Galena Park North Shore Defeats Duncanville for Sixth State Title

The Galena Park North Shore Mustangs and Duncanville Panthers have become a fixture in the 6A-D1 Championship game. The two heavyweights have met in the state championship six out of the past eight years. Last year, the two teams found themselves in an unfamiliar position sitting at home on state championship weekend. Duncanville lost in the semi-finals to eventual 6A-D1 champion North Crowley, and North Shore lost in the same round to Austin Westlake. This year, both teams were back. In a low-scoring affair, the Mustangs prevailed 10-7 for their sixth state championship.

Much like a heavyweight bout in boxing, both teams spent the first half feeling each other out. The two teams were scoreless at the end of the first half. Duncanville had two drives get inside the North Shore 20-yard line, but the drives ended with an interception and a turnover on downs.

With four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, North Shore finally broke the deadlock. Quarterback Kaleb Maryland connected with receiver and offensive MVP Jaylen Bocard for a 44-yard touchdown pass. Early in the fourth quarter, Mustang kicker Daniel Cruz netted a 27-yard field goal which put his team ahead for good. Following the field goal, Duncanville finally found the end zone on a 32-yard pass from Trenton Yancey to Zach Turner. The Panthers got the ball again with 2:47 left in the game and drove the ball to the North Shore 25. However, on fourth and three, quarterback Jcoryon Rivers's pass bounced off receiver Leon Wood's hands.

In the postgame press conference, North Shore Head Coach Willie Gaston praised his team for their resilience throughout the season. Gaston said that his team experienced significant adversity early in the season but had persevered through it. Gaston also expressed respect for Duncanville Head Coach Reginald Samples.

Duncanville Head Coach Reginald Samples did not pull punches regarding his team's performance. "(North Shore) beat us in every phase of the game. We didn't execute well." Samples also credited North Shore with forcing Duncanville into some of their mistakes.