Southern Denton County teams have finished the regular season, surviving harsh competition and eligibility drama. Now, their eyes are on the real prize – a state championship.
Check out the first round matchups for the southern Denton County teams hoping to hoist the trophy in a few weeks.
5A, Divison II
Argyle High School will face off against Panther Creek High School (7-3) from Frisco ISD Friday at Argyle ISD Stadium.
The Eagles will look to improve on its playoff appearance last season, which ended with a 20-19 loss to Melissa High School in the quarterfinals.
Despite a nail-biting loss to an out-of-state team to start the season, Argyle bounced back and won the rest of its regular season games.
Late in the season, Argyle quarterback Hayes Hackney was ruled ineligible due to a possible residency issue.
However, seemingly despite the UIL State Executive Committee chairman’s personal opinion, Hackney was cleared after missing just one game and will be eligible for the team’s playoff run.
If the Eagles win against Panther Creek Friday, they will play either El Paso Del Valle (6-4) or Abilene Wylie (7-3).
6A, Divison I
Lewisville High School will look to continue its perfect season in its first round matchup against Prosper (8-1) Friday at Goldsmith Stadium in Lewisville.
The Farmers dealt with their own eligibility issues, losing quarterback Laykon Brassfield for multiple games after a UIL district executive committee ruled him ineligible due to a residency issue.
However, the state executive committee ruled Brassfield eligible after hearing an appeal, and he was able to finish out the season with the Farmers and will help compete for the program’s third state title.
Before Brassfield was reinstated, Lewisville was forced to forfeit its first three non-district wins since Brassfield participated as an ineligible player. Once he was reinstated, Lewisville was given back those three wins, giving them a perfect 10-0 regular season.
If the Fighting Farmers beat Prosper, they will face either South Grand Prairie (7-3) or Coppell (8-2).
A matchup between Byron Nelson and Lewisville in the regional semifinal is possible, but the Bobcats will have to take care of business against undefeated Arlington Martin High School (10-0) Friday at the Glaspie Field Athletic Complex at Arlington Martin High School.
The Bobcats lost a major piece of its defensive when 4-star lineman Georgi Toia, committed to UCLA, transferred to an academy in Florida for his senior year.
Slipping from its 8-3 record last season, the team did enough to give itself a shot to bring home the first title in program history this year.
It continues Byron Nelson’s streak of making the playoffs every year since 2020.
Byron Nelson finished 5-5 in the regular season, but all five losses were to teams that will be playing in the first round of the playoffs Friday (Arlington, Lewisville, Keller, Keller Central and Southlake Carroll).
If the Bobcats win against Martin Friday, they will face either Midland Lee (7-3) or El Paso Pebble Hills (9-1).
6A, Division II
The Denton Guyer Wildcats are feeling déjà vu after finding out their first round opponent.
Guyer finished 8-2 this season, same as last season, and will face Rock Hill (6-4) in the first round – the same opponent they faced in the first round of the 2025 playoffs.
The Wildcats are hoping the outcome this year is the same as well, as they cruised past the Hawks 40-0 en route to a quarterfinal matchup against powerhouse Southlake Carroll in 2025.
Guyer will look to add a third championship trophy to its trophy case, and get the job done in 6A after reaching the state championship game in 2019 and 2021, but falling short to Austin Westlake both times.
If the Wildcats win, they will face either Haltom (5-5) or Lake Highlands (8-2). In their bracket, the Wildcats have potential matchups against 6A-newcomer Aledo in the regional semifinal, which would be a rematch of the 2025 regular season opener, and powerhouse Southlake Carroll in the regional final.
Private
Liberty Christian was supposed to play its first round of TAPPS playoff football against St. Michael’s Friday, Nov. 6, but the Warriors were removed from the playoffs over a dispute regarding a Liberty Christian player’s eligibility.
The bracket had to be reworked since the Warriors were the No. 1 seed, so TAPPS pushed back the first round of playoffs.
Parents, coaches and multiple members of the community have since called for Liberty Christian to be reinstated for its playoff run, and the school said it would explore all options for the team to be reinstated.
“We have continued to fight the unfair ruling by TAPPS against out football team,” said Liberty Christian in an email to parents. “Our young students have done nothing wrong, and we must do everything we can to set the record straight, restore our season and allow our team to play in the playoffs.”
In an update Friday, the school announced it would be suing TAPPS in an effort to stop the removal of the Warriors from a chance at another state title.
“We moved quickly to retain world-class outside legal counsel to help us consider every possible legal option at our disposal to have the TAPPS ruling be paused or reversed,” said the school in an email to parents. “In the name of basic fairness and decency, TAPPS has a duty to reconsider the clear and unambiguous evidence we provided them… we have filed a lawsuit in the Texas courts in an attempt to get a judge to put this ruling on pause so that TAPPS can take the time to look at our evidence again.”
