ARLINGTON — For the first time since 2016, the Houston area finished the UIL football season without a state title.
The North Shore provided one last hope before losing 28-21 to Duncanville in the Class 6A Division I Championship Game on Saturday night.
The Mustangs (15-1) were the only local team to reach Arlington after losing to Vandegrift in the semi-finals.
Cy-Fair (2017), North Shore (2018, 2019, 2021), Shadow Creek (2019), Katy (2020) and Paetow (2021) have all reached the summit since the last time the region was locked out.
The challenges faced on Saturday were tough for the North Shore. The Mustangs had beaten Duncanville in their last three meetings on the biggest stages. But this time, the Panthers (15-0) turned the tables and finally managed to throw coach Reginald Samples a celebratory water his cooler dump.
After a fierce battle between the nationally-ranked teams, Samples and North Shore coach John Kay, two assured Texas High School Football Hall of Famers, had nothing but positive things to say about each other and their programs. did not.
“I’m proud of Coach Samples,” said Kay. “We talk about funny living legends, but unfortunately too many people always mention it whether they win state championships or not. Whatever happened, I think the guy who won multiple programs at a sustained level earned his right.”
Added sample: “I have a lot of respect for (Kay) and his program. His children, they carry themselves – if you notice, push and push and that There’s nothing like it. They’re just playing football and they’re playing at a high level.”
Amador finishes strong
North Shore senior receiver David Amador took over as quarterback early in the season after an injury to starter Caleb Bailey helped the team bounce back from a 14-0 first-half deficit and put off a promising drive before the end of the game. It helped me to Ultimately, it fell short on a 4-down run with just 1:04 remaining.
Kay praised the captain for finishing the season with 30 total touchdowns.
“We’ve been through adversity on the show, most of it never being published in newspapers or on TV,” Kaye said. “When I took the players down, David was probably one of the top receivers in the state, and it didn’t matter. It was a selfless act and I’ve said it before — I’m going to tighten my tail every day.” But when your top athletes do things like that, they are selfless and their work ethic is always shown…no more coaching.”
looking to the future
The North Shore may be lacking this time around, but there’s a lot of optimism about the future. Several key players will return next season, including Bailey. Bailey led the Mustangs to a state title as a freshman and already has a Division I offer.
The winning culture that Kay has established will ensure the North Shore is one of the top teams when the preseason polls run next summer.
The Mustangs have gone 117-28 in four state titles and five championship game appearances during their first tenure since 2014. For his efforts this season, Kaye was honored as his National High School Association Divisional Football Coach of the Year before Saturday’s game. .
South Dallas history
Duncanville’s win marked the program’s first state championship since 1998, but there was a lot more to it.
Hours earlier, Panthers’ Division 11-6A rival DeSoto lifted the Division II trophy. The team achievement is his second time in UIL history that his two teams in the same district won the state title. The only other occurrence was in 1997 when Texas City and Lamarque won his 4A crown.
Duncanville and DeSoto (13-2) also joined South Oak Cliffs (12-3) to bring three titles to South Dallas Country. All schools are within 12 miles of each other. South Oak Cliff won his 5A Division II title on Friday night.
“I know South Oak Cliff and DeSoto both have good football teams,” said Samples. “It was no surprise to me that they won because they have a good football team. They took us to the limit. And they have good footballers, if you don’t match them, you don’t coach well, and if you don’t have good footballers, they will beat you.”