster up six points. North Crowley out-scored DeSoto 22-6 in the second, which though was a better overall effort for the Eagles, still find themselves coming up on the short end of the stick.

Both DeSoto and North Crowley seeing drop offs from 2024?

Most people have to understand that many of the top teams out of Texas from 2024 entered this season without the major playmakers they once had.

For DeSoto, Myson Johnson-Cook transferring to East St. Louis (Ill.) was obviously a huge loss and the graduation of players like Chris Jimerson and Quentin Gibson for North Crowley have seen their offense take a noticeable dip in production.

It wasn’t going to be easy in figuring out who will be the new go-to’s in either offense, but early returns have given us clear signs that neither will be as explosive as they were compared to last fall.

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