North Crowley Wears the DCTF Crown: No. 1 in Dave Campbell's Week 8 Rankings After Waxahachie Beatdown

By Coach Terrence Booker, RF Sports Radio DFW high school football voice; Dallas Morning News — Week 8 players/slate; Dallas Morning News — Week 8 slate.

DFW, the state poll caught up to Friday night. North Crowley is the new standard in Class 6A, and every coach on the schedule just circled the Panthers in red.

The facts

Dave Campbell's Texas Football Week 8 rankings put North Crowley No. 1 in 6A at 6-0 after a 42-17 win over Waxahachie, a jump from No. 3, per AP coverage of the Texas high school rankings and NBC DFW's DCTF Week 8 report. Southlake Carroll also shows in DCTF conversations, including a report that had the Dragons around No. 20 statewide after a 44-7 win over Justin Northwest. Week 8 games land Friday, Oct. 16, around 7 p.m. local time across the Metroplex.

The Tyler Paper and statewide roundups echo the same top line: North Crowley earned the crown with a statement win over a ranked Waxahachie club. That is the kind of result that moves voters. For DFW coaches and fans, the question is whether the Panthers can wear the target for a full district stretch without a letdown Friday night. Being No. 1 in Dave Campbell's poll is the loudest target in Texas high school football.

Carroll's continued presence in the state conversation matters locally even when the Panthers sit at No. 1. Dragon Stadium crowds still set a standard, and any Week 8 slip by a ranked DFW side reshuffles the talk-radio board by Saturday morning. The Metroplex does not do quiet Octobers when two brand-name programs are both in the statewide chat.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: North Crowley earned No. 1, period. A 25-point win over Waxahachie is not a soft resume builder. The danger now is the human one — the first week you are everybody's Super Bowl. I want to see the Panthers' defensive front play with the same violence when the opponent is not a top-shelf district foe. Carroll staying in the state mix keeps the Metroplex honest. Depth of ranked teams is how DFW October is supposed to look. If Crowley handles Week 8 business cleanly, the No. 1 argument gets quieter. If not, Allen and the rest of the unbeaten pile get a second vote.

My call: North Crowley wins Friday and stays No. 1 in next week's DCTF ballot. Carroll covers its Week 8 home expectation. Those are predictions. If somebody knocks off Crowley this week, the poll chaos will be immediate.

What to watch next

Friday's local slate: Lake Ridge at North Crowley at 7 p.m.; Keller at Southlake Carroll; Prosper at Jesuit (Dallas Morning News Week 8 notes).

Week 8 kickoffs are Friday around 7 p.m. Watch how Crowley starts — early scores travel in the poll narrative. For last week's ranked slate, read our last DFW HS post on North Crowley rising to No. 1 in the Dallas-area poll, and get every result on the DFW High School Football page.

Radio question: is North Crowley clearly the best 6A team in Texas right now, or is the ballot still too tight?

Sources: AP — Texas high school football rankings; NBC DFW — Dave Campbell's Texas Football Week 8 rankings; Tyler Paper — Texas high school football state rankings.