FALLING SHORT
Austin Westlake denies North Shore shot at third straight Class 6A Division I championship.
Quarterback Dematrius Davis has won big games before on the final play.
His 45-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to A. J. Carter with no time remaining to defeat Duncanville in the 6A Division I final in 2018 is one of the greatest plays in Texas high school football history.
So down three with less than two minutes left and 74 yards to go, North Shore fans probably expected him to do it again.
But the Austin Westlake defense is different.
The Chaparrals, who relentlessly harassed the Auburn signee all afternoon, sacked Davis on the first play of the series, then stopped wide receiver Shadrach Banks inches shy of the sticks on fourth down to seal a 24-21 upset of the two-time defending state champions Saturday at Legacy Stadium.
“They’ve got the ability to pour nine and 10 guys into the box and stop the run, and you’ve got to make some plays in the passing game,” North Shore coach Jon Kay said. “It’s constant pressure.
“That’s why they’re still undefeated. That was as classic a football game as we’ve been in, and I love playing those kinds of games.”
He just likes them better when the Mustangs (14-1) win.
The loss ended their long winning streak at 29 consecutive games and two state championships.
It also capped the high school careers of Davis, a four-year starter, and Banks, who signed with Texas A&M.
Both already graduated and are ready to head to college.
“Dematrius’ legacy already is written,” Kay said. “It’s the leadership he’s provided us, the work ethic he’s brought, and the hope that he’s delivered to thiscommunity, and the young kids. If you continue to work, and do your thing, you can write your own future. We’re nothing but proud of him.”
Unfortunately, they couldn’t keep him upright.
Daviswas sacked five times and threw two interceptions.
“We worried all week long about their front four, and for good reason,” Kay said. “Then
you add in the secondary blitzes, and the other blitzes, and sometimes it seems like they’re dropping in from helicopters.”
But Davis also rushed for a 50yard touchdown, threw for 140 yards and one score and led the Mustangs to their first lead with 4:16 left in the game. Running
back Xavier Owens capped a 10play, 84-yard drive featuring a 48yard run by Banks with a 9-yard scoring run for a 21-17 advantage. It didn’t last long enough.
The Chaps answered with a 47yard pass to the North Shore 10 and reclaimed the lead on fourthand-goal with a quarterback
keeper from the 1.
“That’s the first time we’ve trailed all year long, and I thought to myself, ‘I’m fixing to find out a lot about this football team right now,’ ” Westlake coach Todd Dodge said. “Are they going to panic? Are they going to have the mindset of, ‘Well, it was a great season?’ None of that came into their minds.
“They said let’s go get it done. Our young quarterback, Cade Klubnik, along with a whole lot of other people, made some bigtime plays on that last drive.”
Then their defense, so good all season, made the lead stand.
Banks finished with 11 carries for 144 yards, and the Mustangs tallied 394 yards — with three costly turnovers.
“To hold them to 21points — we should win the game,” Dodge said.
North Shore quickly fell behind by10 for the first time since its setback against Katy in the 2017 playoffs.
The Tigers jumped out 17-0 en route to a 31-3 win in that regional final.
Davis was only a freshman then.
Four years later, he found himself in a similar position for only the second time in his distinguished career.
The Chaparrals settled for a 48 yard field goal by kicker Charlie Barnett on their opening possession. Then North Shore made the first big mistake, with its sophomore tailback losing a fumble forced by defensive back Jax Crockett. Defensive back Lucas Mireur scooped the ball and returned it 43 yards to North Shore’s 14, and two plays later wide receiver Luke Nicklos collected a 6-yard touchdown pass.
The score gave Westlake a 10-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
And the Chaparrals’ defense, which allowed only 51 points through 12 games, kept it there into the second quarter.
The Mustangs found the end zone on a 55-yard pass fromDavis to wide receiver David Amador, who beat Crockett down the right sideline on third-and-16 to cut the deficit to 10-7 early in the second quarter.
But Westlake pushed its lead back to 10, 17-7, at halftime.
“We played really well in the first half — about as well as we could,” Dodge said.
“We thought a real key to the victory was going to be eliminating the explosives, and that was key to the ballgame. They are a hugely explosive team, and they just didn’t get the number of explosives they normally do.”