Temple set for first-round rematch with Duncanville

In last Thursday’s regular-season finale at Killeen’s Leo Buckley Stadium, a 14-7 halftime lead for Temple turned into a 24-14 loss against District 12-6A champion Harker Heights. The result meant the Wildcats needed a Hewitt Midway win at Copperas Cove to secure their second consecutive playoff berth. Fortunately for Temple, the second-place Panthers charged to a 56-26 victory over the Bulldawgs, who shared third place with the Wildcats and Killeen Shoemaker at 3-3 before Temple won the district’s points-based tiebreaker. Although getting outscored 17-0 after halftime and dropping the league finale wasn’t ideal, Temple first-year head coach Chad President was happy to brighten the Wildcats’ spirits by informing them that they had qualified for postseason play. “After the game, you saw some seniors getting teary-eyed and having mixed emotions from not winning the game and then thinking that it was over,” President said. “We just told them, ‘Everything’s fine. We’re in. We’re blessed with another 48 minutes to play.’ They were very fired up.” Duncanville, DeSoto and Waxahachie all won last Thursday to share the 11-6A championship at 6-1. Duncanville prevailed in the points tiebreaker to seize the No. 1 seed in the Class 6A Division I playoffs, producing a second straight bi-district clash with Temple (7-3) and the eighth-ranked Panthers (7-1) at 7 p.m. Friday at Panther Stadium.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Temple High School Athletics

TEMPLE SET FOR FIRST-ROUND REMATCH WITH DUNCANVILLE

GREG WILLE

Temple Daily Telegram | 11/13/2025