North Crowley throttles Rockwall behind four touchdown performance from WR Quentin Gibson

North Crowley football had one of the most brutal non-district slates in Texas high school football with Lancaster, DeSoto and Denton Guyer on the schedule.

To cap off the challenging four-game stretch, North Crowley thoroughly defeated Rockwall 70-17 on Thursday at Wilkerson-Sanders Memorial Stadium. Wide receiver Quentin Gibson led the charge, tallying 118 total yards and four touchdowns to continue a historic start to the year.

Four of his five touches were for touchdowns, and he was fighting through double teams. Gibson recently received an offer from TCU and has 15 total touchdowns this season through four games.

Of course, you need a quarterback to get you the ball to have those numbers. The Panthers’ signal caller, Chris Jimerson Jr., is a University of North Texas commit . He is having a stellar senior year thus far and totaled 241 yards and five touchdowns against the Yellowjackets, completing 75% of passes.

“He is even-keeled,” North Crowley head coach Ray Gates said. “Very, very poised in the pocket. If you want to know what is going on in the mind of a quarterback, just watch his feet. He has calm feet. He doesn’t press. He makes the right reads. The ball goes where it should go. When you can do those things, it makes you hard to beat with the talent we have.”

Jimerson Jr. has been a force within the offense, leading his team to a hot start. Although there is a lot to be excited about at North Crowley High School, Gates said non-district records don’t actually matter.

“If you come into the next game, and you’re not playing your best football, then you could potentially be sitting at home 5, 6, 7 weeks down the road,” Gates said. “What we’ve done so far -- we’ve just sharpened our sword, and we want to be able to cut come district time. Hopefully, we’re ready to swing it next week.”

Before the start of the season, Gates said the Panthers needed a challenge so they could find their weaknesses and have plenty of time to address them. Gates said one of their goals was to play fast and get early stops.

Rockwall, at first, gave North Crowley a fight. Rockwall recovered a fumble on the opening kick and started the scoring with a touchdown. The Panthers were behind on their goals, but Gates emphasized the most important thing his team did all game was quickly respond.

It was smooth sailing from then on, and the Panthers scored all their possessions except the last one. The defense did its job, setting up scores with takeaways and stops.

“Going into halftime, the focus was to finish strong,” Gates said. “Because last week, we didn’t finish the second half the way we had hoped for and expected. (Rockwall) was scoreless in the second half, even with our second and third-string guys in the game. So, I applaud the defense for what they did.”

Rockwall boasted a No. 10 ranking in the Dallas Morning News’ Dallas-area Class 6A rankings , and the Panthers still cruised to victory.

Another spectacular performance by WR Quentin Gibson

The Panthers responded to the opening kick fumble with a flurry of plays from running backs Daniel Bray and Cornelius Warren III, who capped the drive with a 1-yard scoring scamper.

At that point, Jimerson started his scoring barrage. He found wide receiver Cam Hunter for an 18-yard score and followed it up with 16-yard touchdown pass to Gibson.

With Rockwall’s offense stymied by the Panthers, Jimerson got the ball back and connected with Gibson for another 16-yard score.

Warren, following an interception by Draden Fullbright, then added his second score of the day. Gibson, after a Rockwall turnover, added to the Panther lead with a 32-yard rushing score, breaking four tackles and dragging a defender to the end zone.

Gibson finished his miraculous performance with a 38-yard touchdown on the Panthers first play of an offensive series. North Crowley had 17 seconds to score but managed to do it in just seven seconds.

Bray, wide receiver Kevin Moore, and running back Kiante Ingram added touchdowns in the second half.

On September 27, North Crowley will face Mansfield Legacy, a newcomer to District 3-6A, to start district play. In 2023, North Crowley won every district game by 22 points or more. Still, the Star-Telegram’s No. 1 ranked Class 6A program will have to focus on improvement, taking things week by week and health.

“What we’re doing right now is special for our community,” Gates said. “It hasn’t been done in a very long time. So, our community is grateful and excited. We feel like this is the moment in time when we can capture a state championship. That is the goal, ultimately.”

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