In preparation for the “Game of the Week”, TexasHSFootball will revisit both teams before Friday Night. This week’s matchup is a slug fest between the Cedar Hill Longhorns and the Desoto Eagles.
Cedar Hill Longhorns (2-1)
Coach Joey McGuire curates a playlist heavy on country music to inspire his players. The soundtrack to Cedar Hill Longhorns unprecedented success also includes requests by the team; during summer training camp, Carlie Rae Jepson’s smash “Call Me Maybe” somehow got mixed into the rotation.
Got a new cold tube!! #TTHL ❄️❄️❄️ pic.twitter.com/7G5WYXqhxf
— Joey McGuire (@CoachMcGuire_BU) September 21, 2016
The sounds of music masks the laboring sounds of maximum effort, as practices are conducted at seven in the morning on the outskirts of Dallas. This is the field that hosts one of the most dominant high school programs in the country. According to Coach McGuire, this is his best class since his undefeated 2006 squad: Six members of the roster are on SportsDay’s Top 100 recruits for the Class of 2017. All elite pass catchers are all college commits — two are top fifty outside receivers in the country. Eleven starters total are college commits.
These graphics give you an idea of the insane amount of college talent in Cedar Hill vs. DeSoto
More here: https://t.co/RyfgcOqlO9 #txhsfb pic.twitter.com/s0uOtYnLNE— SportsDayHS (@SportsDayHS) September 22, 2016
Following the Longhorns earliest playoff loss in a decade, Cedar Hill entered the season with a chip on their shoulder, eager to prove themselves after three consecutive state finals. The Dallas Morning News sports section printed a headline that read “Dethroned” following the upset. For motivation, Coach McGuire purchased several copies, laminated them, and pasted the article around the locker room.
Cedar Hills’ opener was a highly-touted and nationally broadcast matchup against Bishop Gorman, who entered the contest riding a 39-game winning streak and seven consecutive Nevada state titles. Coach McGuire urged his players to represent the state of Texas, but Gaels quarterback Tate Martell acted as Santa Ana against the hapless defenders of Lone Star pride, bating the players via social media — provocations that caused cooler heads to not prevail.
Bishop Gorman poked the bear, and the Longhorns acted like a circus animals doped and conditioned to be docile in retaliation, losing 44-14 in the season opener. Four-star quarterback and Notre Dame commit Avery Davis was injured, and Texas High School Coaches Association president David Wentzel penned a scathing open letter, accusing Gorman of pursuing out-of-state recruits.
A letter from President @coachdwetzel on Cedar Hill vs. Gorman, All a matter of perspective https://t.co/Y5LURXiVIG pic.twitter.com/fKrfvgMLy0
— THSCA (@THSCAcoaches) September 1, 2016
The first game did portray Coach McGuire’s program as having some brass balls the size of a longhorn, their audacious pursuits of battling the best emphasizing Under Armour’s current sponsorship of the program. During a recent interview with TexasHSFootball president Brian DeMarco, Senior Director of Global Sports Marketing Walker Jones applauded Cedar Hill’s desire to be the best in the nation.
“We love the coaches that will play anybody, anywhere anytime,” said Jones in regards to the Longhorns being an “UNDENIABLE” program selection. “We look for that attitude. I love that guy that goes, ‘heck yeah man, let’s do it.’ A lot of those characteristics we saw with Joey and Cedar Hill.”
As the Longhorns mended their wounds in preparation for Week 2, Coach McGuire turned to his son Garret McGuire to call the snaps. Their sophomore effort started with a whimper, where Mansfield was destroying Cedar Hill by 20 points (41-21). Through their talented offensive backfield, the Longhorns were able to chip at the lead and ground-and-pound their way back into the game; Marquise Foreman had the game winning run at the end of regulation. Week 3 was an easier contest, Cedar Hill destroyed Mesquite in a 59-21 route, and limiting their opponent to 15 total rushing yards.
