AT&T Stadium in Arlington began hosting the full slate of UIL State championship games since 2011. Outside of one year at NRG Stadium in Houston, Jerry World was the venue for every 11-man state championship game for over a decade. The 2023 state championship begin Wednesday with 1A (six-man) and the 2A Division I championship game. It’ll continue through Saturday night.

There are too many tremendous individual performances to list ahead of the start of this year’s event, but here are five at AT&T Stadium that stick out in our mind. We took a look at the best five state championship games ever played at AT&T Stadium on Monday. 

1. Aledo’s Johnathan Gray – 2010 Class 4A Division II vs. La Marque 

The over 27,000 folks in attendance at what was then Cowboys Stadium (renamed AT&T Stadium in 2011) saw one of the most dominating performances in state championship history. Gray, one of the more prolific running backs in the history of prep football, painted his best masterpiece against La Marque in the 69-34 win. 

Gray finished the game with 360 yards and eight touchdowns on 29 carries. That brought his season total to 59 rushing touchdowns, breaking the record of 57 held by Sugar Land’s Kenneth Hall since 1953. Gray helped Aledo win three straight titles from 2009 through 2011 before departing for the University of Texas. 

2. Cuero’s Jordan Whittington – 2018 Class 4A Division II vs. Texarkana Pleasant Grove 

The current Texas wide receiver put in the best two-way performance that we’ve seen in the 10-plus years of championship games being held at AT&T Stadium. Whittington won the game’s MVP on both sides of the ball during a record-breaking performance in a 40-28 victory – the first state title for the Gobblers in over 30 years. 

His 334 rushing yards broke the Class 4A championship game record set by Eric Dickerson and the all-time championship game record by Jonathan Gray.  He accounted for 377 total yards and six touchdowns. His five rushing touchdowns tied Carthage’s Dwight Smith for a title game record in 4A. Whittington also recorded 11 tackles from his safety spot. He took snaps at running back, wide receiver, quarterback, and safety in the win. 

3. Grandview’s Dane Jentsch – 2019 Class 3A Division I vs. Pottsboro

Like Whittington a year prior, Jentsch won the MVP on both sides of the ball in a 42-35 thriller vs. Pottsboro. Jentsch amassed 370 yards of total offense, including 152 on the ground with a score. He also recorded five tackles, including one for loss, and an interception. He stuffed Pottsboro’s Braden Pyler on a fourth-and-goal early in the third quarter and came up with an important interception a few drives later.  

4. Highland Park’s John Stephen Jones – 2017 Class 5A Division I vs. Manvel 

The grandson of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones put on a once-in-a-lifetime performance in the stadium his famous grandfather built. Jones became the first player to throw for over 500 yards in a state title game in Texas, setting the mark with 564 yards on 58 passing attempts. He also holds the record for most attempts and completions for his performance in the 53-49 victory over Manvel in one of the best state championship games in recent memory. Jones found receiver Cade Saustad for a 16-yard touchdown completion to win the game with 34 seconds left. 

5. Tenaha’s Reginald Davis – 2011 Class 1A Division II (now 2A) vs. Munday 

Davis dominated the 52-28 win over the Moguls. He earned Player of the Game honors for the Tigers as the quarterback finished the game with 242 yards passing, 226 yards rushing, and an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown. Davis scored six touchdowns in the win. It was the first state championship for Tenaha since 1998, and only the second in school history. He went on to play wide receiver at Texas Tech.