The Texas High School football state championship week is here, and three Dallas-area teams will be playing for titles at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
South Oak Cliff made history and will be playing in the 5A-Division II title after dominating Lubbock-Cooper in a 44-10 win. South Oak Cliff officially became the first Dallas ISD team to reach the state title game since Lincoln in 2004.
South Oak Cliff (14-1) took the lead immediately when Randy Reece caught the game’s opening kickoff, made a few Cooper defenders miss, and ran 82 yards for a touchdown just 15 seconds into the game.
Cooper (13-2) responded with a field goal on their first drive, but they would never get closer than that on the scoreboard. South Oak Cliff scored three touchdowns over eight minutes that spanned the first and second quarter to take a 28-3 lead. They then added a field goal to take a commanding 31-3 lead into halftime.
South Oak Cliff won the second half 13-7 to put the game away and punch their ticket to the title game. Their opponent in the championship round will be Liberty Hill (13-2) which beat Crosby 42-14 in the other semifinal. The game is scheduled to kick off at 11 am on Saturday.
With a championship win, South Oak Cliff will become the first DISD team to win state since Booker T. Washington won a Prairie View Interscholastic League title in 1958. Carter won a UIL championship in 1988 but later had the title stripped for an alleged illegal grade change.
In 6A-Division I, Duncanville (13-1) and Southlake Carroll (14-1) met in the postseason for the fourth consecutive season and the semifinals for the second successive season. In last season’s semifinal matchup, Carroll was victorious, but on Saturday, Duncanville avenged last season’s loss, winning convincingly by a score of 35-9.
Duncanville advances to their third state title game in four years and will face another familiar foe, Galena Park-North Shore (14-1), which beat Lake Travis 49-21 in the other semifinal for the championship. The two teams vied for the 6A-Division I state title in both 2018 and 2019, with North Shore winning both. The teams will kick off at 3 pm Saturday.
In 6A-Division II, Denton Guyer (14-1) advanced to the state title game with an overpowering 59-14 win over Tomball (11-4). Guyer left no doubt who the better team was as they held a 45-0 lead over Tomball at halftime.
Guyer had three passing touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns, a fumble return for a touchdown, and a punt return for a touchdown in what was indeed an all-around dominating performance.
Guyer will try to win its first state title since winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. Their opponent will be three-time state champion Austin Westlake (15-0). It will be a rematch of the 2019 state title game that Westlake won 24-0.
Westlake has won the last two state titles and handily defeated nine-time state champion Katy, 45-14, in the other semifinal on Saturday. The two teams will kick off at 7 pm on Saturday.
Two other Dallas-area teams had chances to make state championship games but came up just short in their semifinal matchups.
In 5A-Division I, Mansfield Summit (11-4) was on a quest to become the first Mansfield ISD team in history to win a state title but fell in a 21-28 loss to undefeated College Station (15-0).
The two teams were tied at 14 going into the fourth quarter, but College Station scored two unanswered touchdowns to take a 14 point lead before Summit responded with a touchdown of their own, and time ran out.
Summit’s season was still no doubt a success. They set a school record for most wins in a season and matched the longest playoff run in school history. No one expected them to be playing in the semifinal.
In 4A-Division II, Celina (12-2) fell short of returning to the state title game for the first time since 2015 and having a chance to play for their ninth state title, losing 27-7 to Gilmer (14-1). Instead, Gilmer will make their eight all-time state title game appearance and play for their fourth championship.
A complete list of the semifinal results and the state title games with their kickoff times for districts 4A-6A are below. All championship games are played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The entire bracket for each division can be viewed on UILTexas.org.
Class 6A-Division I
Duncanville 35, Southlake Carroll 9
Galena Park North Shore 49, Lake Travis 21
Championship: Duncanville (13-1) vs. Galena Park North Shore (14-1), 3 pm Saturday, December 18
Class 6A-Division II
Denton Guyer 59, Tomball 14
Austin Westlake 46, Katy 14
Championship: Denton Guyer (14-1) vs. Austin Westlake (15-0), 7 pm Saturday, December 18
Class 5A-Division I
College Station 28, Mansfield Summit 21
Katy Paetow 73, Corpus Christi Flour Bluff 14
Championship: College Station (15-0) vs. Katy Paetow (14-1), 7 pm Friday, December 17
Class 5A-Division II
South Oak Cliff 44, Lubbock Cooper 10
Liberty Hill 42, Crosby 14
Championship: South Oak Cliff (13-1) vs. Liberty Hill (13-2), 11 am Saturday, December 18
Class 4A-Division I
Stephenville 38, Wichita Falls Hirschi 35
Austin LBJ 38, Tyler Chapel Hill 35
Championship: Stephenville (15-0) vs. Austin LBJ (15-0), 11 am Friday, December 17
Class 4A-Division II
Gilmer 27, Celina 7
China Spring 34, Cuero 9
Championship: Gilmer (13-1) vs. China Spring (15-0), 3 pm Friday, December 17