Texas Championship Saturday roundup: North Shore wins on Hail Mary

ARLINGTON, Texas — Four days of UIL state championship football and the best of the 12 games was saved for last.

In a battle of two undefeated heavyweights with potential national championship implications, it came down to Dematrius Davis Jr. heave as time expired that somehow found the upraised hands of Ajani Carter for a 45-yard touchdown to send North Shore (Houston, Texas) to an improbable 41-36 victory over crestfallen Duncanville in the Class 6A Division II title game Saturday night at AT&T Stadium.

"They call it a Hail Mary for a reason,'' said North Shore head coach Jon Kay. "We used our last timeout with three seconds left, I took off my headset and watched the last play like everybody else.''

Davis threw for 333 yards and five touchdowns on the way to game offensive MVP honors. "I could see AJ was open and I tried to put it where only he could catch it.''

Said Carter: "I'll never forget this. The play sort of went in slow motion. Duncanville guys were around me in the back corner of the end zone. I could see the ball coming, I got my hands up and I jumped. There was no doubt in my mind it was a touchdown.''

North Shore (16-0), ranked No. 2 in MaxPreps Xcellent 25, drove 77 yards in the final 57 seconds to capture the schools' third state title. It finished off a game that featured eight lead changes, four in the final quarter. It will be remembered as one of the greatest 6A title games in Texas history.

Maybe not for Duncanville (14-1), No. 3 nationally, which will anguish over not only the last play, but perhaps scoring too quickly in taking a 36-35 lead on a Ja'quinden Jackson 5-yard keeper on first-and-goal with 1:02 remaining.

"Our guys played hard,'' said Duncanville coach Reginald Samples. "I'm proud of them. Things happen like that sometime at the end of a game.''

North Shore not only finished with a flurry, but started the game the same way. It took only 10 seconds for North Shore's defense to register the initial points. Defensive lineman Jordan Revels forced a fumble on Duncanville's first offensive play and Ashton Reynolds trotted nine yards for a 7-0 lead.

Duncanville recovered with a pair of long drives to take a 10-7 lead on a Trysten Smith 23-yard touchdown run and the first of three field goals by Victor Escalona.

Davis heated up the latter stages of the first half, connecting on three touchdown throws including an 80-yard hookup with Shadrach Banks (9 catches, 179 yards) that put North Shore ahead, 22-17. Earlier in the half, Banks showed some fancy footwork on a 51-yard Davis pass.

A coverage mistake by the Duncanville secondary led to Davis' final scoring pass of the half, a 33-yarder to an uncovered John Gentry for a 29-20 halftime advantage.

After a scoreless third quarter, there were four lead changes in the final quarter. Smith (21 carries, 152 yards, three touchdowns) pushed Duncanville ahead 30-29 on a 52-yard run. But North Shore, which had been shut down all of the second half, responded with a nifty 9-play, 85-yard drive capped with some trickery. Davis found tackle Revels on an 8-yard scoring pass to put North Shore back on top, 35-30 with 5:15 to play.

Jackson, who rushed for 226 yards on 18 carries, drove his team 85 yards in the final five minutes for what looked to be a state championship drive.

However, North Shore had other ideas.

Kay, the Mustangs coach, sounded unconcerned about where his team might fit into national rankings.

"I don't give a lot of attention to the national polls,'' said Kay. "Public schools should play public and private should play private. The only thing that matters to me is this gold medal around my neck from the state of Texas.'' Highland Park (Dallas) 27, Shadow Creek (Pearland) 17

As the son of a college head coach, Chandler Morris grew up around football.

Lessons learned served Morris well. The 6-foot, 170-pound junior threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns, guiding Highland Park to victory over Shadow Creek in the UIL Class 5A Division I state championship game Saturday afternoon before 28,792 at AT&T Stadium.

"We go out and throw on the turf when it is 110 degrees,'' said Morris, whose father is Arkansas head coach Chad Morris. "We work hard together.''

Finnegan Corwin, Morris' favorite target, had 12 catches for 142 yards and one touchdown with another overturned by replay. He also threw touchdown passes to Sam Morse and Bennett Brown.

The state title is the third in succession and sixth overall for the program that leads the state in all-time victories (832). Highland Park (16-0) stretched its winning streak to 31 dating back to the 2017 opener.

Two field goals by Wesley Winters (36 and 22) gave Highland Park a 27-9 lead midway through the third quarter.

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Shadow Creek (15-1), remarkably a state finalist in its first UIL season, lost running back Marquez Huland to injury early, but rallied to within 10 points on a record 99-yard touchdown scramble by Jamarian George in the fourth quarter. An interception in the final minutes by Whit Whitfield, Highland Park's fourth of the day, set off the championship celebration for head coach Randy Allen and company.

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"It is amazing because of how difficult it is to go back,'' said Allen, who retired briefly in the spring before reversing field. "Our players and coaches met every challenge.''

Propelled by his 99-yard run, George ran for 153 positive yards, but was sacked nine times — four by Prince Dorbah — he finished with 17 carries for 79 yards. Highland Park finished with 385 total yards to 241 for Shadow Creek.

Morris finished 23-of-35 with one interceptions. His TD passes went for 8 yards to Brown, 3 yards to Morse and 24 yards to Corwin. George also completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jared Jackson. Longview 35, Westbrook 34

Longview's long wait for a second state championship — 81 years to be exact — is finally over. And almost 50,000 gathered to see it.

Two fourth-quarter drives engineered by junior quarterback Haynes King, the son of the head coach, produced the final nine points that carried Longview to a thrilling victory over West Brook in the Class 6A Division II state final before 48,421 fans.

Senior running back Jessie Anderson crashed over from the two with 4:42 remaining for the winning points.

"When we get back to Gregg County, there's going to be a party like they've never seen before,'' said Longview coach John King, "and I may be leading the charge.''

Longview's only previous state title was won in 1937.

Haynes King saw his dad team's reach title games, only to fall short in 2008 and 2009. "He told me when he got his chance, he'd find a way to win it,'' the coach said.

The quarterback, who passed for 423 yards and two touchdowns on the way to offensive MVP honors, demonstrated a deft touch on deep routes. His favorite target, senior Kamden Perry, finished with eight catches for 218 yards.

West Brook (13-3) led throughout the second and third periods, but never by more than eight points. Senior quarterback La'Ravien Eila threw for 144 yards, rushed for 136 and accounted for three touchdowns.
Following Longview's late touchdown, West Brook's last chance ended in a fumble at midfield.