North Shore wins 6A Division I state title on last-second Hail Mary throw

As Galena Park North Shore coach Jon Kay tried to process what he had just experienced on the field at AT&T Stadium Saturday night, the fourth-year head coach had only one thing on his mind with pandemonium still breaking loose around him. 

“Can we get the trophy?” Kay said, still seemingly in shock. 

Just a few minutes prior, the Mustangs were in a near-impossible situation with just three seconds remaining in the Class 6A Division I state championship. North Shore had the ball on the Duncanville 45-yard line and trailed 36-35 with one final shot at history in the final game of the 2018 Texas high school football season.

The Mustangs called their last timeout to gather their thoughts and Kay reinforced the team’s confidence in wide receivers A.J. Carter and Shadrach Banks with the game on the line, simply asking his sophomore quarterback Dematrius Davis to give those two a chance in the end zone. 

Kay could not have envisioned a better outcome, as Davis lofted a prayer into the air before Carter went up and hauled in a remarkable touchdown catch in the back-right corner of the end zone to stun Duncanville and give the Mustangs their second state title in the last four years. 

“There was nothing left to do but take a shot,” Kay said. “It’s something you work on during Thursday practices before a Friday game. It’s called a Hail Mary for a reason, and somebody’s living right.”

Carter had to be helped off the field after emerging from a pile of defenders, but the senior recovered in time to join his teammates in their celebration. Carter finished with just two catches for 53 yards and the lone touchdown, but he rose to the occasion when the Mustangs’ needed him most.

“You gotta go get it,” Carter said of his mindset before the game’s final play. “Go get it, playmakers. Big-time players makeO big-time plays. I can’t even explain the feeling right now – I just love my team.”

The dramatic ending was preceded by a methodical Duncanville drive late in the fourth quarter that erased a nine-point second-half deficit. Ja'Quinden Jackson marched the Panthers down the field before a 31-yard run from Gyasi Smith moved the Panthers into scoring position.

Jackson, a junior, punched in a 5-yard TD run three plays later to give Duncanville a 36-35 lead with 1:02 remaining. But North Shore’s Jordan Revels stopped the Jackson on the 2-point conversion attempt, leaving a field goal in play as the Mustangs prepared for their final drive.

Of course, North Shore never got a chance to kick on its final drive. A holding penalty just before Davis’ miraculous completion pushed the Mustangs out of field goal range, leading to the 45-yard TD pass to Carter as time expired.

“At the end of the year, it’s about winning this game right here,” Kay said. “And that’s what we worked toward – giving ourselves an opportunity. We didn’t scrip it like this, but I’ll take it any way I can get it.”

North Shore jumped out to a 29-20 lead in the first half after putting its abundance of Division I talent on display right from the start. Ashton Reynolds returned a Duncanville fumble for a touchdown just 10 seconds into the first quarter, Banks scored on TD passes of 51 and 80 yards from Davis, and John Gentry caught a 33-yard TD pass from Banks in the second quarter.

Duncanville overcame its disastrous start by getting a pair of first-half field goals from Victor Escalona and having Trysten Smith score from 19 and seven yards out.

The Panthers went on to dominate the game in the third quarter after trailing 29-20 at the break, holding North Shore to just 38 yards of offense. But Duncanville’s offense couldn’t capitalize and begin a comeback until the fourth, when another Escalona field goal and a 52-yard TD run from Smith made it 30-29 North Shore with 9:42 to go. 

Davis found Revels, a defensive lineman, for an 8-yard scoring strike at the 5:26 mark of the fourth quarter before chaos ensued in the final minutes. 

Davis finished the game 19-of-28 for 333 yards and five TDs to earn Offensive MVP honors, Banks had nine catches for 179 yards and two scores and Zachary Evans had 96 yards on 21 carries to lead the way for North Shore. Jackson completed 7-of-14 passes for 43 yards and rushed for 228 yards and a score on 18 carries while Smith had 153 yards and three rushing touchdowns for Duncanville. 

“They were fighting,” Kay said. “They have a (junior) quarterback over there that was phenomenal as well. I’m so proud of that Duncanville program and these two communities coming here. There haven’t been a lot of games with communities like ours represented on both sides, and I’m just so proud of that.”

Kay, who was an assistant at North Shore from 1998 to 2014 before taking over as the program’s head coach, had trouble expressing his emotions in the moments after the victory. But with a state championship heading back to the East side of Houston, Kay was hopeful he’ll one day reach a point where he can better put the experience into words.

“It’s way too early, you know what I’m saying,” Kay said. “Just to watch that thing go and see AJ Carter go up and make a play – it’s one of those things you can’t ever put into words. Hopefully in a year or so I’ll be able to reflect and put into words what just happened.”

VIDEO RECAP

The state's largest classification lived up to the massive anticipation

The hype surrounding the final game of the Texas high school football season between Duncanville and Galena Park North Shore centered around the matchup of two of the most athletic, physical and talent-laden programs in the state.

And immediately following an epic Longview-Beaumont West Brook clash did nothing to take away from the hype.

And as it turns out, the hype might’ve not been enough.

In the marquee game of the state championship weekend, the two teams threw haymaker after haymaker, and did so with more FBS-caliber talent than many coaches could dream of having, all culminating with a game-winning Hail Mary from North Shore quarterback Dematrius Davis to AJ Carter as time expired.

“This is the best game of my life. People gonna look back at this game – North Shore and Duncanville shootin’ guns, man,” Carter said. “That was a gunfight right there.”

Was it ever. With at least 30 FBS recruits on the field between the two teams combined, it was a showcase of what makes elite high school football so great.

Both teams are used to having a decided leg up when it comes to speed and athleticism and can simply “out-athlete” most opponents.

On Saturday, that wasn’t possible, and North Shore had to find other ways to win.

They did just that, but the game still wasn’t short of “wow” moments, the obvious finish notwithstanding.

Davis finished with 333 passing yards and five touchdowns to go with 89 yards on the ground. Shadrach Banks had nine catches for 179 yards and two scores. Zach Evans, one of the nation’s top running back recruits, had over 100 yards against a Duncanville defense that pitched six shutouts this year and had five more games in which it allowed seven points or less.

And that was just North Shore.

Duncanville’s dynamic quarterback Ja’Quinden Jackson had 226 yards and a touchdown on the ground and running back Trysten Smith had 152 rushing yards and three scores.

Both teams defenses were fast, big and perhaps most of all, mean.

“Man, that was a great game against a great opponent,” North Shore junior linebacker Cory Flagg said. “That’s Texas football for you. That’s a great football team over there. I tip my hat to them.”

- Adam Boedeker

 

BOX SCORE

Galena Park North Shore 41, Duncanville 36

North Shore	22	7	0	12	-	41
Duncanville	17	3	0	16	-	36

Scoring Summary

1st Qtr. 11:50

North Shore – Ashton Reynolds 9-yard fumble recovery (John Villalobos kick)

1st Qtr. 8:18

Duncanville – Victory Escalona 33-yard field goal

1st Qtr. 5:44

Duncanville – Trysten Smith 19-yard run (Escalona kick)

1st Qtr. 4:22 

North Shore – Shadrach Banks 51-yard pass from Dematrius Davis (John Gentry 2-point rush)

1st Qtr. 0:29

Duncanville – Smith 7-yard run (Escalona kick)

1st Qtr. 0:00

North Shore – Banks 80-yard pass from Davis (Villalobos kick)

2nd Qtr. 7:02

Duncanville – Escalona 36-yard field goal 

2nd Qtr. 4:42

North Shore – Gentry 33-yard pass from Davis (Villalobos kick)

4th Qtr. 11:48

Duncanville – Escalona 35-yard field goal

4th Qtr. 9:42 

Duncanville – Smith 52-yard run (Escalona kick)

4th Qtr. 5:26 

North Shore – Jordan Revels 8-yard pass from Davis (2-point failed)

4th Qtr. 1:02

Duncanville – Ja’Quinden Jackson 5-yard run (2-point failed)

4th Qtr. 0:00

North Shore – AJ Carter 45-yard pass from Davis 

Team Stats

	North Shore	Duncanville
First downs	20	18
Rushing yards	32 – 176	49 – 445
Passing yards	333	43
Passing	19-29-0	7-14-0
Punts – Avg.	4 – 36.2	1 – 35
Penalties – Yards	10 – 107	2 – 15
Fumbles – Lost	3 – 1	5 – 2
Third-Down Conversions	6-of-11	9-of-14
Possession Time	20:16	27:44

North Shore Individual Leaders

Rushing – Zach Evans 21-96, Dematrius Davis 8-89, John Gentry 1-1, Roger Hagan 1-(-3). 

Passing – Dematrius Davis 19-28-0-333.

Receiving – Shadrach Banks 9-179, Chance Pillar 3-42, AJ Carter 2-53, Zach Evans 2-14, John Gentry 1-33, Jordan Revels 1-8, Zorhan Rideaux 1-4. 

Duncanville Individual Leaders

Rushing –Ja’Quinden Jackson 18-226, Trysten Smith 21-152, Javon Fountain 1-48, Gyasi Smith 5-46, TEAM 1-(-1), Roderick Daniels Jr. 2-(-10), Karien Howard 1-(-16). 

Passing – Ja’Quinden Jackson 7-14-0-43. 

Receiving – Gyasi Smith 4-32, Roderick Daniels Jr. 1-8, Zeriah Beason 1-2, Daveon Walker 1-1. 

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