Duncanville drove inside the North Shore 30-yard line down 10-7 with under a minute left before the Mustangs forced a turnover on downs to win.
This was the sixth time since 2018 the perennial powers have met in the state
championship. North Shore now holds a 4-2 edge in the title series. Duncanville had won the last
two meetings in 2022 and 2023.
North Shore celebrates its sixth state title in eight championship game appearances with all of them coming since 2003. (PHOTO: Alex Garza)
Saturday's game was scoreless until late in the third quarter when senior Utah State commit
Kaleb Maryland hit senior
Jaylen Bocard for a 44-yard touchdown.
North Shore (14-2) extended the lead with 9:53 remaining in the fourth quarter as senior kicker
Daniel Cruz knocked down a 27-yard field goal.
Duncanville (12-2) answered on the ensuing possession on some trickery as four-star junior wide receiver
Trenton Yancey hit three-star SMU commit
Zach Turner on a 32-yard touchdown with 5:33 left in the game.
Senior Ole Miss commit
Landon Barnes helped the Duncanville get the ball back with 2:47 after sacking Maryland on third down to force a punt.
In a defensive slugfest between rival programs, North Shore quarterback Kaleb Maryland earned MVP honors after throwing for 154 yards and a touchdown. (PHOTO: Alex Garza)
The Panthers drove inside the 30-yard line before the North Shore defense forced a turnover on downs, with Louisiana Tech pledge
Za'Qwaun Nunn recording his second sack of the day.
This is the eighth time in 2025 that North Shore has held an opponent to seven points or less. Junior defensive back
Tony Guillory had an interception in the first quarter to stop a Duncanville trip to the red zone.
Lynell Hunter,
Mikhael White,
Tommie Anderson,
Marvin Beo and
Omari Demerson also contributed to make big plays defensively for the Mustangs.
North Shore won its first five playoff games by at least three possessions to advance to the championship game, including a 28-6 win over
Lake Travis (Austin) in the semifinals last week after Maryland ran for three touchdowns and threw for another.
Tonight Maryland passed for 154 yards and his 35th touchdown of the season. Bocard had four catches for 79 yards and the score, his 13th of the season.
Willie Gaston won his first state championship since taking over as head coach of the Mustangs in 2023. The former Baltimore Ravens cornerback has a career record of 43-4.
The previous five matchups between these teams averaged 56.6 points per game. Tonight was the lowest-scoring game in this rivalry.
