6. Highland Park (Dallas) 41, Stephenville (Texas) 38 in 2005
In 2009, Matt Stafford was the No. 1 pick of the Detroit Lions in the NFL Draft. But in 2005, Stafford was a high school senior leading Highland Park to an eventual 4A state championship and a No. 3 overall national ranking by MaxPreps. In order to win that title, however, Stafford and his Highland Park team, 13-0 at the time, needed to get past Stephenville, also 13-0, in the 4A semifinals.
Highland Park grabbed a 27-17 halftime lead in front of a crowd of 21,423 fans. Stafford connected on touchdown passes for 44 and 70 yards to John Dickenson in the first half. Stephenville quarterback Jevan Snead kept pace with touchdown passes of 80 and 10 yards to Brent McElfresh. Stafford gave Highland Park a 34-23 lead on a 22-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-17 in the fourth quarter, but Stephenville stormed back with two touchdowns in the fourth to take a 38-34 lead. Snead scored on a 5-yard run and Dallas Neal scored on a 94-yard run with 8:07 left after Highland Park failed to convert on a fourth-down play at the Stephenville 6.
Stephenville appeared to ice the game on Cody Davis' interception with 4:12 left, but John Callahan intercepted Snead two plays later to give Stafford one more chance. He hit Holt Martin with a 7-yard touchdown pass with 37.7 seconds remaining to give Highland Park the 41-38 win. Stafford completed 21 of 29 passes for 336 yards while Snead completed 16 of 32 passes for 272 yards.
Stafford finished the year throwing for 4,018 yards and 38 touchdowns while earning Parade Magazine All-American honors. Snead also earned Parade Magazine All-American honors that season and finished with a 23-2 career record at Stephenville. He was considered a top QB prospect for the 2010 draft, but a poor final season at Ole Miss resulted in Snead going undrafted.
