North Crowley knocks off reigning champion Duncanville, advances to state championship
In front of a sold-out crowd at Allen Eagle Stadium, nationally ranked powerhouses North Crowley and Duncanville put on a show in a Class 6A Division One State Semifinal.
North Crowley landed the first punch, taking a 15-0 lead in the first quarter. Duncanville got back in the game with 21 unanswered points, but North Crowley capitalized in the game’s final moments to secure a 36-34 victory on Saturday, Dec. 14.
North Crowley (15-0) will play in the Class 6A Division One State Championship at AT&T Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21, with a 7 p.m. kickoff. North Crowley will face No. 10 Austin Westlake (14-1), which stunned No. 2 Houston North Shore 35-10.
For the first time since 1948, the city of Fort Worth will be represented in a high school football title game in the UIL’s largest classification. Kirkpatrick won a PVIL title in 1963. North Crowley won a 4A Divison One state title in 2003.
“I’m glad we were able to break that drought,” North Crowley head coach Ray Gates said. “And to represent our community, our school, and our district. There is a lot of pride in that. We don’t take that lightly when we put 817 on our helmets.”
Less than five minutes into the game, North Crowley had already scored more than the entirety of the 2023 state semifinals, when North Crowley lost 52-10 to Duncanville.
“Losing to them 370 days ago -- its a long time to get back to this point,” Gates said. “And we were ready to get back to this point. We set the bar high.”
Duncanville was looking for a championship three-peat and won’t appear in a title game for the first time since the 2020 season.
In the first quarter, North Crowley continued its aggressive mentality they’ve showcased all season. Facing fourth down, quarterback Chris Jimerson Jr. found wide receiver Quentin Gibson, a Colorado commit, over the middle for a 32-yard touchdown.
“(A fast start) was important because we know their offense is powerful,” Gibson said. “Our offense is powerful too. Nobody is going to stop us. We knew it was going to be a little hard to stop them.”
North Crowley was determined to start fast, and they completed the objective. Senior Chris Anthony Armstrong recovered an onside kick, and the offense capitalized; Jimerson lobbed a pass to running back Cornelius Warren III, who endured a hit and scampered into the end zone.
After a North Crowley field goal, Duncanville then scored 21 unanswered points. North Crowley faced a deficit, but Gates emphasized the need to finish the job at the halftime break.
“This is why we came,” Gates said. “This was the moment we were waiting for.”
Duncanville took the lead with a touchdown from four-star Oregon commit Dakorien Moore. North Crowley then snapped out of its funk with a 60-yard kick return from Daniel Bray.
Jimerson followed it up with a 16-yard, go-ahead touchdown strike to senior Cam Hunter. North Crowley added the game’s next score facing fourth and three; Jimerson found Gibson for a wide-open 49-yard touchdown to take an eight-point lead.
Duncanville responded with a six-yard touchdown from Armstrong, but a game-tying two-point was broken up by Bradshaw, who continued his elite play.
Gates said one of his team’s goals was to “be aggressive and steal possessions.” He credited Bradshaw for elite performance and said he is “locked into the game plan,” “knows everything, and is “cerebral.”
Warren capitalized with his second touchdown, a one-yard run, facing fourth down, making it a two-score game with 3:30 remaining.
But Duncanville struck back like lightning taking three plays and 30 seconds to pull back to within two at 36-34.
Russell found Ayson Theus open in the right corner of the end zone for the score. It was up to North Crowley to try to run out the clock, and they did just that.
Warren, who had a monster game against a touch Duncanville defense with 42 carries for 178 yards, carried on each play of the ensuing drive, picking up two first downs and exhausting all of Duncanville’s time-outs in the process.
“He is a great kid,” Gates said of Warren. “He just wants to play ball, and he works hard. He is a leader on this team.”
Jimerson had a big game for North Crowley as well completing 11 passes for 185 yards and four touchdowns as well as picking up 71 yards on eight carries. Gibson was Jimerson’s favorite target catching six passes for 107 yards and two scores.
“He has been doing this for a long time,” Gates said of Jimerson. “He is a veteran in this program. That guy has played on stage in a lot of big games. He is the leader of our offense. We trust in him. We put the game in his hands and we let him be him. He is a special kid.”
Gates credited his team for its hard work, dedication and perseverance.
“This is a culmination of what we’ve built over three years,” Gates said. “And so, to see it come to fruition is beautiful.”
This story was originally published December 14, 2024 at 6:28 PM.
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