BACK ON TOP! Duncanville finally gets over North Shore hump, wins football state title

Duncanville head football coach Reginald Samples has had several sleepless nights thanks to the Galena Park North Shore Mustangs, who have beat Duncanville in the state title game three times in the past four seasons.

The Mustangs snatched the title from Samples in 2018 when they won on a hail mary pass as time expired.

But on Saturday night, the long road back finally paid off.

Duncanville is once again back on top.

Running back Caden Durham rushed for three touchdowns and the Panthers held off the Mustangs 28-21 in the Class 6A Division 1 state championship in front of 40,056 fans at AT&T Stadium.

It’s Duncanville’s second football title and first since 1998 when it beat Converse Judson 24-21.

“Feels great. I’m sure I’ll feel better tomorrow,” Samples said.

The Dallas-area went 3 for 3 at state. DeSoto won the 6A D2 title on Saturday and South Oak Cliff won 5A D2 on Friday night. Duncanville, DeSoto and SOC high schools are all within a 4.82 mile radius of each other.

Samples and DeSoto’s Claude Mathis both won on Saturday. They’re the first Black coaches to win a state football title at the 6A level. Three Black coaches preceded Mathis and Samples in winning state titles in the UIL’s highest classification. Allen Wilson at Tyler in 1994, Luther Booker at Houston Yates in 1985 and Alex Durley at Beaumont West Brook in 1982 all won state titles in Class 5A, the largest classification at the time.

Samples is in his 32nd year as a head football coach. He has 323 career wins and his first state title.

Holding on to a 28-21 lead, the Duncanville D had to stop North Shore one more time.

The Mustangs started at their own 20. They were at the 29 following a holding to make it first-and-20, but North Shore athlete David Amador picked up 20 to the 49.

Then Duncanville gifted the Mustangs with two facemask penalties, the second pushing North Shore to the Panthers 21-yard line with 1:26 left in the game.

But after a short gain and incomplete pass, North Shore had third-and-6. Amador picked up three to make it fourth-and-3 and then came up an inch short to give Duncanville the ball on downs.

The play was reviewed and the call was confirmed.

“I really didn’t see the play. I saw the chains and where the ball was and I felt like they got the first down,” Samples said. “But I could tell my the kids reactions it was awful darn close, I was so afraid, I had flashes of the Hail Mary and all those things, then I heard the roar off the big screen and knew we had it.”

The Panthers ran out the final 64 seconds for the victory.

“We’ve been to war with these guys multiple times. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but they earned it and it is what it is,” North Shore coach Jon Kay said.

“They got the call right, it was clear. A fitting end to this rivalry. Two heavyweights in the ring and it went 15 rounds.”

The third quarter started with back-to-back punts before Duncanville turned it over on a Jacoby Davis interception. But the Panthers forced a three-and-out and punt.

On the next play of the ensuing drive, Durham rushed for 33 yards to the North Shore 18 and four plays later, Durham scored his third TD, from the 9, to give the Panthers a 28-21 lead with 3:41 remaining in the period.

Durham was voted state title game offensive MVP with his three TDs to go with 104 yards on 25 carries.

“Caden, he’s special. He’s been consistent all year long. I don’t keep stats. I’m not a stats guy, but the other day one of my coaches showed me and he had 33 touchdowns, I couldn’t believe it,” Samples said. “He’s a good running back, but what I love most about him, he’s a good kid. All week long, he’s told me we’re getting it, we got you coach and that means a lot.”

The Duncanville D had perhaps its best drive on the next North Shore possession when the Mustangs were dropped for a loss of 5, had two straight false starts and a loss of 7 when Tyren Polley tackled Amador to set up a fourth-and-31.

“Credit to my coaches,” Samples said. “The North Shore coaching staff did a good job scheming some thing and showing different formations that our kids didn’t pick up because it was new and they hadn’t prepared for it. We went into halftime, made some adjustments and they responded.”

It looked like the Panthers were going up two scores again when a 28-yard punt put them at the North Shore 39, but Duncanville quarterback Keelon Russell was tackled for a 7-yard loss and Duncanville was forced to punt it back to the Mustangs at the end of the third.

The Panthers (15-0), who ended the season No. 3 in the state rankings, came out strong, first on defense when Colin Simmons tipped a North Shore pass and Polley came away with the interception only 67 seconds into the contest.

Simmons was defensive MVP with 4 1/2 tackles, two sacks and three tackles for a loss.

But the North Shore D responded by tackling Russell for a loss of six on first down and forcing the Panthers to a three-and-out and punt.

The two defenses shined early.

Duncanville had allowed 9.6 points per game.

North Shore (15-1), No. 2 in the rankings, had allowed 14.4 points per game.

“Proud of coach Samples,” Kay said. “A living legend.”

After a second punt by the Mustangs, the Panthers took the first lead following an 8-play, 70-yard drive that lasted just over four minutes long.

Russell hit Dakorian Moore for 43 yards to the Mustangs 15 and four plays later, Durham scored from the 2 to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 1:46 left in the opening quarter.

It was Duncanville’s first lead over North Shore since the first quarter of their 2019 title game.

The Panthers led 7-0 after the first quarter. It was the first time North Shore was shut out in any quarter since the fourth quarter against Kingwood in Week 11.

It was the first time North Shore didn’t score in the first quarter since Week 6 against Houston King.

The defense continued to give the Mustangs problems. After a 52-yard punt, Duncanville scored on the next play when Russell kept it and scampered 88 yards for a 14-0 lead with 11:36 left in the second quarter.

“I think we played our best game,” Samples said. “We’ve played some good teams, like DeSoto, South Oak Cliff, Waxahachie. Those games gave us a chance to win.”

But as quick as Duncanville scored two touchdowns, North Shore punched back with two of its own.

Amador led the way with his arm and legs. He hit Cameron Smith for 43 yards and a Mustangs’ score to cut it to 14-7 with 10:24 left in the second.

Then after a Duncanville punt, Amador capped off a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 30-yard touchdown run where he made four Panthers miss on his way to the end zone.

Amador’s electrifying run tied the game at 14 with just under five minutes to go before intermission.

Duncanville answered big time when Russell connected with Dayvian Bluitt for 31 yards to the North Shore 10. Durham punched it in from the 3 and the Panthers retook the lead at 21-14 with 1:46 left on the clock.

Rashaad Johnson rushed for 18 and North Shore picked up 15 more on a Duncanville facemask to put the Mustangs at first-and-goal from the 5. Two plays later and Amador scored from the 6 to even the game at 21 with 25 seconds left before the break.

“We ended the first half well, we scored on our last three drives,” Kay said. “They’re a second-half team, we knew that. It would come back and be a slug fest. Their kids kept playing, our kids kept playing, they just made more plays in the second half, that’s the bottom line.”

Duncanville finished with 263 yards of total offense with 179 coming on the ground. North Shore had 255 total yards and also rushed for 179 yards.

Russell rushed for 88 yards on eight attempts and threw for 84 yards on 4 of 10 passing. Vernon Grant led the Panthers D with 9 1/2 tackles. Eli Wallace had 6 1/2 tackles. Duncanville finished with seven tackles for a loss.

Amador and Johnson had 87 and 83 yards rushing, respectively. Amador threw for 76 yards on 7 of 10 passing.

DeSoto won the 6A D2 title on Saturday. It’s only the second time in UIL history that two teams from the same district won titles in the same year. The only other time it has happened came in 1997 when District 23-4A foes Texas City and La Marque won.

Texas City beat Corsicana for the 4A D1 title while La Marque beat Denison in 4A D2. Texas City and La Marque were the top two teams in the 4A state rankings when they met in district. Texas City won 28-12.

Duncanville beat DeSoto in District 11-6A, 41-17 in Week 10.