The Texas High School football season is now through the first three weeks of the season. Let’s take a look at some of the top performances from Thursday and Friday across the Amarillo-area and South Plains.
Hendrix Funk, Randall, QB, Soph.
Funk is getting better by the week and has the Randall Raiders playing good football to open the 2026 season. Behind Funk, Randall was able to blank Borger 49-0 with the sophomore picking the Bulldog secondary apart going 29-of-37 for 459 yards with four touchdowns. The 459 yards for Funk helped him set Randall’s single game passing record.
Gordo Estrada, Perryton, WR-DB, Sr.
Without his running mate Cooper Schilling at quarterback this week, Estrada took it upon himself to step up and lead the Rangers to a 34-14. On offense, the senior snagged four catches for 113 yards with a touchdown from freshman quarterback Rustin Newman. Defensively, Estrada made 11 tackles and he was then clutch in the special teams by blocking a field goal and returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
Ryan Essary and Austin Bartholomew, River Road, QB-WR
Let’s start calling River Road the “Cardiac Cats”. For the second time in three weeks head coach Aaron Wampler’s team made a furious late game comeback for a thrilling win. Trailing Farwell 28-21 late in the fourth quarter, quarterback Ryan Essary was able to rip off a 17-yard touchdown pass to Austin Bartholomew cutting the lead to one. Essary then kept it himself on a bootleg to score the eventual game-winning two-point conversion giving River Road the 29-28 win. Essary was excellent throwing for 234 yards with a pair of touchdowns and ran for another. His favorite weapon Bartholomew was a mismatch for the Steers secondary as the senior snagged nine catches for 217 yards with three touchdowns.
A.J. Huddleston, Idalou, RB-LB, Sr.
Idalou is in midseason form after pulling away from Levelland for a 59-36 victory on Friday night. Senior running back and team captain Huddleston was a force out of the backfield toting the rock only nine times for 170 yards rushing with a pair of touchdowns. Huddleston also showed off his skill throwing for another TD in the win.
Jax Malone, New Deal, RB-DL, Soph.
New Deal had one of the more eye-opening wins of Week 3 after putting it on Slaton 28-7 at home. The Lions stepped up behind the play of sophomore two-way standout Jax Malone. Malone was punishing in the run game with 120 yards on 14 carries, and then on defense, Malone was in the Tigers backfield most of the night totaling three sacks.
Hudson Swan, Spearman, RB-LB, Sr.
Swan made sure he was going to do everything in his power to make sure the Lynx earned their first win of the season and he delivered. During a 54-13 thumping of the Hooker Bulldogs, Swan was a man amongst boys. On the ground, the senior ran right through the Bulldogs for 260 yards on only 10 carries with two scores and then had 48 yards receiving.
Callen Kane, Wellington, QB, Sr.
It’s been a quiet 3-0 start for the Wellington Skyrockets and that’s how head coach Greg Proffitt likes it, but if QB Callen Kane keeps playing like he did Friday that won’t be the case for long. The senior gunslinger led Wellington to a lopsided 46-12 victory over Sunray going 11-of-14 for 238 yards with three touchdown passes. He also tacked on 62 yards rushing with two more TDs.
Jaime Estrada, Childress, RB, Sr.
After a slow start to the season, Childress found the W column during a 56-12 thumping of Elk City, Okla. Senior running back Jaime Estrada showed what he could do and gave the Bobcats another offensive threat by stacking up 166 yards on 27 totes with three trips to the endzone.
Markael Davis, Clarendon, RB-LB, Jr.
Clarendon was able to rally back and help get head coach Brenton Whitaker his first win at the school as the Broncos galloped past Plains 42-30. Markael Davis was all over the field in this win. The junior racked up 12 total tackles including one for a loss, then was the center piece of the offense carrying the ball 14 times for 180 yards with a pair of scores.
Cole Walden, Valley, RB, Soph.
It was a wild game as expected, but Valley picked up its first win of the season by edging rival Happy 66-64 on Friday night. Cole Walden deserves a big thank you for the Patriots win. Head coach Dax Allen relied heavily on Walden and he delivered with 332 yards rushing on only 23 carries and ended the game with six touchdowns.
