REGIONAL FINAL PREVIEW: Breaking down the biggest games in Texas high school football

Southlake Carroll (13-0) vs. Duncanville (12-0) 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Frisco’s Ford Center:
Expect nothing less than a total sellout on Saturday as two of the DFW's top teams meet up in what is a much-anticipated showdown. Southlake Carroll, under first-year head coach Riley Dodge appears to be peaking at the right time. In its three playoff wins, SLC has outscored Coppell, DeSoto and Trinity by a combined 130-37. Last week’s 35-7 win over Trinity may have been the Dragons' most impressive performance to date. T.J. McDaniel had over 100 yards rushing and two scores and QB Will Bowers tossed a pair of scoring passes. However, it was the Dragons defense that was the story, the front seven was dominant against Trinity holding the typically vaunted Trojans rushing attack to just 118 yards for the evening.

After a sluggish start to the playoffs against South Grand Prairie, Duncanville’s defense has totally dominated the last two weeks. Last week in a 45-6 rout of Arlington Lamar, the Panthers held an explosive Lamar offense to just two first-quarter field goals, while QB Ja’Quinden Jackson totaled 298 yards of offense and three touchdowns. Both of these defenses are playing lights out. The key is going to be which offense (specifically the passing game) can get some consistency going. I’ve stuck with Duncanville all season as the team to beat in Region I and there’s no reason to deviate from that thought based on its performance.
Stepp’s Pick: Duncanville by 3