No. 3 North Crowley steamrolls No. 1 Waxahachie to stay undefeated
It was business as usual for North Crowley.
The No. 3-ranked Panthers held a typical four-score lead halfway through the fourth quarter. However, they weren't playing a typical district opponent.
North Crowley was dominating against Waxahachie, the No. 1-ranked team in Texas, and seized a 42-17 victory Friday at Lumpkins Stadium. The Panthers jumped out to a three-score lead and stout defensive play gave Waxahachie no room to get back in the game.
It was a dominant game in all phases, something head coach DeMarcus Harris and the Panthers hadn’t quite reached to this point.
“We finally played a complete game,” Harris said. “Special teams. Offense and defense. And not a lot of penalties. Got that cleaned up. We kept our composure tonight.”
Not stepping on its own feet was a talking point ahead of the game. North Crowley struggled with penalties against Duncanville, but facing Waxahachie, the Panthers played calmly within the game, avoiding avoidable mistakes.
“As long as we don’t get in our own way, and we just play how we’re supposed to play, we’ll be successful,” Harris said.
With the strong win, North Crowley made a strong case to move past No. 2 Houston North Shore into the No. 1 spot in Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s statewide rankings. The Panthers are 6-0 overall and 3-0 in District 11-6A — they’re on track to seize a prime playoff seed and are the clear district title frontrunner.
North Crowley has picked up strong wins in the home stadiums of top District of Doom squads, including 2025 Class 6A Division I finalist Duncanville.
North Crowley hasn’t lost a district game since 2021, before Ray Gates took over as head coach in 2022. Now, with Harris in his first season at the helm, the Panthers have a shot at five consecutive undefeated district title runs.
To start the game, both teams traded punts. After another stop from the Panther defense, North Crowley’s offense caught a spark with a grueling, relentless tempo. The Panthers scored on three consecutive drives with two TDs from RB G’Yrell Smith and another from RB Kiante Ingram.
“That’s what we wanted,” Harris said. “We preached [tempo] all week. The way we practiced. We said, ‘Start fast, start fast, start fast.’”
North Crowley took a 21-7 lead into the half. Waxahachie (5-1 overall, 2-1 district) was able to get on the board with 33 seconds left in the second quarter. South Carolina quarterback commit Jerry Meyer III had a highlight 28-yard run, breaking several tackles.
Waxahachie seemed to get back into striking distance with a long, 14-play drive, but North Crowley’s defense held firm near the goal line, forcing a field goal. Waxahachie did not score again until the game was well out of reach.
North Crowley’s defense stoned the Indians in the first half and finished giving up 315 total yards with Meyer only completing 12 of 28 passes for 112 yards. Meyer was the leading rusher for Waxahachie with nine carries for 85 yards, most of which came on scrambles on doomed pass plays.
The Panther offense kept their foot on the gas, picking up a 35-yard TD run from Ingram, an 83-yard TD reception from wide receiver Damarion Mays and a 60-yard TD run from Smith. That gave North Crowley a 32-point lead it easily maintained.
The Panthers had two 100-yard rushers in Ingram (20 carries-156 yards) and Smith (12-125). The duo has traded standout performances, further establishing themselves as Texas's top one-two punch run threat.
Against Duncanville, Smith led the team in rushing yards. It was Ingram’s turn against Waxahachie.
“He’s one of the best backs in the nation,” quarterback Jacob Torres said of Ingram. “Every down, he is going to run hard. He can get outside. He can run through you. He can do everything.”
Torres was a perfect 11 of 11 passing for 224 yards and a touchdown.
“Our preparation that we had the whole week, it really matched up to the game,” Torres said. “We just executed on everything that we did.”
North Crowley was balanced on offense rolling up 523 yards with 299 coming on the ground and 224 through the air.
As things stand, the Panthers are likely to enter the Class 6A Division II bracket. To finish the regular season, North Crowley will face Mansfield Lake Ridge, Dallas Skyline, Mansfield and Red Oak.
“We’ll need to focus on us and keep getting better,” Harris said. “We can’t have any letdowns. We’re going to come out every week with our hair on fire. Like it’s the state championship every week. ... Let’s focus on the people in front of us, and let’s go execute.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2026 at 9:47 PM with the headline "No. 3 North Crowley steamrolls No. 1 Waxahachie to stay undefeated."
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