Week 4 of the high school football season has come to an end and there are still a plethora of unbeaten teams, and plenty to talk about. Take a look at some of the top storylines surrounding the action across the Texas Panhandle and South Plains.
16 area teams remain undefeated
Through the first four weeks of the Texas High School football season a total 16 Press Pass Sports coverage teams remain undefeated across the Texas Panhandle and South Plains. One of the surprises highlighting this long list are the Wheeler Mustangs. The Mustangs graduated a massive senior class last season and instead of rebuilding, Wheeler has seemed to reload. The Mustangs are coming off an impressive 41-21 dominating home win against West Texas High. That not only snapped the Comanches 13-game win streak, but it also extended Wheeler’s regular season win streak to 10. The Mustangs are also 4-0 to start a season since 2009 and have won 20 of their last 23 ball games.
Joining Wheeler on the unbeaten list at 4-0 are – Randall, Lubbock-Cooper Liberty, Lubbock Estacado in Class 4A. In Class 3A, Idalou, Shallowater, Littlefield and Dimmitt are all undefeated. The Bobcats are now 4-0 for the first time since 2012. In Class 2A, Wellington, Gruver, New Deal, Olton and Vega have yet to drop a contest. The Longhorns are 4-0 for the first time in 11 years, and in Class 1A, White Deer, Boys Ranch and Hart are all unbeaten.
Borger snaps two long losing skids with one huge W
Borger earned its first on field win since 2024 after defeating arch-rival Pampa 30-20 at home Friday night. The Bulldogs were 0-10 on the field last season but were awarded a forfeit victory against Levelland following the end of the 2025. The win over the Harvesters not only snaps an 11-game losing streak to their rivals, but it also snaps a 17-game on-field losing streak. Borger’s last win came against Lubbock-Cooper Liberty, 54-23, on Oct. 18 of 2024.
“This was a big win for a lot of reasons,” Jesus Villaseñor said, who won his first game as head coach of the Bulldogs. “It was huge for the community, and the fans. The guys have been building momentum and trying to put it together from start to finish. This was the way to do it. Beating a rival we haven’t beaten in 11 years. These guys have bought in and have embraced what we are doing. This win is a testament to the kids and the coaching staff.”
Quarterback Christian Garcia helped lead Borger against Pampa rushing for 100 yards on eight carries with a touchdown. Running back Dyllon Yankee added two TDs on the ground.
Childress rallies for wild win
A game that may have gotten overshadowed in Week 4 was Childress and Holliday. There were plenty of twists and turns, but in the end the Bobcats were able to come away with an incredible 46-45 victory against the Eagles. Childress (2-2) couldn’t have asked for a better start going up 24-0 in the first half. However, Holliday (0-4) made a tremendous comeback to not only tie the game but go up 45-31 in the fourth quarter.
Fortunately for Childress, the Bobcats were able to sway the momentum back into their favor with a late rally of their own scoring 16 unanswered points to come away with an unbelievable victory. Down 45-31 in the fourth, Childress chipped away on Creedan Bell 5-yard touchdown running making it 45-38 Holliday. The Bobcats were able to get the ball back in the closing minutes and with 23 seconds left in the contest, quarterback Koen Galligan delivered a 15-yard touchdown pass to Julian Silva to bring Childress within a point. Galligan then called his own number on the two-point conversion on a quarterback sneak to help Childress to the unbelievable win.
Galligan went 17-of-29 for 261 yards with two touchdown tosses in the game. Bell had five catches for 113 yards with that rushing TD.
Boys Ranch is off to the races
Boys Ranch has come out blazing to open the 2026 season. The Roughriders are 4-0 to start the year and hold a couple of impressive wins under their belts that include Whitharral and McLean. The offense has been flat out unstoppable through the first month of the season as Boys Ranch is averaging 374 yards per game and putting up 62.7 points a contest.
Quarterback Isaac Acosta has picked up where he left off last year going 50-of-84 for 894 yards in the first four games with 21 touchdown passes. His main target Cord’e Jackson, who has a team-best 16 catches for 545 yards (34 yards per catch) with 14 TDs. While most fans knew how explosive the offense was at Boys Ranch, the defense has picked up the slack from last season. In the first four games, the Roughriders have given up just 406 total yards and have forced 17 turnovers.
“We have a bitter taste in our mouth from last year based on how the season ended,” Boys Ranch head coach Louis Kelley III said. “We were predicted to win the district and didn’t get it done. We were new to winning and needed to learn the consistency of being a winner. We’re learning that and the biggest difference this year is the addition of veteran coach Tory Peet to the staff. He is our defensive coordinator and does a tremendous job. This week against McLean is the first time we haven’t scored at least twice on the defensive side of the ball. The players are having fun and enjoying this year so far.”
District play is set to get underway in Class 5A
Here we go. District 2-5A Division I and Division II are set to get going this coming week. In Division I, this sports writer thinks Abilene High and Amarillo High will chase the crown but the third and fourth spots are wide open between Tascosa, Frenship, Lubbock Monterey and Caprock. There are some very intriguing matchups to open district this week. Tascosa hosts Frenship at 7 p.m. Thursday night at Dick Bivins Stadium. Amarillo High travels to battle Frenship Memorial on Friday and Caprock hosts Lubbock Monterey at Dick Bivins Stadium on Friday.
In Division II, the Palo Duro Dons have put over 40 points in their last two games and look to have shaken off an early season slump. The Dons (3-1) were the heavy favorite coming in but head coach Eric Mims knows his team still has much to work on if Palo Duro wants to repeat as league champions. The Dons quest for that repeat starts at 7 p.m. Friday at Wichita Falls Memorial (2-2).
