Allen answers last year's loss with 26-7 win over Duncanville

ALLEN, Texas — There was no shortage of history between these two teams when Allen and Duncanville met Friday night.

Nine months earlier, Duncanville ended Allen's season in the UIL Class 6A Division I state semifinals.

This time, the Eagles got the answer they were looking for.

Allen opened the 2026 season with a 26-7 win over Duncanville at Eagle Stadium, using a defense that repeatedly pressured the Panthers and a fourth-quarter offensive surge to pull away in the final 12 minutes.

For three quarters, it was the type of game both teams expected — physical, tense and largely controlled by the defenses.

Then Allen finished it.

Allen's defense made life difficult

The Eagles' defense set the tone almost immediately.

Duncanville quarterback Maximus The Great Denson was under pressure throughout the night, eventually being sacked eight times. Allen's pass rush repeatedly forced Duncanville behind the chains and limited the Panthers to just seven points.

Denson finished 11-of-18 passing for 91 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while also leading Duncanville with 79 rushing yards on nine carries.

The Panthers' only touchdown came late in the second quarter.

With less than a minute remaining before halftime, Denson found Trenton Yancey for a 53-yard touchdown, cutting Allen's lead to 12-7. Yancey finished with six catches for 75 yards and the score.

That was as close as Duncanville would get.

Snell stays composed

For Allen, sophomore quarterback Ty Snell handled one of the biggest games of his young career with the composure the Eagles needed.

Snell completed 16 of 24 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

His first touchdown came in the opening quarter.

With 1:44 remaining in the first, Snell scrambled out of the pocket before finding Cylas Siciliano for a 23-yard touchdown. The extra point was missed, but Allen had the early 6-0 lead.

The second came much later — and at a much bigger moment.

With 5:57 remaining in the fourth quarter, Snell connected with Zach Williams on a 20-yard touchdown pass, extending Allen's lead to 19-7 and putting the Eagles firmly in control.

Williams finished the night with seven receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Spriggs provides the ground game

While Snell made the throws, senior running back Lyndon Spriggs gave Allen the physical presence it needed.

Spriggs carried the ball 17 times for 61 yards and two touchdowns, including a one-yard touchdown in the second quarter that pushed Allen's lead to 12-0.

His second touchdown came with 1:45 remaining in the game.

From nine yards out, Spriggs found the end zone to put Allen ahead 26-7 and officially close the door on Duncanville's comeback hopes.

The fourth quarter belonged to Allen

The score entering the fourth quarter was only 12-7.

Neither team scored in the third.

That changed quickly.

Allen's defense forced Duncanville into another difficult possession, and the Eagles eventually turned the momentum into points. Snell found Williams for the 20-yard touchdown, and Spriggs added his second score less than five minutes later.

A game that had remained within one possession for most of the night suddenly wasn't.

Allen outscored Duncanville 14-0 in the fourth quarter and finished the night with the result it had been chasing since last December.

More than just Week 1

It is still only the first game of the season.

Allen has a long way to go before December, and one win doesn't erase everything that happened last season.

But for a program that walked into Friday night with a fresh opportunity against the same team that ended its postseason run, the meaning of this one was obvious.

The Eagles didn't need to talk about revenge.

They got their answer on the field.

Allen moves to 1-0 and will face DeSoto on September 4. Duncanville falls to 0-1 and will look to respond against Cedar Hill.