Decisive win propels Mustangs to semis
North Shore’s Upton Stout and the Mustangs’ defense knew about Atascocita’s offense and its five wide receivers.
The senior defensive back knew the Mustangs had to win at the line of scrimmage to advance to the state semifinals.
Stout had two interceptions as North Shore won the east side battle against Atascocita 76-49 in the Region III-6A Division I final Saturday afternoon at Sheldon ISD Panther Stadium.
“I give all credit to the D-line,” said Stout, who had a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter. “They put pressure on the quarterback, but the mentality we had was to go out there and make plays any time, and if a play went bad, just forget about it and move on.”
The new stadium in Sheldon was packed with over 10,000 people, with more arriving until halftime.
The Mustangs won their second straight regional title — the first back-to-back regional titles in school history — and the 76 points are a new school record for the most points scored in a playoffs game.
North Shore will play in a Class 6A Division I state semifinal game between the winner of the Region IV-6A final game between Converse Judson and Lake Travis.
“We had some opportunities there in the game,” said Atascocita coach Craig Stump. “We got behind their secondary, and we left some points out there. They did a good job. They are who we thought they were. This senior class has done a lot and played a lot of football games. They kept the tradition going, and it’s unfortunate we couldn’t get through today.”
The game came down to which defense was going to make the most stops.
Atascocita (12-2) led North Shore 21-14 after the first quarter, but the defending Class 6A Division I champions showed why their one of the best teams in the state.
North Shore shut out Atascocita in the second half, scoring 27 points in the process. It was the first time Atascocita was held scoreless in a quarter this season.
“That’s playoff football,” said North Shore coach Jon Kay. “It’s not going to be about the stat sheet. It’s about getting key stops when you need to get the key stops. Our kids settled down, and we got back to our game plan. I think there was a lot of emotion heading into the first quarter. Once they got their feet underneath them, they go to executing a little bit better, and that was huge for us.”
North Shore’s defense also recovered two fumbles in the game.
Senior running back Zach Evans had touchdown runs of 9 and 24 yards, while Davis added a 37yard run in the second quarter.
North Shore kicker John Villalobos hit a 24-yard field goal and drilled a 38-yard field goal to end the second quarter as the Mustangs led Atascocita 41-21 at halftime.
North Shore quarterback Dematrius Davis pulled out all the dual-threat tricks in his book and had another dominant performance for the Mustangs.
Davis threw two touchdown passes and had three on the ground, including a 71-yard touchdown run down the sideline.
“I just took what they gave me,” Davis, a Virginia Tech commit, said. “My O-line blocked great, my receivers blocked even better, so I’m just thankful for my teammates. I have been playing with these seniors since I was a freshman, so these are my brothers, and they’re special to me. I’m glad we get to play another game together.”
Evans helped keep the Mustangs’ offense moving with five total touchdowns.
Evans caught a 75-yard pass from Davis in the first quarter and the had touchdown runs of 25, 9, 6 and 6 yards.
Atascocita quarterback Brice Matthews had a total of five touchdowns, throwing for four and adding an 11-yard TD run.
North Shore has one week of practice left and is guaranteed a game next week. The Mustangs were tested by two of the state’s best, Katy and Atascocita, in their quest to return to Dallas and defend their state title.
“I think that we have gone through a gauntlet of phenomenal teams in the Houston area,” Kay said. “I think we have some resiliency, but we got a lot of wear and tear in our bodies. So were going to heal up and get back to practice after if we want to continue.”