By Mike Waters
FORT WORTH – The top two private school football teams in the state a year ago — Parish Episcopal and Fort Worth All Saints — kicked off the 2026 gridiron season Friday at McNair Stadium’s Young Field.
Arguably the most anticipated private school regular season game of the year, the defending TAPPS Division I champion Panthers battled the two-time reigning TAPPS Division II titleholder Saints for the third consecutive opener.
In the end, eight-time TAPPS state champion Parish was dominated offensively and defensively by All Saints, 31-11, in a contest that was never really close, unlike the last two clashes of the titans.
Parish fell, 24-21, a year ago, its lone defeat en route to a 12-1 season and its sixth TAPPS Division I crown in the last seven years after a 39-35 setback in 2024 powered All Saints to back-to-back unbeaten TAPPS Division II championships.
In the most recent meeting, Parish outgained All Saints, 177-143, in the first half, but the Panthers found themselves trailing 14-3 at intermission.
A Preston Gaal 20-yard field goal was sandwiched between a pair of touchdown runs by Saints sophomore Brayden Boults (1 and 18 yards) to account for the opening half scoring.
The Saints combo of quarterback Brailon Davis and receiver Noah Tarrant was devastating coming out of the break, connecting on touchdown strikes of 12 and 63 yards on consecutive offensive possessions that left Parish with an insurmountable 28-3 deficit.
Parish’s game highlight followed as sophomore quarterback Logan Lucero, hit as he released the pass, connected with senior Johnathon Phillips — who split several defenders and sped 74 yards to paydirt. A successful Lucero to Reid Cave two-point conversion narrowed the gap to 28-11 with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The lone fourth-period score was an All Saints 30-yard field goal by Carter Johnston.
Parish head coach Daniel Novakov after the game gave credit to All Saints and said the Panthers “have a lot of work to do” as the season unfolds.
“We just could not get our running game going the way we like,” said Novakov, who was 91-25 in nine years guiding the Panthers program entering this season. “Hats off the All Saints. They are a heck of a team.”
Parish would gladly emulate a repeat of the 2025 season when it lost the season-opener to All Saints before reeling off 12 consecutive wins en route to the TAPPS Division I crown.
A year ago, then-freshman Lucero was thrust into the starting quarterback role against All Saints, and was just 7-of-15 for 56 yards in the loss.
Then the signal-caller and the Panthers pounced, as Lucero finished with 2,463 passing yards and 25 touchdowns in leading Parish to its state title run that culminated in a 14-7 triumph over Prestonwood Christian Academy.
Lucero, who already lists offers from Michigan, LSU, and others, had a solid performance against All Saints the second time around, completing 18-of-27 passes with no interceptions for 223 yards and one score, while adding 40 rushing yards on 10 carries.
Phillips recorded 72 receiving yards on two receptions, while senior Linkoln McKamie registered two catches for 63 yards. Junior Jaxon McKinney had a game-high nine grabs from the running back position for a total of 38 yards.
The Panthers are counting on a big year from defensive back Kingston Thornton, a Northwestern pledge, who provided the 2025 title game’s big plays, including an interception and a last-second pass breakup to secure the title.
A three-star prospect, Thornton is the No. 144 state recruit by 247Sports in the 2027 class.
On the other hand, All Saints head coach Aaron Beck added to his roster with standout transfers that rival any team in the state regardless of classification or organization.
Holdover senior defensive linemen Ryan Powers and Kingston Beyer spearheaded a swarming All Saints defense versus the Panthers, splitting eight tackles-for-loss with Powers also notching three sacks of Lucero.
The All Saints defense registered 15 TFLs to consistently place the Parish offense in long yardage situations.
In 2025, 6-3 290-pound Beyer — a Wyoming pledge — racked up 83 tackles, 40 TFLs, and 15.5 sacks.
Junior Jaytn Briles, who hauled in four catches for 121 yards in the win over Parish, is one of many All Saints weapons offensively.
Briles, the grandson of former Baylor head coach Art Briles and son of South Carolina offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, has multiple division I offers, including Texas Tech.
But it was the All Saints transfers on offense showcasing their skillsets against Parish that could make this team the best that coach Beck has built.
Junior quarterback Brailon Davis, a Mansfield Summit transfer who was injured and did not play last year, sizzled in his All Saints debut against Parish.
Davis, who holds an offer from Syracuse, finished with 257 passing yards on 12-for-22 with two touchdowns while adding 26 rushing yards on three carries.
Junior Carmelo Carter, a Fort Worth Arlington Heights transfer, chipped in with 45 rushing yards on just five attempts, while tight end Noah Tarrant had five catches for 107 yards and a pair of third-quarter touchdowns.
Parish will look to bounce back in another key game when it travels to face Kinkaid School at 7 p.m. Friday.
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