Houston high school football: Week 3 takeaways and top performers

Week 3 brought no shortage of big performances and milestones across the Houston area. Angleton matched a program scoring record, Lake Creek quarterback Asher Ryan continued his record-setting start and Crawford knocked off a state-ranked opponent on the road. Cypress Park and Northbrook snapped lengthy losing streaks, while La Porte’s Sean Simon and Lutheran South’s Dedrick Polk rewrote their respective program record books. Here’s a look at the biggest storylines and top performers from the week.

Crawford makes statement

Crawford picked up one of the most impressive wins of the week, and the Chargers are continuing to show why they need to be taken seriously as a contender in Class 5A Division II. Crawford scored 21 points in the third quarter of a 28-23 road victory Friday against Port Neches-Groves, which was ranked No. 6 in the state. The Chargers didn’t play a perfect game. Far from it. They allowed 350 yards against the Indians on defense and threw four interceptions on offense. But Crawford overcame the adversity and found its footing in the second half while outscoring PNG 21-6. Despite the turnovers, standout quarterback Benji Fisher still accounted for 234 yards of total offense with three total touchdowns. Alvin Mosley had seven catches for 103 yards and a score, and Jace George finished with 109 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Crawford is now 3-0 with two wins over teams that were ranked at the time the Chargers played them. Coach David Jackson and his squad have one final non-district game against Nederland this week before taking on Lamar Consolidated in their district opener.

Angleton matches record

Angleton is off to a blazing start, recording its third consecutive shutout Thursday with an 80-0 road victory against Dulles. The Wildcats (3-0) entered the week at No. 5 in the Class 5A Division I state rankings and further solidified that standing with another blowout win. The 80 points Angleton scored tied the program record, previously set with an 80-0 win over Pasadena two years ago. Senior Jayden Moore rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns on just four carries and also had a 38-yard touchdown reception to lead the way. Angleton has outscored its three opponents – Dulles, Fort Bend Bush and Dayton – 146-0. Those teams also have a combined 0-9 record, but the Wildcats are taking care of business as they prepare for district play. That begins next week when they host South Houston. Battles against Iowa Colony and Friendswood loom on the schedule, but the matchup to circle in red is Angleton’s Oct. 30 game against No. 3 Randle, the prohibitive district favorite. Angleton was one of just six Houston-area teams to average 50 or more points per game in 2025, setting a new program record at 52.4. The Wildcats scored 50-plus points six times last season.

Ryan off to blazing start

Lake Creek junior quarterback Asher Ryan continued his hot start Thursday during the Lions’ 70-6 non-district victory against Cleveland. He completed 17-of-24 passes (70.8%) for 333 yards and eight touchdowns with an interception. His eight passing touchdowns are tied for the third most in Houston high school football history for a single game. That mark has been reached on 11 other occasions, including twice last year by Summer Creek’s Noah Spinks and Milby’s Gabe Gutierrez. Magnolia’s Jacob Frazier still holds the record with 10 during a game against Tomball in 2016, and Huffman-Hargrave’s Preston Townley is alone in second with a nine-touchdown game against Splendora in 2012. Through three games this season, Ryan has completed 75-of-97 passes (77.3%) for 1,177 yards and 19 touchdowns with just three interceptions. With an average of 6.3 touchdown passes per game, he’s on pace to finish the 10-game regular season with 44. Lake Creek is averaging 59.3 points per game with wins over Bastrop, St. Thomas and now Cleveland. The Lions (3-0) have perhaps their biggest test of the season this week with a cross-town rivalry game against Montgomery.

Losing streaks snapped

Cypress Park went 1,771 days and 43 consecutive games without a victory. But that all changed Saturday as coach Donald Lawrence and his squad earned an 18-12 overtime win over Cypress Creek. It marked the Tigers’ first win on the field since Nov. 6, 2021, when five-star linebacker Harold Perkins led the team to a program-best 9-2 record. Junior William Warren led the charge for Cypress Park in Saturday’s victory, rushing for 143 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, good for 8.4 yards per carry. Senior Kaden Watkins bolstered the defensive effort with 15 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, one fumble recovery and two blocked kicks.

Northbrook also put an end to a lengthy losing streak. The Raiders scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to claim a 29-26 victory against Sharpstown, snapping a 59-game district losing streak that dated to Nov. 3, 2017. Flavio Zambrano rushed for 99 yards on 13 carries, and Guillermo Macias added 58 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries. Head coach Demond Stafford and his team will try to move to 2-0 in district play with a matchup against Chavez this week. Northbrook has never made the playoffs in the 53-year history of the program.

For the first time since Nov. 6, 2021 (1,771 days) @CyParkFootball adds a “W” to their record! The Tigers defeat Cy Creek, 18-12, in a thrilling overtime victory! #CFISDspirit#ChooseCFISD#txhsfb 🏈 pic.twitter.com/aeAS4RSBCb

– Abbie Geveshausen (@CFISDAbbie) September 13, 2026

Record-setting rushers

Two Houston-area running backs set program records this week with big performances. La Porte junior Sean Simon, a four-star recruit, became the Bulldogs’ all-time leading rusher while piling up 181 yards and two touchdowns during a 59-31 victory against Galveston Ball. Simon now has 4,113 career rushing yards. The record was previously held by Austin Upshaw, who had 4,069 yards from 2014-16. Simon is averaging 171.4 rushing yards per game and 8.4 yards per carry for his career.

Lutheran South rolled to a 49-14 victory against St. John’s on Friday with junior running back Dedrick Polk leading the charge. He rushed for 262 yards and a program-record six touchdowns on 23 carries, averaging 11.4 yards per attempt. Polk has rushed for 694 yards and 15 touchdowns through four games for the 4-0 Pioneers.

Two of a kind

Cinco Ranch freshman quarterback Derek Berg made quite an impression during his first varsity start last week, completing 8-of-8 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns as the Cougars beat Morton Ranch 49-7. But he wasn’t the only Houston-area passer to have a perfect day passing. La Marque junior Deuce Walker also went 8-for-8, passing for 188 yards and three touchdowns. Combined, that’s 16 for 16 for 333 yards and six touchdowns with zero interceptions for Berg and Walker in their teams’ first wins of the season.

Top performers

Tyce Hudson, Sr., Klein Collins: Hudson only touched the ball eight times during Thursday’s 66-17 district victory against Tomball Memorial, but he certainly made the most of them. He finished with four carries for 128 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 32 yards per attempt. He also had four catches for 36 yards and another score as the Tigers (2-1) collected their highest single-game point total since 2024.

James Brown, Sr., Houston Austin: Brown was the catalyst for the Mustangs (1-2) during their 32-28 victory against Kashmere on Thursday. He rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries, averaging 16.1 yards per attempt. He also had a 33-yard catch, putting him well over 200 total yards. The win was also significant in the historical context of the Austin program as it snapped a 20-game losing streak that dated to 2024.

Brody Bartee, Sr., Ridge Point: Bartee continued his impressive start to the season for the 3-0 Panthers, completing 19-of-28 passes for 417 yards and five touchdowns during a 56-35 win over Bridgeland. Through three games, the Florida Atlantic commit is completing 67% of his passes for 367 yards per game with 11 touchdowns.

Ian Thomas, Jr., Tomball: Thomas, a four-star junior recruit, had a monster game on just 11 touches during the Cougars’ 49-19 district victory against Klein Forest. He rushed for 202 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries and added two catches for 38 yards and another score, giving him 240 total yards and four touchdowns.

Kaden Copelin, Jr., The Woodlands: Copelin set a program record with seven touchdown passes during the Highlanders’ 58-0 victory against Humble. He completed 14-of-15 passes (93.3%) for 284 yards in the win. The previous touchdown record was held by Eric Schmid, who accomplished the feat in 2016.

Reid Jeffrey, Sr., Clear Falls: Jeffrey helped Clear Falls secure its first victory of the season, completing 16-of-29 passes for 283 yards, five touchdowns and one interception during a 42-35 win over Elkins.

Josh Warren, Jr., Montgomery: Warren was the catalyst for the Bears’ offense during a 42-35 victory against Oak Ridge. He rushed for 210 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, averaging 8.7 yards per attempt.

Haden LaFrenz, Jr., Deer Park: The Deer picked up an emphatic 45-7 road victory against Kingwood, and LaFrenz was lights-out. He completed 12-of-18 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 68 yards and two scores on seven attempts as Deer Park improved to 3-0.

Kaden Rosado, Sr., Grand Oaks: How about some special teams love? Rosado put on a clinic during the Grizzlies’ 38-14 victory against Langham Creek. He went 3 for 3 on extra points and made his only field goal attempt. He had five touchbacks on eight kickoffs and averaged 46 yards per punt, with two of the five landing inside the 20.

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This article originally published at Houston high school football: Week 3 takeaways and top performers.