Week 3 of the high school football season had plenty to talk about. Take a look at some of the top storylines surrounding the action across the Texas Panhandle and South Plains.

Vega head coach Jason Porton recently celebrates milestone

Vega Longhorn head coach Jason Porton has quietly put together one of the better programs over 14 years and is arguably one of the more underrated coaches across the Texas Panhandle. Porton, who has had head coaching stints at Samnorwood and now Vega, recently celebrated 100 career wins, and just won his 103rd career game after his Longhorns beat Shamrock 52-20 on Friday. Porton has his Longhorns at 3-0 for the first time since 2019 over those 14 years at Vega.

“I think those wins are a testament to the players that have come through here and the community,” said Porton, who has 83 of those wins at Vega. “Vega kids are phenomenal and 100 wins is great, but what I love the most is the relationships my family and I have been able to build. Getting the texts from former players and the friendships we’ve made is the best part.”

West Texas High is streaking

West Texas High has picked up where it left off last year. That maybe unexpected to some with the loss of head coach Jeff Smith and standout QB Cayde Winters, but so far first-year head coach Hunter Ashley and the Comanches seemed to be a a force to be reckon with. WT High rolled over Guymon, Okla., 52-14 to earn a Texas Panhandle best 13th straight regular season victory. WT High went 10-0 last season and are now 3-0 to start 2026. The Comanches last regular season loss came to Sunray 52-16 on Nov. 8 of 2024. In that win over Guymon, quarterback Brady Layne led WT High throwing for 283 yards with three touchdowns.

Shallowater stuns Canadian

Shallowater pulled off quite the miracle comeback to stay undefeated and leave the Canadian Wildcats absolutely in shock on Friday night. Trailing 28-16 with under two minutes to play, the Mustangs looked to be headed for a certain loss. However, following a Canadian punt, Shallowater (3-0) took over in Wildcat territory and QB Logan Winn went right to work hitting Mikah Blackshear for a 23-yard score cutting the Wildcat lead to 28-23 with 56 seconds to play. Shallowater then picked up the onside kick, recovering the ball at the Canadian 40-yard line. Moments later, Winn found his go-to target Blackshear again on a crossing route for the incredible go-ahead score. Shallowater tacked on the two-point conversion and just like that were able to take the lead 31-28 with just 30 seconds left. Canadian had one final chance but were unable to capitalize. Shallowater has now defeated Canadian for a third straight year. Winn finished the game with 289 yards passing and four touchdowns. Blackshear had eight catches for 98 yards with two scores.

Frenship Memorial earns first varsity win

In its first full varsity season, the Frenship Memorial Panthers took just a bit but were able to earn its first varsity win by handling Lubbock Coronado 30-13. The Panthers had dropped its first two games against Lubbock-Cooper Liberty and West Plains, however, head coach Jason Richards team was able to put it all together against the Mustangs. Frenship Memorial had played three varsity games last season as a JV program but were also unsuccessful to find the win column, so this was a milestone night for the Panthers.

“This is big for the program in a lot of ways, “Richards said. “We’ve played some really good teams and we know we are getting better. This was just the kind of win we needed heading into a very tough district schedule. It’s been a rough start but I’m very proud of this team and the trajectory we’re on.”

In the win over Coronado, Memorial running back Junah Roberts went for 176 yards on the ground with a touchdown.

Bushland has found its signal caller

Head coach Josh Reynolds made a difficult decision in Week 1 against Seminole to put in sophomore Parker Hall in a quarterback for senior Kannon Aven during a loss against Seminole, but the move seems to have paid off. Hall started finding his feet against Seminole, and then started showing his ability in the second half despite a loss at home to Canadian last week. Hall is now showing what he can do as the dual-threat quarterback had his best game to date leading the Falcons to a thrilling 40-35 win at Dumas in Week 3 on Friday. Hall was incredible against the Demon defense going 26-of-38 for 344 yards with five touchdown passes.