Second half surge lifts DeSoto to second state title in win over Austin Vandegrift

The DeSoto football team made just enough mistakes in the first half of the Class 6A Division 2 state championship game to keep Austin Vandegrift in the hunt.

But after the half the Eagles started to click on all cylinders and DeSoto scored 21 unanswered points to pull away from the Vipers 42-17 on Saturday before 34,891 fans at AT&T Stadium.

It was the second state title in as many trips for DeSoto (14-2). The Eagles won the 6A D2 title in 2016. Vandegrift (14-2) was making its first state title appearance.

“What a feeling...God what a feeling. I can’t describe it,” said DeSoto coach Claude Mathis, who became the first Black head coach to win a state title in Class 6A. “It really hasn’t hit me yet because I just haven’t had a chance to really think about it or else I would have broken down by now.

“I’m so excited for our players. We’ve been doubted and doubted and doubted and just to see our kids win it and our coaches win it with how much they put into it is unbelievable.”

Three Black coaches preceded Mathis in winning state titles in the UIL’s highest classification. Allen Wilson at Tyler in 1994, Luther Booker at Houston Yates in 1985 and Alex Durley at Beaumont West Brook in 1982 all won state titles in Class 5A, the largest classification at the time.

The Vipers had just pulled to within 21-17 after a 20-yard scoring run by Alex Witt with 9:30 left in the third quarter. The drive was kept alive in large part by a pair of pass interference penalties on DeSoto, both on third and long.

But DeSoto started to tighten up on both sides of the ball after that. The Eagles scored touchdowns on their next three possessions while the defense was bottling up the Vipers.

The DeSoto defense, led by defensive lineman Jason Douglas, forced three punts and took the ball away on downs once while shutting out Vandegrift the rest of the way. Douglas, the defensive MVP of the championship game, recorded 5 1/2 tackles and had two of the Eagles’ five sacks.

“We just all came together knowing that this was the last game of the season,” said DeSoto linebacker Brandon Booker, whose defense gave up 203 total yards to Vandegrift while his offense was cranking out 614. “With that we just balled out. Coach told us in our last practice to give it all you’ve got and we translated that to the field. It couldn’t have been a better ending.”

Championship game offensive MVP Deondra Riden had back-to-back touchdown runs of six and seven yards, the latter giving DeSoto a 35-17 lead with 1:22 left in the third quarter. Riden was a work horse carrying 32 times for 187 yards.

DeSoto quarterback Darius Bailey hit wide out 4-star Texas commit Tre Wisner across the middle before Wisner out raced the rest of the Vipers’ defense 62 yards to cap the scoring for the Eagles with 10:37 left in the game.

“Late in the game they were able to pressure us some and when you’re in man you have to throw them open or you have to get it out and sometimes we didn’t have the time to get it out,” said Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders. “But that’s a credit to them. They did a great job and had a great game plan.

“The problem DeSoto gives you on offense is that they have violent, good running backs and then they have speed on the edge. They were as fast as I feared and eventually it took over.”

Bailey finished with 297 yards passing completing 14 of 18 and added 34 rushing yards on seven carries. Wisner was his favorite target catching six passes for 135 yards while 4-star Texas commit Johntay Cook had three receptions for 103 yards.

After a scoreless first quarter, things got rolling in the second.

Vandegrift opened the quarter with a 36-yard field goal by Hayden Arnold, but DeSoto answered immediately.

Bailey hit Wisner for 43 yards and a first down to the Vandegrift 42. On the ensuing play Bailey found Cook in the right flat and Cook raced down the right sideline for the score to give the Eagles a 7-3 lead with 11:03 left in the half.

DeSoto’s defense picked up a controversial turnover on Vandegrift’s next series.

The Eagles’ pass rush got to Vandegrift quarterback Brayden Buchanan and what was initially ruled an incomplete pass was reviewed and changed to a fumble that DeSoto had recovered at the Vipers’ 17.

Two plays later Bailey hit Wisner with a swing pass that resulted in a 10-yard TD to up the lead to 14-3 with 9:19 left before the intermission.

But the 11-point lead lasted less than a minute. Witt ripped off 57 yards to start the Vipers’ next drive then bulled in from the 1 three plays later to cut the lead to 14-10 at the 8:41 mark of the second quarter.

DeSoto had two fumbles deep inside Vandegrift territory that might have given the Eagles a more comfortable lead in the first half.

A promising opening drive, that featured a Wisner 49-yard run to the Vandegrift 14, was thwarted when Vipers’ defensive back Isaiah Thompson forced a DeSoto fumble at the 12 then scooped up the ball and returned it out to the 21.

With 6:40 left in the half, another DeSoto fumble, this time at the Vandegrift 1-yard line was recovered by Oliver Yndo.

The DeSoto defense bailed out the Eagles both times, however, forcing Vandegrift punts on both of the drives that followed the turnovers.

DeSoto took a 21-10 lead into the locker room at the half when Riden scored on a 4-yard run with 3:20 left.

“With coach (Clifton) Todd and South Oak Cliff winning and us winning it means a lot to our communities and I’m glad to sit on this stage and say that,” said Mathis. “When you see folks from Duncanville up in the stands cheering for you, South Oak Cliff is cheering, DeSoto...this is the one time we all came together.”

Duncanville won the 6A D1 title on Saturday night. It’s only the second time in UIL history that two teams from the same district won titles in the same year. The only other time it has happened came in 1997 when District 23-4A foes Texas City and La Marque won.

Texas City beat Corsicana for the 4A D1 title while La Marque beat Denison in 4A D2. Texas City and La Marque were the top two teams in the 4A state rankings when they met in district. Texas City won 28-12.

DeSoto lost to Duncanville in District 11-6A, 41-17 in Week 10.

This story was originally published December 17, 2022 at 9:54 PM.