The last time the Atascocita Eagles football team made the Texas high school state semifinals, the year was 2016 and North Shore was the regional final opponent.
Now, history has repeated itself.
With a 42-24 win over Katy Tompkins Saturday at NRG Stadium, the Eagles return to the regional final. Their opponents will be – yes, North Shore.
Against Tompkins, among many other players, it was the Eagle receivers that enjoyed a huge day.
On the opening drive, the Eagles drove the length of the field and capped the drive with a touchdown when Brice Matthews found Keith Wheeler for the first of his two first-half touchdowns.
Later, after a Hunter Huckaby field goal put Tompkins on the board, the Eagles got back on the scoreboard with Wheeler’s second touchdown, a 14-yard touchdown catch. That made the score 14-3.
The Eagles would add three more touchdowns before halftime; a 6-yard touchdown run by T.J. Thomas, an 11-yard touchdown run by Matthews, and a 24-yard pass from Matthews to Landen King. The score was 35-3 at halftime.
In the first half, the Eagles totaled 340 yards and 23 first downs.
To their credit, Tompkins refused to go quietly as Jalen Milroe came alive in the second half. He found Marquis Shoulders for two touchdowns and caught another.
But they never got closer than 18 points in the second half. Thomas notched his second touchdown of the game to cap Atascocita’s scoring.
This year’s regional final against North Shore will be Saturday afternoon at C.E. King Stadium.
