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Oregon Ducks’ 5-star football commitment fails due to rivalry in Texas: “He’s electrifying”

Oregon Ducks’ 5-star football commitment fails due to rivalry in Texas: “He’s electrifying”

DESOTO, Texas – Duncanville High School star Dakorien Moore clearly showed why he is the top-rated wide receiver in the country on Friday night.

However, the 5-star Oregon Ducks player was also involved on defense and special teams Friday as Duncanville earned a 42-20 victory over DeSoto at Eagle Stadium in DeSoto.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder had a season-high across the board with a 9-for-241 record and four touchdowns.

According to 247Sports, Moore has an outstanding track record as the top recruit in Texas this year, the top wide receiver in the country and the third-best recruit overall.

His connection with 11th-ranked recruit Keelon Russell, an Alabama promise, was key to the first-half success and ultimately helped build a 28-6 first-half lead.

Moore had five catches for 179 yards and four touchdowns in the televised contest.

“The offense has been belting and building a relationship and chemistry all summer, especially with my buddy Dakorien Moore,” Russell said. “It’s electric. The duo is electric.”

The first of the four touchdowns came due to a broken coverage by DeSoto. Russell dodged a sack, stepped into the pocket and threw a pass 50 yards in the air. Moore caught it at the 20 and had an easy route to a 66-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

“I’m not going to lie, when I stepped into the pocket I expected to run away from, I’m not going to lie,” Russell said. “He (Dacoria) waved his arms. I promise you, if I did it, he’d probably punch me in the face.”

On previous Duncanville drives, the Panthers were forced to punt – something Russell said the offense wouldn’t like to see. Moore punted once in the first half and twice in the second half. He averaged 40 yards per punt over the last two games.

He even made a pass on the defense early in the first half, stopping DeSoto quarterback Kelden Ryan on a run and hitting the Virginia Tech commit so hard that Moore’s helmet flew off.

Moore had a 19-yard touchdown on the next drive and then a 38-yard run in which he caught a pass from Russell in the corner of the end zone.

The fourth score came from 44 yards away, making the score 28-6 in the second quarter. He averaged 35.8 yards per catch in the first 24 minutes.

That tapered off in the second half, but he still made big plays and at one point his first six catches all turned into first downs for the Panthers.

Dakorien Moore signs a jersey after Duncanville's win over DeSoto in the national rankings matchup.

Dakorien Moore signs a jersey after Duncanville’s win over DeSoto in the national rankings matchup. / Photo by Cody Thorn, SBLive

On Duncanville’s final drive, Moore made a catch on fourth down to keep the drive alive. Russell finished the drive with a pass to Trenton Yancey for the final score.

“Even on that last drive, he came up to me and said, ‘Trust me, you’ll see,'” Russell said of his ultimate goal.

After the game, Moore got a glimpse of his future at Oregon – signing autographs, taking photos and doing a postgame interview with a television crew covering the game.

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— Cody Thorn | @sblivetx