Mustangs net share of title
Quick take
The Eastside reign continues.
No. 2 state-ranked North Shore clinched at least a share of the District 21-6A championship with a 61-35 victory against No. 7 Atascocita on Friday evening in front of a packed house at Galena Park ISD Stadium.
In the most anticipated Houston-area game of the season, the Mustangs rose to the occasion. They rushed for more than 350 yards, and quarterback Kaleb Bailey accounted for five total touchdowns.
North Shore (9-0, 6-0) has won six consecutive district titles and can secure an outright crown with a victory against Kingwood in its regularseason finale on Thursday. Regardless of that result, the Mustangs now have the tiebreaker against the Eagles (8-1, 5-1) for the No. 1 seed in the Class 6A Division I playoffs.
North Shore has won 25 consecutive regularseason games and 41 consecutive district contests. The Mustangs also improved to 8-2 against Atascocita since 2016 and have won seven straight in the series.
Highlights
North Shore jumped out to a 9-0 lead on a safety from the defense and a 26-yard touchdown pass from Bailey to Terrence Guillory. Atascocita finally got on the board with less than three minutes remaining in the opening quarter as Zion Brown raced 84 yards to the end zone on a quarterback keeper.
The Mustangs responded with 14 unanswered points. Bailey scored on a 53-yard run, and five-star junior cornerback Devin Sanchez returned his fourth interception of the season 38 yards for a touchdown.
Atascocita made another explosive play in the second quarter as Brown connected with running back Tory Blaylock for a 56-yard touchdown. But once again, North Shore had an answer. Less than two minutes later, Bailey found Guillory again, this time for a 73-yard score and the 30-14 advantage.
North Shore tacked on a 33-yard Jonathan Soto field goal before halftime.
Atascocita kept the pressure on the Mustangs in the third quarter with touchdown passes of 36 and 3 yards from Brown to Kyran Lee. But North Shore got a 63-yard scoring run from D’Andre Hardeman in between and added a 75-yard touchdown from Chris Thomas to extend the lead to 47-28.
Bailey and Guillory connected for a third touchdown from 16 yards out in the fourth quarter. Bailey then found Chris Barnes on a 58-yard score to put the finishing touches on the victory.
What it means
North Shore and Atascocita were always destined for the Division I playoff bracket. But with the dust settled on Friday’s matchup, positioning has been decided and postseason matchups are set.
North Shore will face Deer Park in the bidistrict round. The Deer entered Friday with a 7-1 record and are the No. 2 seed out of District 22-6A behind Dobie. North Shore is 14-0 against Deer Park since 2004.
Atascocita, meanwhile, draws Dobie. The Longhorns held a 7-2 record entering Friday and essentially wrapped up the No. 1 seed with a 38-35 win over Deer Park on Sept. 22. Atascocita is 5-0 against Dobie since 2012.
North Shore beat Dobie 49-3 in the first round last season, while Atascocita handed Deer Park a 48-7 loss.
Up next
North Shore will travel to play Kingwood on Thursday. North Shore is 8-0 against Kingwood since 2007, including a 56-7 victory last season. North Shore has outscored Kingwood 214-20 in the past four matchups.
While it won’t impact the playoffs, Atascocita has another high-profile game on Friday against Summer Creek. The No. 10 state-ranked Bulldogs secured the No. 1 seed for the Division II bracket with a 28-21 overtime win against C.E. King last week. Pride will surely be on the line between these Humble ISD foes. Atascocita leads the series 9-0 since 2014 and pulled out a 21-18 win last season.