Stepp's Five thoughts from the regional championships

Duncanville dominance
In a battle of DFW powers who came into the regional finals with unbeaten records, it was the Duncanville Panthers who made a statement, not only to the Metroplex, but to the entire state in a 51-7 annihilation of Southlake Carroll inside the Ford Center. Duncanville handed the storied Southlake Carroll program its worst playoff loss in school history as the Panthers' defense dominated a Southlake offense that had been plowing over teams throughout the 2018 season. Duncanville forced five turnovers in the game, had six sacks and 13 total tackles behind the line of scrimmage, allowing DHS to jump out to a 27-7 halftime lead and cruise in the second half. By getting out to the huge lead, Duncanville took Southlake Carroll star RB T.J. McDaniel out ff the game. The SMU commit finished with 91 yards on 17 carries. Junior QB Ja’Quinden Jackson was the key factor on offense with 280 total yards and four touchdowns. Duncanville now gets its much-anticipated matchup with defending state champion Allen, who currently holds a 30-game win streak and is the standard bearer for 6A football in the state of Texas.

Fort Bend Marshall’s amazing win
In one of the most amazing games of the 2018 season, Fort Bend Marshall escaped a challenge from a stout underdog in Huntsville to remain undefeated with a 47-43 win Thursday night at Cy-Fair FCU Stadium. Huntsville appeared to be in trouble early as the Buffaloes raced out to a quick 20-0 lead, behind three touchdowns from Devon Achane. The Hornets showed plenty of resilience cutting the lead to 27-16 by the halftime break. Huntsville added the first 10 points of the third quarter and with less than five minutes remaining in the third, Marshall’s lead was cut to 27-26. Achane’s fourth touchdown of the night put Fort Bend Marshall back up 33-26, then a 17-yard scamper from junior QB Malik Hornsby put the Buffs back in control at 40-26. Huntsville showed how tough it is rattling off the next 17 points of the game to take a stunning 43-40 lead after QB Matthew Southern hooked up with Jaylon Griffin for a 64-yard touchdown with 2:31 left and put Huntsville ahead for the first time in the game. Marshall was able to move to the Huntsville 47, but were facing a 4th and 12 with 33 seconds left. Marshall called a reverse to Achane who appeared stopped for a loss when he stopped and lofted a desperate heave downfield which was hauled in by Dalevon Campbell who then broke two tackles to score the game winning touchdown in one of the most miraculous finishes you'll ever see at any level of football. Marshall had lost in its previous four trips to the regional semifinal round, but play in its first-ever state semifinal game next week.