It’s hard to win back-to- back state titles in Texas in any sport — especially football. After winning the 2015 6A state championship in overtime against Austin Westlake, North Shore had a bull’s eye squarely on its back all year in 2016.
The North Shore Mustangs entered 2016 with a 12-game winning streak and they whooped Dekaney to start the season. However, a 26-13 loss to Manvel in a Week 2 non-district clash of titans brought North Shore back down to earth.
North Shore ripped away 11 straight wins before losing to new District 21-6A rival Atascocita, a team North Shore beat, 31-21, at Atascocita in regular season. Maybe North Shore should’ve opted to play the game back in Humble instead of NRG Stadium in Houston, where Atascocita ended the Mustangs season in overtime, 33- 27, in the state quarterfinal. Atascocita fell to eventual state champ Lake Travis the following week in the semifinal.
The Mustangs once again had oodles of talent on both sides of the ball. North Shore averaged nearly 40 points a game while allowing just 13. Other than the loss to Manvel, the Mustangs obliterated teams along the way.
To close out regular season, North Shore defeated Channelview (68-0) Goose Creek Memorial (62-0) and Summer Creek (50-22) before throttling Pasadena Memorial (55-0) in the bi-district round of the playoffs.
The thing North Shore may be best known for in 2016 was taking down the mighty Katy Tigers, 20-17, in the third round.
Key Losses
QB Bryant Badie, DE K’Lavon Chaisson, WR Eltroy Potts, OL Khayman Johnson
Badie completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,731 yards and 22 touchdowns with just six interceptions. The senior also led the Mustangs with 1,020 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns en route to District 21-6A MVP honors.
Chaisson (6-4, 220) was the district’s Defensive MVP. Potts led the Mustangs in all receiving columns with 43 receptions, 781 yards and eight touchdowns. Johnson and Reginald Bowie, both at 5-10, 280, were two huge offensive linemen and first-team all-district picks.
Key Returners
OLB Jeremiah Walter, ILB Jacoby Allen, RB Kerrion Hadnot, ATH Thomas Davis
Walter and Allen were both first-team all-district linebackers for the Mustangs defense that allowed just 13 points a game and pitched four shutouts on the season.
Hadnot rushed for 883 yards (7.6 per carry) and 17 touchdowns last year as a junior, and Thomas Davis was named to the all-district team as an all-around player.
The Verdict
North Shore has enjoyed an embarrassment of riches when it comes to talent and coaching for more than a decade. The Mustangs have compiled a 156-28 record since the beginning of the 2003 season. In that span, the Mustangs won two state titles (2003, 2015) and a semifinal appearance in 2007 with a 14-1 record.
It would be huge a stretch to say North Shore wouldn’t make it to the playoffs again in 2017 with so many good defensive players returning and a new crop of offensive standouts to fill the shoes of graduating seniors.
North Shore begins with Dekaney again before facing a Manvel team that went 13-1 last year and advanced to the state quarterfinal where they fell, 24-23, to eventual state runner-up Temple.
The biggest obstacle in District 21-6A will be Atascocita, which split with North Shore last season. Other than that, it should be another dominating year for the Mustangs.
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