ARLINGTON – This is Texas and football reigns supreme in the Lone Star State, and in December the UIL Texas high school football playoffs take over.
The DeSoto Eagles dominated the Austin Vandegrift Vipers defeating them 42-17 to take home the 6A-DII title.
After six years DeSoto High School returned to the state championship game in the house that Jerry built in Arlington.
DeSoto didn’t have to travel far as they took on Vandergrift who earned the trip to their first ever state title game in program history.
The Vipers scored first in the second quarter with a 26-yard field goal kick by Hayden Arnold.
However, the Eagles would drive down the field on their next possession as DeSoto junior quarterback DJ Bailey completed a 42 Yd pass to Johntay Cook II, a four-star wideout, and University of Texas pledge for a touchdown.
And from there the Eagles never landed again flying high into the win column with over 600 yards of total offense.
“This means everything for us,” said Caimon Mathis, a senior defensive back for DeSoto and son of head coach Claude Mathis speaking to The Dallas Morning News. “The passion he coaches with, we feed off of it. We could tell it meant a lot to him, it meant a lot to us, and we couldn’t let him down.”
DeSoto sophomore Deondrae Riden Jr. carried the ball 30 times rushing for 188 yards and three touchdowns earning him offensive MVP honors.
Baily passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-17 passing attempts.
Running back and University of Texas pledge Tre Wisner caught six passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
Cook II caught four passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.
DeSoto averages 43.3 points per game so it’s not surprising that both the offense and defense gave Vandegrift fits.
“The problem DeSoto gives you on offense is they have violent, good running backs, and then they have speed on the edge,” Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders said to the Dallas Morning News.
“They were about as fast as I feared.”
The Eagle’s defense would not be outdone by their offense as they held the Vipers to just one score in the second half.
“We just all came together,” said DeSoto junior linebacker Brandon Booker, who had 1.5 tackles for loss.
“We said, It’s our last game of the season. We balled out. Coach told us last practice, ‘Give it all you got, give it 100′s.’ And we gave it all we’ve got.”
DeSoto brings home their second championship in six years.
“What a feeling,” said Claude Mathis, Head coach for the Desoto Eagles. “God, what a feeling.”
Joshua Carter