New blood, old force survive
Paetow reaches final in 4th year; North Shore hits familiar ground
Paetow coach B.J. Gotte explained it best when asked about competing for a UIL state championship.
“It’s gonna be a frickin’ battle,” he said after his team destroyed Flour Bluff 73-14 in the semifinals Friday.
Indeed. But the Panthers are certainly up for the challenge, however daunting it might seem.
Paetow is one of two Houston-area squads that will make the four-plushour trek to AT&T Stadium in Arlington later this week. The stage is set for the pinnacle of high school football in Texas.
Paetow (14-1), playing its fourth varsity season, will take on College Station (15-0) at 7 p.m. Friday for the Class 5A Division I crown. It will be the final contest in that classification for the Panthers, who will join the rest of Katy ISD in 6A with the next realignment in February.
Paetow has improved every year since its first season in 2018. But now the program has moved to recordsmashing heights. Gotte knows a thing or two about building a powerhouse program. He played at Katy High School and was the offensive coordinator for the Tigers during their state title
victories in 2012 and 2015. Now Gotte has a chance to win one as a head coach.
North Shore (14-1), meanwhile, will return to the state championships for
the third time in four years. The Mustangs took home the hardware in 2018 and 2019 against the same Duncanville program they will face at 3 p.m. Saturday in a
tantalizing matchup for the 6A Division I title. North Shore will forever be enshrined in Texas high school football lore for its miraculous last-second Hail
Mary touchdown from quarterback Dematrius Davis to receiver Ajani Carter to shock Duncanville in 2018.
Many believe this year’s starting quarterback, freshman Kaleb Bailey, has the makeup to be as good as Davis. Bailey accounted for more than 300 total yards and four touchdowns in the Mustangs’ 49-21 blowout victory over Lake Travis in the semifinals Saturday. That obviously bodes well for coach Jon Kay and company for the next three seasons. For right now, North Shore is focused on the task at hand, which is bringing home state championship No. 5 for the Eastside.
Five Houston-area teams entered the state semifinals with hopes of advancing to Jerry World. Crosby was aiming for its second straight trip to the 5A Division II title game before losing to Liberty Hill 42-14. Tomball made a fantastic playoff run, harkening the memories of state runnerup teams from 1984 and 1985. But the Cougars ultimately came up short with a 59-14 loss to Denton Guyer in the 6A Division II semifinals. Katy, on a voyage for title No. 10, was looking to repeat as the state champion in the same bracket before running into one of the top teams in the country in Austin Westlake. The Tigers saw their season end with a 45-14 loss.
As the state championships commence later this week, the Houston area is still in good hands. Can Paetow make history? Can
North Shore stack another state championship trophy? We’ll soon find out.
Regardless of the outcome, it’s been a fun ride for both.