No. 12
Duncanville (Texas) grabbed its second straight UIL 6A Division I high school football title with a resounding 49-33 win over No. 5
North Shore (Houston, Texas) on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in the fifth chapter of what's become the best finals rivalry in the game.
The two Texas titans have met for the Lone Star State's top prize five times in the past six seasons with North Shore winning in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Duncanville took the title last season.
The points came fast and furious Saturday in the 2023 sequel of this blockbuster. The teams combined for 52 in the first half alone.
Duncanville's
Caden Durham had a monster first half with 212 yards rushing on 10 carries and three scores while
Keelon Russell was 10 of 14 passing in the first half with two touchdowns as the Panthers took a 35-17 lead into intermission.
Durham finished with 230 yards rushing and Russell tossed three TD passes on the night.
Duncanville coaches and players celebrate their UIL 6A Division I title win over North Shore. The 12th-ranked Panthers won their second straight title, beating the No. 5 Mustangs 49-33 on Saturday at AT&T Stadium. (Photo: Robbie Rakestraw)
North Shore stayed close behind quarterback
Kaleb Bailey, who was an efficient 12 of 15 for 80 yards passing and a score while adding 91 yards on the ground.
D’Andre Hardeman Jr. scored the other Mustangs touchdown with 34 yards on nine carries in the opening 24 minutes.
Duncanville wasted no time scoring as Durham cashed in a 26-yard run less than a minute into the game on the Panthers' fifth play from scrimmage.
After the teams traded punts, North Shore needed four plays to tie the score at 7 on a 5-yard Hardeman run before Duncanville would reel off 21 straight points over the next six minutes of play.
Durham busted into the end zone on a 72-yard run, Russell found five-star wideout
Dakorien Moore for a 39-yard scoring strike and Durham again scored from long range, this one a 92-yard run, and the Panthers led 28-7 one minute inside the start of the second quarter.
Duncanville's Caden Durham ran wild for the No. 12 Panthers in the first half of their 49-33 win over No. 5 North Shore in the UIL 6A Division 1 finals on Saturday. The LSU commit had three scores and more than 200 yards rushing in the first half. (Photo: Robbie Rakestraw)
After a North Shore field goal, the Panthers added to their lead as Russell hit
Zach Turner from 28 yards out before the Mustangs' Bailey tossed a 9-yard TD pass to
Christopher Barnes to pull within 18.
North Shore received the second-half kickoff and used more than half the third period, but only put three points up on a 35-yard
Jonathan Soto field goal that cut the lead to 35-20.
The teams traded punts before Duncanville found its quick-strike offense again as Russell hit Turner again, this time for a 75-yard, one-play touchdown. The Panthers led 42-20 nearing the end of the third.
North Shore added a Bailey-to-Barnes TD pass before Duncanville's Russell found paydirt on the next drive for a 49-26 lead with 6:29 left.
The Mustangs wouldn't go away quietly, however, as Bailey tossed his third touchdown pass, this one 28 yards to
Jaylen Bocard, to trim the lead to 49-33 with under six to play.
Five-star wide receiver Darkorien Moore snags a touchdown catch for Duncanville in their 49-33 win over North Shore on Saturday in the UIL 6A Division 1 finals. It was the second straight title for Duncanville as the teams have met for Texas' biggest prize in five of the last six seasons. (Photo: Robbie Rakestraw)
Duncanville quarterback Keelon Russell looks to throw over North Shore's Jarvon Coles in the Panthers' 49-33 win in the UIL 6A Division 1 championship game on Saturday. Russell tossed three TD passes in the win. (Photo: Robbie Rakestraw)
