South Oak Cliff magic continues as SOC goes back-to-back after comeback win over PNG

The best story from last football season was when Dallas South Oak Cliff won the Class 5A Division 2 state championship.

It wasn’t just SOC’s first title in program history, but it was monumental for the the city of Dallas.

It was Dallas ISD’s first football state championship since Dallas Washington won a Prairie View Interscholastic League title in 1958.

Proving it wasn’t a fluke, the Golden Bears continued their magic run and made more history on Friday night.

SOC scored 29 unanswered points to defeat Port Neches-Groves 34-24 in the 5A D2 state title game in front of 32,098 fans at AT&T Stadium.

It’s the first time any football team has gone back-to-back for DISD.

“Lot of guys in Dallas have a lot of pride. Bit of a homer, born and bred, it’s personal to you, you want to succeed and it’s not just me, it’s my entire staff, they feel the same way,” SOC coach Jason Todd said. “Hope to go 3-0, DeSoto and coach Mathis, those guys get that win then the heavyweight match up everyone wants to see. Duncanville and Samples find a way to get that victory this year.”

DeSoto plays at 3 p.m. Saturday with Duncanville to follow.

PNG (13-3), in the state final for the first time since 1999, landed the first punch when the Indians scored on the game’s opening drive. PNG hasn’t won a title since 1975.

PNG quarterback Cole Crippen threw a 53-yard touchdown to Landon Guarnere and PNG led 7-0 with 10:52 on the first-quarter clock. Andres Sandoval would add a 39-yard field goal and Shea Adams scored on a 3-yard TD run to up the lead to 17-5 with 3:32 to play in the second quarter.

SOC (13-3) managed to get a 21-yard field goal from Diego Varela to cut into the lead at 7-3 with 4:59 left in the first quarter.

The Bears D came up with a big play and points when Brandon Jones sacked Crippen in the end zone to make it 10-5 with 5:18 left in the half.

SOC got a much-needed touchdown just before intermission when William Little found Trey Jackson from 15 yards out. Jackson made a great catch and the game went into halftime with PNG leading 17-12.

Big play on the drive came when SOC picked up a 15-yard penalty on a third-and-3 to push it to third-and-18 back at the SOC 38.

The Bears would convert on a 29-yard pass from Little to Corthian Coleman to the PNG 33.

“First half they had a third-and-18 after a penalty and put them back and they convert the third-and-18 and it was a turning point in the football game,” PNG coach Jeff Joseph said. “Second half there was no sudden change, they were just matching up on man more aggressively. We ran the ball, but it wasn’t consistent. We couldn’t do anything in the passing game.”

But it’s as if Todd lit a fire under his team as the Bears came out hungry and angry and outscored the Indians 19-0 in the third quarter.

SOC opened the second half with points as Varela hit his second field goal, from 30 yards, to cut it to 17-15 with 10:18 left in the third.

A high snap on a PNG punt went over the punter’s head. The ball bounced into the end zone and the punter pushed it out for a second SOC safety that tied it at 17 midway through the quarter.

The Bears continued to roll with a 3-yard TD run from Little and SOC had its first lead at 24-17. Crippen then was intercepted by 4-star Texas commit Manny Muhammed, who returned it 41 yards for the pick-six and the lead extended to 31-17 with 1:03 to go on the clock.

“We battled. We have tough kids that played hard. Just too many mistakes in the third quarter,” Joseph said. “Can’t do that against a team like that with so many talented guys. Can’t make mistakes to win a game like this.”

Varela added a third field goal, from 22 yards, and the lead grew to 34-17 with 4:18 left in the fourth quarter. Varela tied a Class 5A state champ game record with three field goals (Lake Travis’ Kevin Marcotte vs. Waco Midway in 2011).

“How the season has been for us,” Todd said. “We’ve been down a few times this year and the kids have found ways to claw ourselves out of the holes we get into. My defensive staff, I’d match them up with anybody in the state. The consistency through a 16-game season. I can’t say enough words.”

PNG was able to find the end zone one more time and stop the bleeding on a 3-yard pass from Adams to Brock Hebert with a minute left in the game.

Muhammed was voted state title game defensive MVP with his pick-six plus two tackles while Little was offensive MVP with 235 yards passing on 9 of 16 attempts and two total touchdowns.

“We play a difficult preseason schedule with Duncanville, who plays tomorrow and Desoto, who plays tomorrow so it’s kind of those things, you see who is the guy. We had some bumps here and there and we got going at the right time,” Todd said. “Little drove the car for us and he earned that MVP award today.”

Added Todd, “This senior class leaving is the best senior class ever to play at SOC.”