It’s not the biggest week of the season.

No district titles or playoff berths will be won or lost tonight. And in the grand scheme of things, it’s just another Friday night of football.

But I’ve always thought Week 2 offered plenty of insights when it comes to how the entire season will go.

For the teams that struggled in Week 1, was that opening jitters or a sign of what’s to come?

For the teams that looked sharp last Friday night, was that simply an overmatched opponent you faced or are you playing at a high level right off the bat?

I’m intrigued by Burkburnett-Krum and Bridgeport-Bowie just because the Bulldogs and Jackrabbits had strong debuts and will get a more challenging opponent tonight.

Can Munday hang with Quanah? Who bounces back better in the Petrolia-Olney game? Can Vernon get it going against a quality side in Wellington? None of those games are mentioned below, but I believe they all have notable storylines.

Where I’ll be at: Windthorst (1-0) at City View (0-1). If this game is anything like the last couple, it’ll be the place to be. Two years ago, the Trojans bested the Mustangs 21-20 in overtime, while last year City View held Windthorst in check for a 27-20 victory. There’s going to be plenty of star power on the field, and that’ll remain true even if City View’s Jayden Bradford doesn’t play (he missed Week 1). Keylan Marks was terrific in his QB debut, throwing for 140 yards and a score while rushing for 122 and two TDs. The senior will need another quality performance as he goes up against Brock Belcher’s Trojans.

Games that intrigue me: Holliday (0-1) at Muenster (1-0) and Canyon Randall (1-0) at Memorial (1-0). The first one is almost guaranteed to be a shootout. Holliday captured the two most recent meetings, winning 49-35 and 48-44 and just played in a 49-43 contest. The Hornets are breaking in a new quarterback in senior Carter Heller, who gained 146 yards and three TDs last week against Lindsay. I think it should be a fun night out at Hornet Stadium. Closer to home, I’m anxious to see what the Mavericks have in store against Canyon Randall at Memorial Stadium. I’d say this one has a strong capability of being high-scoring as well. Memorial topped Fort Worth Paschal 54-34 last week behind Cole Birkhead’s seven touchdowns, while Randall outscored Roswell (NM) 50-37. Randall’s quarterback has one of the coolest names I’ve ever seen: Hendrix Funk.

Game with an interesting storyline: Childress (0-1) at Iowa Park (0-1). This is where Jonathan Hull will start his Friday night coverage. This game used to be a staple (every year between 2002-09), but these Highway 287 neighbors haven’t played since 2017. Both teams probably felt like they let one slip away after Henrietta came back on the Hawks 35-34 and Childress fell to Shallowater, 35-21. The Hawks did a lot of good last week and they’ll look to continue that in Weldon Nelms’ home debut.

Game that could be more interesting than I thought: Nocona (1-0) at Archer City (1-0). Neither of these teams are among the area’s most stout. However, the Wildcats already matched last season’s win total and the Indians can do the same tonight with a road victory. Both quarterbacks – Seth Truette and Brody Langford – gained valuable experience in 2025 and had quality debuts. The winner will really get some momentum going.

Games with the closest spread according to pigskinprep.com: Half of the area’s games predicted to be within a touchdown are 6-2A Division I vs. 6-2A Division II battles as Petrolia and Electra are three-point favorites over Olney and Chico, while Archer City is a seven-point favorite over Nocona. The closest game is Memorial being a one-point favorite over Canyon Randall. Vernon is a three-point underdog at Wellington, while City View is a seven-point underdog at home against Windthorst.

WEEK 2

Thursday

Northside 48, Cranfills Gap 0

Prairie Valley 20, Perrin Whitt JV 6

Friday

Non-District

Canyon Randall at Memorial, 7 p.m.

Legacy at FW Eastern Hills, 7 p.m.

Burkburnett at Krum, 7 p.m.

Graham at Eagle Mountain, 7 p.m.

Childress at Iowa Park, 7 p.m.

Bridgeport at Bowie

Vernon at Wellington, 7 p.m.

Windthorst at City View, 7 p.m.

Henrietta at Marlow, Okla., 7 p.m.

Holliday at Muenster, 7 p.m.

Boyd at Jacksboro, 7 p.m.

Petrolia at Olney, 7 p.m.

Nocona at Archer City, 7 p.m.

Quanah at Munday, 7 p.m.

Electra at Chico

Hamlin at Seymour, 7 p.m.

Knox City at Spur

Crowell at Throckmorton, 7 p.m.

Groom at Benjamin, 6 p.m.

Bryson at Harrold

Guthrie at Newcastle

Saint Jo at Gold-Burg

Byes: Forestburg, Chillicothe

When Henrietta scored in the final minute to edge Iowa Park last Friday night, my first thought was, “What a gutsy comeback.”

And that’s before I knew the Bearcats had been trailing 34-7 in the second half. I’d only seen a 20-point deficit while scrolling through my phone.

Iowa Park’s final touchdown occurred with 5:46 left in the third quarter, meaning Henrietta finished the game on a 27-0 run.

The key sequence happened as Iowa Park was driving early in the fourth quarter while holding a 34-14 advantage. The Hawks turned the ball over on downs at the Bearcat 25, and two plays later, Eli Morris turned Tucker Teague’s well-thrown out route into a 72-yard touchdown.

Henrietta then recovered a pooch kick and scored again on Cruse Coleman’s 27-yard run with 7:59 remaining.

The 27-point rally brought back memories of other impressive area comebacks. Below is a list of what I came up with after having asked several area football coaches and media.

It may not be a complete list, and if anyone has other games, email redriverroundup@gmail.com or list them in the comments. And I’ll mention them in this Sunday’s wrapup column.

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Author’s Note: Welcome to my favorite weekly story to write during football season Every Sunday night from now until December, I’ll post a recap column that serves many purposes. It’ll lead with a topic, then I’ll share extra notes from my game, recap the entire area with notes/stats/thoughts plus look at the region. It will be extremely long, but I promise it’ll also be informative.

Author’s Note No. II: Coaches, if you have access to your team stats after Friday games, please email them to redriverroundup@gmail.com. We’ll check the usual places like Maxpreps too, but we want to include every team in this weekly roundup, which means we need to see what happened in your game.

You can’t be at two places at once.

Even if they ever somehow invent teleporting, you’re still leaving one place and landing at another.

So I missed a football Friday night for the first time in years because Memorial had a tennis tournament in Abilene. It was an exhausting but worthwhile trip – we played hard, won some matches, got better and had some fun.

I sorely missed covering a Friday night football game. I’m one of those atmosphere people who’d rather be packed among the masses at a sports event (if the cost is reasonable) than watching it on my couch.

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It was a long time coming.

And no, I’m not talking about Ross Dillard’s first career victory as a head football coach, although that’s also an apt description.

I’m referring to having a meaningful Week 1 area football game being held on a Thursday at Memorial Stadium.

Memorial’s 54-34 victory over Fort Worth Paschal was memorable because it officially marked a new era for the Mavericks.

And it was memorable because Cole Birkhead threw for 387 yards and a school-record seven touchdown passes to four different receivers.

But it also served as the perfect appetizer for tonight’s main course of area high school football.

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You get to the point as a writer where you’ve typed thousands and thousands of words preparing for the upcoming football season.

You’ve analyzed districts, churned out team preview after team preview. You’ve talked about returning players until you’re blue in the face.

All you want is for the actual games to begin so you can write about what is happening and not what is going to happen.

That’s where I’m at right now.

Below is the last preview story Red River Roundup is going to post. We’ve had lots of content this week as RRR looked at every area starting quarterback, came up with a Preseason Top 10 poll and gave local media a platform to weigh in on the 2026 season.

And the first “Duncan’s Field Guide” free weekly preview also came out this morning.

Shoutout to my buddy Jonathan Hull for helping get the Burkburnett, Legacy and Memorial previews done. This year we talked to every area 11-man coach, and I couldn’t have done that without him.

I didn’t share my thoughts on the upcoming season with the other media because I wanted to do it here. These are just a few thoughts floating around in my brain:

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Jonathan Hull: “Hey, we need to come up with a catchy name for the lookahead story.”

Me: “Agreed.”

Hull: “Here’s a few that AI came up with. I kind of like Duncan’s First Read.”

Me: “Nice! I kind of like Duncan’s Field Guide.”

Hull: “Need a pic of you dressed to go on a hike.”

Me: “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

Welcome to the first 2026 edition of Duncan’s Field Guide, where I look at and break down the top games around the area each week.

When I was at the Times Record News, we called this the “Area Menu.” I’m sure Hull would have had plenty of AI options getting me in a chef’s hat as well, but I like the new name.

While most Red River Roundup stories are for paid subscribers, the Field Guide will always be free. It’ll let you know where we’ll be every Friday night and some of the biggest games in the area.

In about 12 hours, the 2026 area football season will have begun. Which seems surreal given how August has flown by and how deathly hot it is outside.

We’ve got five area games on Thursday’s docket, including Memorial hosting Fort Worth Paschal in Ross Dillard’s head coaching debut. Plus we’ve got four area six-man games happening as well.

And then there’s a quality slate of Friday games that area towns have been anticipating ever since seasons ended nine months ago. Let’s take a look:

Where I’ll be at: Paschal at Memorial. I’m glad we’ve got a Thursday night game in town because that’s the only night I’ll be able to catch some football. You may remember, I’m a Memorial tennis coach and we’ve got a tournament in Abilene this weekend. In the past, this tournament has been played before Week 1, so it was quite a surprise when the new schedule came out.

That means I’ll be keeping up with games on my phone a couple hours away and then hopping on for the Falls Friday Night podcast that we’ll have that night. Hull will be starting out in Windthorst and may wind up at a second game before the night is through.

Games that intrigue me: Holliday at Windthorst and Iowa Park at Henrietta. The Eagles and Trojans are playing for the first time since 2019, and that Archer County showdown will feature two of the area’s best quarterbacks in Brock Belcher and Landon Jones. This is where I’d be at if I wasn’t gone coaching. These schools haven’t played a ton throughout their history, and it provides the Trojans with a chance to make a Week 1 statement.

Meanwhile in Clay County, the Bearcats host the Hawks for the opening of their renovated stadium. These teams haven’t played since 1999, and it doubles as Weldon Nelms’ debut after his return to Iowa Park. Henrietta is probably the favorite here, but it’d be impressive if Iowa Park wins on the road.

Game that could be more interesting than I thought: Olney at Quanah. Let me be clear. Quanah is the favorite in this game, and I’d expect the Indians to come out ahead. But Olney will be better in Dustin Altmiller’s second season at his alma mater, and I think this matchup of area 2A schools will provide a good gauge of where both teams are at. Because one of the questions floating around in my brain is “How good will Quanah be?”

Game with an interesting storyline: Whitesboro at City View. Coach Akeem Leviston spent some time as the offensive coordinator in Whitesboro. He coached the Bearcats’ seniors when they were freshmen. He’s close buddies with Whitesboro coach Cody Fagan and made some lifelong friends out east that he still keeps in touch with. So on top of it being a good matchup on paper, this Week 1 opener at Veterans Field will mean a little more for Leviston.

Games with the closest spread according to pigskinprep.com: There are more games than usual within a touchdown on the opening week. Holliday-Windthorst is a pick ’em, while Legacy is a one-point favorite over Grapevine. Archer City is a two-point favorite over Chico, and Era is also a two-point favorite versus Petrolia in a Week 1 rematch. Nocona is a three-point favorite against Valley View, while Memorial (Paschal), Burkburnett (FW Western Hills) and City View (Whitesboro) are five-point underdogs. Newcastle enters tonight’s game a six-point underdog versus Borden County, while Bowie is a touchdown favorite over Callisburg.

WEEK 1

THURSDAY

Non-District

FW Paschal at Memorial, 7 p.m.

Newcastle vs. Borden County, 6 p.m. in Jayton

Memphis at Benjamin, 6 p.m.

Gold-Burg at Northside

Throckmorton at Gorman

FRIDAY

Non-District

Grapevine at Legacy, 7 p.m.

Burkburnett at FW Western Hills

Godley at Graham, 7 p.m.

Iowa Park at Henrietta, 7 p.m.

Vernon at Mineral Wells, 7 p.m.

Callisburg at Bowie

Whitesboro at City View, 7 p.m.

Holliday at Windthorst, 7 p.m.

Millsap at Jacksboro, 7 p.m.

Olney at Quanah, 7 p.m.

Valley View at Nocona, 7 p.m.

Archer City at Chico, 7 p.m.

Hale Center at Seymour, 7 p.m.

Era at Petrolia, 7 p.m.

Big Spring Pathway at Munday, 7 p.m.

Bryson vs. Whiteface, 6 p.m. at Jayton

Saint Jo at Crowell, 7 p.m.

Chillicothe at Paint Creek, 7 p.m.

Prairie Valley at Harrold

Rising Star at Forestburg, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY

Non-District

Knox City vs. Lefors, 3 p.m. at Jayton

Akeem Leviston’s first year at City View was a success as the Mustangs finished second in a deep district and won nine games for the second consecutive year.

However, graduation hit the Mustangs harder than it did most area teams as City View returns only three offensive starters and five defensive starters.

One of those is a top defensive lineman in the state as Jayden Bradford returns for his senior season and will command a double team on nearly every snap.

Another is Keylan Marks, who makes the move from receiver to quarterback on offense, replacing Malachi Williams. Running back Brian Collier (809 yards, 6 TDs in eight games) also returns to the backfield.

Leviston knows City View won’t be as deep in his second season, but that doesn’t mean the Mustangs can’t be successful. Here’s what Leviston had to say about this year’s team:

Q: It’s one of those things you’re in the second year of your system but you lost so many seniors. How’s the first three weeks gone?

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I’ve said it time and time again, but quarterback is the most important position on a football field. And it’s not even close.

I was thinking the other day about the area’s state title-winning programs of the past century at the 11-man level. Know what they have in common?

2002 Petrolia – Senior quarterback Justin Creech

2003 Windthorst – Senior quarterback Chad Green

2007 Munday – Senior quarterback Steven Urbanczyk

2012 Munday – Senior quarterback Dee Paul

2020 Windthorst – Senior quarterback Cy Belcher

Last year I wrote about how the area had more returning starting quarterbacks (14 of 20) than at any time I could remember previously. Well, the position isn’t as loaded in 2026, but there’s a few names we’ll hear about often in the coming weeks.

This year, we’ve got eight area quarterbacks who are returning as starters, including Windthorst’s Brock Belcher – who’s entering his fourth season – and Legacy’s Knox Hodges, who has already played two full seasons at the 5A level.

But we’ve got a couple more signal-callers who started meaningful games last season and others who have been productive players elsewhere on the field.

In total, I counted 12 teams turning their offenses over to senior quarterbacks, including six who’d never been a full-time varsity starter. Given the maturity and leadership needed at the position, it makes sense.

On the flip side, three teams – Vernon, Henrietta and Munday – are going with sophomores at the position.

Here’s a look at who every area team will be trotting out as their starting quarterback this week:

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The conversation surrounding Legacy football has changed considerably in one year.

Greg Davis entered his first season as a head coach trying to help a young program experience success for the first time. Now, the Leopards enter Year 2 under Davis with something they haven’t had before: experience, continuity and legitimate expectations.

There are proven pieces to build around.

For the first time, Legacy is being

mentioned as a potential playoff team.

Red River Roundup caught up with Davis for six questions ahead of the 2026 season.

Q: This program experienced success for the first time during your first season as the head coach last year. What did this team gain from that experience?

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Back in my newspaper days, I always enjoyed ranking the area’s teams on a weekly basis based on their strength relative to their classification.

Red River Roundup doesn’t do a weekly rankings poll, but we put out a preseason poll, a mid-year poll and then we’ll rank the teams at the end of the season.

Now that Jonathan Hull has joined Red River Roundup, I took into account his rankings and those of 940 Gameday’s Nolan Clark when coming up with this order. So what you see below is not solely my rankings, but all of ours averaged together.

We’ll have a couple schools who we miss out on, and we’ll have others that are listed below but probably won’t be by the mid-season rankings. You don’t know how good anyone really is until you’ve had a few games played.

But as you can see below, nine of the 10 teams I ranked for the preseason made the final list in 2025. Henrietta was the lone omission.

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After a quarter century removed from Iowa Park’s sidelines and a decade away from being a head coach, Weldon Nelms has returned to lead Iowa Park this season.

There’s a certain buzz that surrounds Nelms, the Hall of Fame coach who won two state titles while at Wimberly.

Iowa Park looks to bounce from a 3-7 season in 2025 that included a 3-0 start and then seven straight setbacks to finish out the year, snapping a lengthy playoff streak in the process.

The Hawks return five offensive and defensive starters, including junior quarterback Reed McClain and a couple seniors who earned all-district recognition in safety Carson McCord and lineman Weston Welborn.

Nelms prefers looking forward and expects his Hawks to be ready when they travel to Henrietta to open the season Friday night.

Here’s what the 69-year-old had to say about returning to the sidelines, what he’s seen from Iowa Park so far and what the Hawks’ biggest strengths are:

Q: What are your biggest takeaways after seeing Iowa Park’s two scrimmages?

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The Wichita Falls area has been blessed with hard-working media who covers this pocket of planet Earth about as well as humanly possible.

It started with local writing legends Ted Buss and Nick Gholson. Tobin McDuff has become an institution at KFDX, while my buddy Jonathan Hull is entering his 13th season covering this area.

I always appreciate learning what other media personalities think about certain teams or districts because sometimes their perception matches mine and other times their responses are enlightening.

Because of that, I reached out to five local media members – McDuff, Hull, KAUZ’s Alvin Runnels, 940 Gameday’s Nolan Clark and the recently departed (but oh so knowledgeable) M.J. Baird to get their takes on five different questions.

I also wanted to use this space to introduce you to a new local media member in Andy Mathis, who is replacing Hull at the Times Record News. Mathis is a young guy straight out of the University of Georgia who moved to Wichita Falls a couple weeks ago.

It’s always good to have talented young blood come to this area, and I’m excited to read Mathis’ coverage. His X handle is @andymath1s if you want to give him a follow.

I abstained from answering these questions because next week I’ll share my own “10 thoughts about the 2026 season” in a column.

But check out what five media members had to say about the 2026 season below. My favorite part is that all five had a different answer for “most surprising team,” and if that’s not an indication of how fun 2026 will be, I don’t know what is.

Which area team do you think will be the biggest surprise and why?

Hull: Memorial. It’s strange to say that because the Mavs have been the better of the two WFISD programs, but expectations outside the locker room seem to be low. Many don’t have the Mavs making the playoffs after graduating a great senior class and the change at head coach from Marc Bindel to Ross Dillard. But Dillard offers continuity, and there are still pieces on the roster that will have the Mavs in the thick of the playoff picture.

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There is no mystery surrounding Jody Littleton’s assignment at Burkburnett.

The Bulldogs need a turnaround, and their new head coach has done this before.

Littleton takes over a Burkburnett program that has won just three games over the past two seasons. But he arrives with a résumé that suggests he understands what goes into changing a program’s direction. At New Boston, Littleton inherited a team that had gone seven consecutive seasons without reaching the playoffs. Under his leadership, the Lions made the postseason three straight years and won back-to-back bi-district championships.

His background goes well beyond those three seasons. Littleton spent a decade coordinating highly successful defenses at Kennedale, most recently served as defensive coordinator at Class 6A Round Rock Cedar Ridge and brings the perspective of a former Baylor and professional football player.

Now comes another rebuilding job.

Littleton enters his first season leading the Bulldogs with an opportunity to establish a new identity and begin moving Burkburnett football back in the right direction.

Red River Roundup caught up with Littleton for six questions ahead of the 2026 season.

Q: When you first got to Burkburnett, what did you see that told you this program could be turned around, and what did you believe had to change?

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It’s the last dress rehearsal before the 2026 high school football season begins.

Below is the…

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Nocona played 14 sophomores at certain points last season so there was a learning curve to be expected during the Indians’ 2-8 campaign.

The good news for coach Jeff Hill – who enters his second season leading the program – is that seven offensive and eight defensive starters are returning, including first-team all-district selections Jax Fuller and Logan Gaston.

Nocona not only benefits from having most of its top skill kids back, but the Indians landed in a friendlier district than their previous grouping.

Hill talked about the first impression his Indians made last week and also about his quarterback situation and his team’s strengths in this preview:

Q: What impressed you the most about your scrimmage with Electra last week?

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Munday last went to the playoffs a decade ago. Former City View and Mineral Wells assistant coach Jeff Ward was hired last spring to change that.

The Moguls have finished the past two seasons with identical 4-6 records that include 3-0 starts against an easy schedule and a lone district win (Haskell in 2024, Seymour in 2025).

Ward inherits a squad that returns seven offensive and defensive starters, although the Moguls will be breaking in a new quarterback and leaning on a strong junior class.

Here’s what the Moguls’ new leader had to say about the 2026 season, which is less than two weeks away.

Q: How did your scrimmage go Friday against Cross Plains. What were the biggest bright spots?

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We are 10 days away from the start of the 2026 high school football season.

If that doesn’t excite you, I don’t know what will.

More than a couple hundred games involving area football teams will take place this year. There will be nail-biting finishes. There will be blowouts.

And maybe if you look back at this story three months from now, you’ll realize there were some games omitted that should have been included.

That’s one of the beauties of high school football. Do you know how many times in my 25 years covering this area that I’ve mapped out which game I’ll be at a week in advance and then both those teams will lose on the preceding Friday. All of a sudden, my travel plans change and another game becomes the biggest in the area?

A couple thoughts before you get down to the rankings. I only included two 4-3A Division II matchups, but you can make the argument right now that any of the six games between Jacksboro, Holliday, City View and Henrietta should be listed.

And I know 6-2A Division II will have some important matchups, but I don’t think anyone can push Windthorst.

So below are what look like the 10 best area football games right now on paper. I’m sure after a couple Friday nights happen, this list may look totally different.

10. Graham at Paradise (Week 3) – It’s not surprising these teams have never played before. But both ranked squads are known for their physical defenses, and it’s a great early test for the Steers, who could have a special season.

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Vernon football is enjoying a resurgence, averaging almost nine victories during the past three seasons.

Coach Kevin Sherrill left the Lions after 2025 to take over at Blooming Grove, but Vernon looked in-house for his replacement, hiring defensive coordinator Brock Payne to lead the proud program.

Vernon lost a talented senior class to graduation led by quarterback Ty Scott, but the Lions still return seven offensive and defensive starters.

Among those are reigning District 4-3A Lineman of the Year Adrain Felton plus linebackers Bowie Eakin and Tyce Payne, who has been racking up the Division I football offers.

We asked Brock Payne about how his new gig has been going, what changes to expect on offense plus his linebacking corps, which recently garnered statewide attention.

Q: What’s the first few months in your new position been like? What’s been the hardest aspect of being a head coach so far?

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We’re going to make this post short and sweet this morning.

Scrimmages start today as every area team gets their first look at live action against an opponent.

Most of our schools are scrimmaging Frida…

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Family and friends laid Mitch McLemore to rest yesterday.

The former Petrolia and Haskell head coach passed away over the weekend …

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