We start in Class 6A Division One, with North Shore looking for its second consecutive state championship and fourth title overall as the Mustangs again draw Duncanville in the state final. Quarterback Dematrius Davis makes an early statement for the Mustangs, scrambling 30 yards for a North Shore touchdown, and the Mustangs and Panthers are tied up at 17 at halftime. The Mustangs defense takes control of the game in the third quarter. Corey Flagg applies the initial pressure and Jaden Rudolph finishes off the quarterback for the sack. That helps North Shore get great field position, and Roger Hagan capitalizes with his second touchdown run of the game to put the Mustangs up 24-17. But the North Shore defense is the story of the second half. Upton Stout rips the ball loose and Xavier Owens falls on the fumble for the North Shore recovery. Then late in the third, Duncanville is threatening to score, with 4th and 1 at the 3 yard line and the Mustangs stonewall the Panthers for a turnover on downs. In the fourth, Wendell Demery tallies another sack for the Mustangs defense, and North Shore holds Duncanville’s high-octane offense scoreless in the 2nd half.
39:23 To see those kids come out in the 2nd half and shut out an offense like Duncanville...they are dripping with talent and are extremely well-coached, and for these kids to come together and make those adjustments and execute on the largest stage, all the credit goes to them.
Corey Flagg 49:22 We came out early and we fired off the ball, got a couple of huge stops and Dematrius did his thing and stepped up.
Davis delivers the dagger with two-and-a-half minutes left in the ballgame, a perfect 44-yard strike to Charles King, and North Shore makes it back-to-back state championships with a 31-17 win over Duncanville.
Dematrius Davis 48:36 I believed in my teammates, the defense was playing really good, I just believed in them, had to run the clock out, the OL was blocking great, we were getting 4+ yards every play, as long as I believed in them we got the job done
Jon Kay 35:22 We really hadn’t talked about going back to back or winning championships, I don’t know that that’s really sank in yet, when you coach HS athletes they change from G1 to G15, let alone from year 1 to year 2, so there’s so much crazy change in these kids’ live when you’re talking about 365 days from the last one, obviously it’s a huge win for the program and we’re gonna continue to build, but every team has its own personality
The championship celebration was a sweet one for this North Shore team. Entering the season as the defending state champions came attached with the weight of heavy expectations. The Mustangs were delivered a dose of humility after a season-opening loss to Katy, but this group has persevered and played its best football in the month of December, culminating in another state title.
47:57 It was the maturity of our kids to understand, it’s time to go to work, sometimes it’s easy to say after a loss, but the fact that they did it equally after wins, that’s what separated them and why we were able to overcome the adversity we felt today