North Crowley overcomes sluggish start, defeats Lancaster to open season
North Crowley, to begin its quest to defend its Class 6A Division I state championship, found itself in a stressful situation, trailing Lancaster in the fourth quarter.
The team faced the pressure after a subpar first half and rose to the occasion. With just under seven minutes left, junior quarterback Hayes Cloutier found receiver Pryce “Spicy” Demerson for a 49-yard, go-ahead touchdown.
The Panthers seized the lead and kept it, securing a 22-18 non-district victory on Thursday at Crowley ISD Stadium. North Crowley head coach Ray Gates said the game was a learning experience.
“And the good thing about tonight, is that we found a way to get the win when it mattered most,” Gates said.
Cloutier, a transfer from Inglewood, California, won the starting quarterback job. He passed for 203 yards and three touchdowns, completing 9 of 22 passes. He had two interceptions, but settled in nicely, showcasing a powerful throwing arm with great big-play potential.
“It’s not just the quarterback,” Gates said of the offense. “It’s up front. It’s outside. We just got to build chemistry and we got to figure out what’s the best way to put this thing together for those guys on that side of the ball. We’ve got film. We got a real game under our belt. And now we have a chance to make some corrections.”
A slow start for the champs
After a 90-minute lightning delay, North Crowley (1-0) got off to a sluggish start with three punts and two interceptions. It was a sharp contrast to the quick, attacking style that carried North Crowley to its state title.
“We’re not going to give up,” Gates said of facing a deficit. “We’re not going to quit. We’re going to go out and we’re going to play as hard as we possibly can.”
Lancaster (0-1) struck first with three minutes to go in the first half, scoring on a 1-yard rushing touchdown from running back Izayah Lee; however, the Panthers were able to quickly respond with a 52-yard touchdown pass from Cloutier to sophomore wide receiver Hayden Green.
To end the half, Lancaster took the lead with a 30-yard field goal from James Smith. The Panther offense, known for a relentless ground attack, was unable to establish a run game to that point with 27 yards on 12 carries.
The second half saw the offense come to life, and the Panthers nearly doubled their production.
The Panthers dusted off the slow start with a 72-yard drive that culminated with a spectacular 4-yard TD catch from sophomore wide receiver Damarion Mays, a four-star Life Oak Cliff transfer. He leaped over a defender and, somehow, stayed in bounds.
Lancaster took the lead back with a rushing touchdown from QB Joseph Hairston, who finished the game with 22 yards rushing on 11 carries and 90 yards on 6-of-9 passing. The Tigers held a 18-15 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Senior defensive back Aaron Bradshaw, a Texas Tech pledge, said he loved that the team got to experience a high-pressure, close game.
“I love the pressure,” Bradshaw said. “You really know who your team is when you go through adversity.”
Things looked bleak for North Crowley when the Panthers drove down to the Lancaster 5-yard line; they fumbled the ball back to the Tigers on a fourth-and-1 play with 10:54 left in the game. After a timely defensive stop, however, Demerson’s touchdown gave the Panthers the lead, which they kept.
“We competed,” four-star cornerback Jerry Outhouse said. “We didn’t give up when we were down.”
In Week 2, North Crowley will host DeSoto, the 2022 and 2023 Class 6A Division II state champion.
“We’ve got to play much better than we did tonight,” Gates said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to establish the run on offense. And make some better decisions when we put the ball in the air. ... They’re going to come in, they’re going to be hungry. The atmosphere is going to be electric, and we’ve got to find a way to be better.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2025 at 12:13 AM.
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