The entire city of Dallas will be keeping an eye on AT&T Stadium on Saturday morning as South Oak Cliff seeks to bring home the first state title for Dallas ISD since 1958.
However, it will face a formidable test in Liberty Hill, who just dismantled last year’s state runner-up Crosby 42-14 in the state semifinals.
Here is what to watch for on Saturday morning.
Tale of the Tape
Liberty Hill Panthers
Head Coach: Kent Walker: 2nd season (17-3 record)
Distance from AT&T Stadium: 192 miles
2021 Playoff Results:
Bi-District: W 57-7 vs. Bastrop
Area: W 51-14 vs. Boerne Champion
Regional Semifinals: W 56-33 vs. Leander Rouse
Regional Final: W 43-40 vs. Alamo Heights
State Semifinals: W 42-14 Crosby
Key Players and Storylines:
The legacy of head coach Jeff Walker will be in the back of the minds of Liberty Hill players and coaches as they seek to bring home a state title one year after his passing. Walker spent 10 total years across two stints at Liberty Hill before he died last December after battling cancer.
His brother Kent Walker took over as head coach late last season. Despite the new coach, little has changed in the Hill Country. Liberty Hill still relies on running the football down its opponents’ throats in its vaunted slot-T offense.
Noah Long (2,008 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns), Joe Pitchford (1,166 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns), and Logan Dyer (930 rushing yards and nine touchdowns) should all be expected to see a number of carries on Saturday morning.
Walker believes that this program-wide commitment to running the slot-T offense in a state increasingly dominated by spread offenses is what has made Liberty Hill so successful.
“The key is great kids that have complete buy-in to running the football,” Walker said. “We have a great offensive line along with great running backs and a great offensive coaching staff as well.”
Don’t be surprised if Liberty Hill only turns to its passing game just once or twice on Saturday. The Panthers have attempted just 28 passes during the entire season.
When it comes to stopping South Oak Cliff’s high-powered offense, linebacker Andon Thomas (230 tackles, 28 TFLs) will lead the tackling efforts alongside Reid Bynum (145 total tackles)
Up front, Aaron Brewer (114 tackles, 11 TFLs) has caught the attention of college recruiters as has Lloyd Johnson Jr. (64 tackles, 14 TFLs) They will be crucial in disrupting the South Oak Cliff passing attack.
South Oak Cliff Golden Bears
Head Coach: Jason Todd: 7th season (69-20 record)
Distance to AT&T Stadium: 22 miles
2021 Playoff Results:
Bi-District: W 49-28 vs. Everman
Area: W 35-24 vs. Frisco
Regional Semifinals: W 33-28 vs. Aledo
Regional Final: W 42-20 vs. Lovejoy
State Semifinals: W 44-10 vs. Lubbock Cooper
Key Players and Storylines
Aledo had been to the state title game seven of the past eight years until South Oak Cliff stunned the Bearcats in the regional semifinals.
The Golden Bears now head to the state title game with all of Dallas and inner-city programs across the state watching closely.
The Golden Bears have plenty of Division I talent to help lead them against Liberty Hill. It starts with SMU commit Kevin Henry-Jennings (2,884 passing yards, 37 touchdowns, and just three interceptions), who has the keys to the Golden Bear offense from the quarterback position.
Jamyri Cauley (897 receiving yards, nine touchdowns) has led the way at receiver and already has 15 Division I offers as a sophomore. Randy Reece (843 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns) is also attracting the attention of Power Five programs, while Ky Mathis had a big game against Lubbock Cooper last week with five catches for 123 yards and a touchdown.
However when they do need to run the football, Henry-Jennings is joined in the backfield by two talented running backs in North Texas commit Qualon Farrar (980 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns) and Ke’Undrae Hollywood (1,152 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns).
On defense, the Golden Bears have three stellar defensive backs in Malik Muhammad (60 tackles, 3 INTs), his cousin Abdul Muhammad (86 tackles, 2 INTs) and TCU commit Kyron Chambers (69 tackles, 3 INTs). However, their tackling skills rather than their shutdown corner ability will likely be what is on display against Liberty Hill’s slot-T offense.
When it comes to disrupting the Liberty Hill run game in the trenches, Keith Smith (61 total tackles, 17 TFLs), Cortlandt Kidd (64 total tackles, 15 TFLs), and Billy Walton (53 tackles, 12 sacks) will be relied upon to make plays up front.
Final Thoughts
A state title would be incredibly meaningful for both of these programs. Liberty Hill would get to honor the legacy of Jeff Walker, while South Oak Cliff would be carrying the flag for all of inner-city programs in Texas.
It will be a contrasting display of styles as Liberty Hill’s almost run-only offense takes on the high-powered passing machine of South Oak Cliff.
This game could very well be decided in the trenches as South Oak Cliff looks to prevent Liberty Hill from enforcing its will with its slot-T offense.
With storylines galore, this is not a game to be missed on Saturday morning.
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Nicely written, great review. This is a fascinating match up.