In 2016, the Atascocita Eagles made the Texas high school football state semifinals with the win that clinched it coming against the North Shore Mustangs.
On Saturday at Sheldon ISD Stadium, the Eagles faced off with North Shore with a state semifinal berth on the line once again. But this time, North Shore prevailed 76-49 to keep alive their chances for back-to-back state titles.
At the start of the game, the Eagles came out hot offensively, as Brice Matthews hit Landen King for a big first down, then hit Keith Wheeler for a 45-yard touchdown pass to take an early 7-0 lead.
Atascocita got the ball back again off a North Shore turnover, but then gave up a pick six on a 30-yard touchdown return by Upton Stout. This evened the score at seven.
From there, the Eagles would take the lead by the end of the first quarter on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Matthews to King and a T.J. Thomas touchdown for a 21-14 lead.
However, the second quarter was the difference in the game and it didn’t go well for the Eagles. The Mustangs scored 27 unanswered points, all in the quarter.
Zach Evans scored twice, Dematrius Davis once and John Villalobos kicked two field goals to give the Mustangs a commanding 41-21 lead at halftime.
The Eagles would score 28 points in the second half, but they would get no closer than 13 points.
Matthews accounted for three of the four Eagles touchdowns in the second half, scoring one on the ground and hitting King and Darius Edmonds for touchdown passes. Thomas added a touchdown run late in the game.
The Eagles finished the season 12-2 with a 22-6A district championship; it is their second straight 22-6A title and third overall.
