Richland is 2–0 and averaging 56. District starts in their building.

Prosper Richland is not a mystery opponent. They are a new school that scored 56 twice and has not played a district down. Thursday they do.

Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Children’s Health Stadium. Denison is the visitor. The Raiders are 2–0: 56–49 at Aubrey on Aug. 28, 56–37 over Frisco Heritage last Friday in Kenneth Gilchrist’s old gym. One hundred twelve points in two weeks. Eighty-six allowed. That is the file.

Gilchrist was named the first head coach in the building in December 2024 after seven seasons at Heritage. Kane Swetnam calls the offense. Bo Johnson runs the defense. Year 1 football went 3–7 on an outlaw schedule while the rest of Richland’s sports made the playoffs. Year 2 is the real alignment: District 4-5A Division II, eight games, five Frisco campuses, Celina, Anna, and the Jackets.

The Heritage tape is the one to steal. Richland threw for 267 and ran for 230 in that win. Balanced. Not a gadget team hiding a weak line. Aubrey was a shootout on the road. Nobody has made them play from behind or play short.

Denison is 1–1 and done with the non-district portion of the calendar. The Ax stayed. Decatur ended on fourth down with 37 seconds left, 44–40. Everything after Thursday is district and the playoff line. Richland’s next one after this is at Celina. They will not ease anyone in.

The thing that travels is points. If the Jackets let this become 50–45, they will spend the rest of September finding out how thin 4-5A DII is. If they make Richland live in the second-and-long pile, they find out whether Year 2 is a real program or a 2–0 start with a new logo.

Varsity is Thursday in Prosper. The file opens after 10:30.