Duncanville dominates Rockwall in state semifinal, but star QB goes down with injury

Duncanville used several big plays early on as it coasted to a 56-14 win over Rockwall in a Class 6A Division 1, Region II state semifinal at McKinney ISD Stadium and punched their ticket to the state championship.

The Panthers will face unbeaten Galena Park North Shore in a rematch of the 2018 state title game.

Duncanville (15-0) immediately jumped ahead of Rockwall on the second play from scrimmage when Trysten Smith busted through a hole at the line and outran everyone for a 79-yard touchdown.

“I just saw a big old hole and knew I had to get there for my team and my brothers because that’s what I do,” Smith said.

Rockwall entered the game with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a five-star receiver and Gatorade Player of the Year, needing just 59 yards to break Jaxon Shipley’s state all-time receiving record of 5,425 yards. Unfortunately, Smith-Njigba fell just short, posting five catches for 37 yards.

Duncanville defensive back Ennis Rakestraw Jr. was a big reason for that. He shadowed Smith-Njigba the entire game and did a good job of containing him to underneath routes.

“My job was to limit him and keep him off the board,” Rakestraw said. “He’s probably the best receiver I’ve ever had to cover, but I did my job and stepped up to the plate, and kept him from scoring.”

The Yellowjackets tried to get Smith-Njigba going on their first pass from scrimmage, but defensive lineman Tyler Quinn jumped the rout for an interception and returned it 69 yards to give the Panthers a 14-0 lead.

Rockwall was unable to get anything going on its next drive, and Duncanville continue to pile it on with another big play when Roderick Daniels ran a sweep off an end-around and outran everyone for a 72-yard score.

Duncanville proceeded to deliver the early knockout punch when quarterback Ja’Quinden Jackson, a University of Texas commit, got free and reeled off a 59-yard touchdown run to give the Panthers a commanding 28-0 lead before the first quarter had even ended.

Duncanville continued to apply relentless pressure at the line of scrimmage, and that, coupled with blanket coverage in the secondary, made it very difficult for Rockwall sophomore quarterback Braedyn Locke to get on track. Locke finished the game with only 10 completions for 56 yards, along with two interceptions.

Jackson, fresh off a long touchdown run on Duncanville’s previous drive decided to show off his arm on the Panthers’ next possession when he dropped back and delivered a long pass that hit receiver Marquelan Crowell in stride for an 81-yard touchdown. Just like that, Duncanville had built up a 35-0 lead in the first 17 minutes of the game. All the Panthers had to do was coast to a victory, but those plans soon went awry.

On Duncanville’s next possession, Jackson was hit and knocked to the ground, and remained there for several minutes as the training staff tended to his injured left knee. Jackson had to be assisted off the field and could not put any pressure on his left leg. Coaches feared it could be an ACL injury, but they will have to wait for preliminary MRI results to make that determination.

“Ja’Quinden is a great player, and we are just going to have to wait and see what the results are with him,” Duncanville coach Reginald Samples said. “I told our guys to just keep playing their game and to go play for him.”

Rockwall added a touchdown just before halftime to cut the deficit to 35-7, but the Panthers picked up where they left off in the second half. Freshman quarterback Chris Parson had some early jitters but appeared to settle in nicely as he tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Vinson, then showed off his speed with a 38-yard touchdown run off a keeper down the middle of the field.

“Chris panicked a little bit at first, but he settled down, stepped it up and got the job done,” Samples said.

Duncanville will more than likely need its freshman quarterback to step up again next week when he sets foot on the biggest stage in a Class 6A Division 1 state title game rematch against Galena Park North Shore.

This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 9:40 PM.