Top 10 takeaways from Texas state football championship week

Video: John Stephen Jones highlights
Watch the Highland Park quarterback and grandson of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in action.

For players, coaches and fans of the 24 teams that participated in last week's UIL football state championships, the consensus would surely agree AT&T Stadium was a fitting stage for the climax of the 2016 season.

Twelve state champions were crowned over the four days, but even the 12 that came up short no doubt made some lasting memories.


1. Texans love their high school football
The 12 state championship games drew 245,913 fans. The largest single-game crowd of 40,318 gathered to see DeSoto from the Dallas area cap off a 16-0 season with a victory over Steele (Cibolo). All three Saturday games drew larger crowds than three college bowl games played on the same day. Remaining intact, however, was the state single-game record crowd of 54,347 set in the 2013 Class 6A-DI title game (Allen 63, Pearland 28) at AT&T. Last year's attendance when all but the six-man games were played in Houston's NRG Stadium was 162,291.

2. Outpouring of sympathy for two teams dealing with tragedy
Iraan and The Woodlands received support from fans of opposing schools on championship weekend. Iraan's cheerleader sponsor was killed in a bus accident returning from a playoff game only two weeks prior and several cheerleaders were injured. The Woodlands' linebacker Grant Milton suffered a serious head injury in a non-contact incident in a playoff game and remains hospitalized.

3. Roshauud Paul can be excused for taking wins for granted
With Bremond's 49-28 over Iraan in Class 2A-DII title game, the senior quarterback/defensive back ended his high school career with a 47-0 record as a starter. Paul, a Texas A&M pledge, rushed for 231 yards and five touchdowns and also threw for a score to lead Bremond to its third consecutive state crown. 4. The West Orange-Stark (Orange) end zone sees very few visitors
The Mustangs allowed only nine touchdowns and 69 total points in a 16-0 season that was capped with a 24-6 victory over Sweetwater for their second consecutive state crown. The only Sweetwater touchdown came on a 96-yard fumble return. Justin Brown, the game's defensive MVP, had an interception, two sacks and five tackles. Perhaps the most dominant team in any of the divisions, West Orange-Stark outscored opponents by 742 points this season.

5. Keeping up with the Joneses
When Dallas Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones presents a game MVP award, it is a pretty big deal for a high school player. On Saturday afternoon, the tables were turned. The presentation was a huge moment for the Cowboys owner. The recipient was Jones' grandson, Highland Park (Dallas) quarterback John Stephen Jones, who scored a pair of touchdowns in a 16-7 victory over Temple in the Class 5A-DI title game.

6. DeSoto gets a kick out of first state title
The kicking game, primarily place kicks, had been a trouble spot for past DeSoto teams. When Todd Peterman was promoted to DeSoto head coach two years ago, he hired a coach specifically to work with kickers. That move paid off when senior Cristian Gonzalez delivered a 24-yard field goal with 2:46 remaining to stretch a precarious six-point lead to nine in a 38-29 victory over Steele (Cibolo) in the Class 6A-DII final. In addition to the field goal, Gonzales was 5 for 5 on extra points.

7. All in the family
Charlie Brewer became the third in his family to quarterback a team to a state championship when threw for 361 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-13 Lake Travis (Austin) victory over The Woodlands for the Class 6A-DI title. Brewer became a member of the state championship fraternity with older brother Michael (Lake Travis) and grandfather Charles Brewer (Lubbock). And he did it in style, setting a national season record by completing 77.3 percent of his passes. That broke the record of 75.2 percent by Dano Graves of Folsom (Calif.) set in 2009. Brewer, an SMU pledge, finished the season with 54 touchdown passes and three interceptions.

8. State title eludes coaching legend
Calallen (Corpus Christi) head coach Phil Danaher, 67, became the state's all-time wins leader with a victory over Flour Bluff (Corpus Christi) in the final game of the regular season. His Wildcats, in the playoffs every year since 1985, navigated through five rounds to reach the Class 5A-DII title game opposite Aledo (Aledo, Texas), only to fall short, 24-16. Though disappointed that he remains without a state title (his team also played for the championship in 2005), Danaher made time for the media long after the game's conclusion and reflected on his accomplishment of 432 career wins: "I wish it could have been 433.''

9. Most dramatic finish
Diego Gonzales kicked an 18-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining for a 23-20 Refugio victory over Crawford to clinch the Class 2A-DI crown. The winning drive covered 74 yards after Crawford tied it on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Gage Pearson to Garrett Dutschmann with 4:36 remaining.

10. The Magnificent Six
Six Texas teams won state championship games to cap off unbeaten seasons. The six were DeSoto (6A-DII), Aledo (5A-DII), West Orange-Stark (4A-DII), Gunter (3A-DII), Bremond (2A-DII) and Richland Springs (1A-DII). DeSoto and Gunter were making their first appearances in a state title game. Six-man power Richland Springs in nine title game appearances has prevailed eight times. Eight state titles equals the record for the most at any level now shared with Celina, Katy and Carroll (Southlake).