After repeat Texas high school football state title, DeSoto finishes among nation's best
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - As DeSoto took the field for its state championship game Saturday, the Eagles saw the winners of the previous title tilt.
It was none other than Duncanville, the Eagles’ biggest District 11-6A rival, which just finished off Galena Park North Shore to claim the Class 6A Division I championship. And a team the Eagles beat in late October in a much-anticipated game that took an extra day to finish due to weather issues.
Watching Duncanville claim its trophy no doubt gave the Eagles extra motivation as they got set to take on Humble Summer Creek in their Class 6A Division II championship game. Surely, the Eagles didn’t want to hear all offseason how their rivals won state - and even repeated at that - and that DeSoto wasn’t able to finish its bid at going back-to-back.
So how did the night transpire for these Eagles?
Let’s just say DeSoto found one more way to get a leg up on Duncanville one last time this calendar year.
In Duncanville’s win, the Panthers scored their first touchdown 56 seconds in on a run by senior tailback Caden Durham.
It took the Eagles 54 seconds to get on the scoreboard, courtesy of a TD run by their senior tailback, Marvin Duffey.
The next time DeSoto got the ball, the Eagles scored again. That made it 15-0. Not even two minutes of clock time had elapsed.
It grew to 22-0 and then 29-0 less than eight minutes in on a pair of TD tosses from senior quarterback DJ Bailey to receiver Daylon Singleton. The two connected for a third time on the last play of the first quarter, a 52-yard TD that made the score 36-7, Eagles.
Was it over then? Even Bluto Blutarsky himself would have said this one was over.
They built that big lead to 46-7 by halftime, 53-7 early in the second half and 67-7 early in the final quarter. It ended up 74-14, and the Eagles scored the second-most points in a Texas 11-man state title game and had the largest margin of victory in a UIL championship contest.
“Our guys connected,” said Bailey, who threw for 281 yards and had five total TDs. “Even if we didn’t know each other, we always had to build our bond, coming in as brothers and we always had to pick each other up, even when we made bad plays and we had to move on to the next play.
“And I’m so proud of these guys, they came out and got a second title.”
So DeSoto solidified itself as - in all likelihood - the No. 1 ranked team in all of Texas when all is said and done. But did the Eagles make a case for being the No. 1 ranked team in the entire nation.
You can make a strong, valid argument for them. Obviously, the Eagles finished undefeated. And they have that win against Duncanville as an additional selling point. Plus, a semifinal win last week against a red-hot Southlake Carroll squad that also possessed plenty of offensive firepower.
DeSoto had a very strong running game - bolstered by Duffey and the return of Deondrae Riden Jr. from what appeared to be a devastating injury in the season opener against Allen. Bailey was on target all season and was once more again on Saturday, going 13-of-16 for 241 yards in the opening half. Obviously, Singleton and Antonio Pride headed up a solid group of receivers.
Then on defense, the Eagles had more than their share of standouts, from the line to the secondary. That was evident in the win against Duncanville and others throughout the season.
One such defender, junior edge rusher Keylan Abrams, had motivation even before Saturday’s game.
“Last year, I had only 12 sacks during the season and this year, I told myself I was going to come out and have 20-plus sacks on the season,” Abrams said. “So I came out here (Saturday); we studied film a lot all week, we were locked in all week long to really peak out here and come out here and score 74 points and break a new UIL record.”
And how many sacks did Abrams end up with on the season? 21.5, including one on Saturday, part of a six-tackle, three tackles for loss performance that saw Abrams be selected as the Most Outstanding Player on defense. He even picked off a pass in the first-half, which tipped off the helmet of a Summer Creek player that set up the Eagles’ second TD.
Abrams could only sum up his performance Saturday and all season in one word.
“Legendary, man; there’s only one way I feel, legendary,” he said. “We went back-to-back, and this is the only time that has ever happened in DeSoto history, so I feel like a part of a legacy, I’m part of a legendary team.”
Maybe the only downside to what had been an outstanding day for DeSoto was South Oak Cliff falling in its title game earlier on Saturday, the 5A Division II championship against Port Neches-Groves. Beating two other state champions this season instead of one would have bolstered the Eagles’ case even more.
Duffey actually got motivation from seeing South Oak Cliff lose its bid to repeat as champions rather than seeing Duncanville successfully earn its repeat. So he wanted to salvage some pride for the Dallas-area schools.
“I’m not going to say I got motivation by (Duncanville), I already got motivation from SOC,” said Duffey, who rushed for 151 yards on 12 carries in Saturday’s win. “Since they lost, I was like, ‘Man, we’ve got to turn it up for the city.’ Not all of us won, but that for sure did turn us up.”
But even with the South Oak Cliff loss, you’ve really got to think about it, making DeSoto the No. 1 team in all the land. Plus, I guess you have to make the proverbial adage that “Everything’s bigger in Texas.”
It definitely impressed a reporter from California, who remarked during Duncanville’s postgame press conference that he was thoroughly impressed with how Texas does its championship games and produces its championship programs.
There were also reporters from Ohio in the press box who wanted to see how things were done in the Lone Star State. One takeaway, in their words, plenty more speed and athleticism down here than back up north.
But back to DeSoto, which more than easily earned its repeat title on Saturday.
If you thought college football has a perpetual debate as to who is really No. 1, go ahead and try to decide who should be the No. 1 high school football team this season.
Maybe it’s DeSoto, maybe it’s Las Vegas superpower Bishop Gorman, maybe it’s Florida school Chaminade-Madonna, maybe it’s California power Mater Dei, which beat St. John Bosco and Serra to win its respective state title.
Whether the Eagles get the mythical national high school national championship or not, their resume is just as good as anyone out there. And on Saturday night, in the final high school football game of 2023 in any state, the DeSoto Eagles definitely staked their claim - and then some.
“We worked the hardest, and nobody could stop our tempo,” Duffey said. “Our offense, we’ve got the best offense in the nation, our line is better, we’re just stacked. … That’s what we’ve had all season long and no other team has what we have, we’re just special.”
Photo by Tommy Hays.
Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveTX
