There’s a question many Texas High School football fans have pondered over the years. What area leads the state in producing the best high school football in the Lone Star State?
The following infographic displays the percentages of different area teams that have represented their respective area in the UIL state championship games from the top three classifications since 2010. From Class 3A-5A from 2010-2013 to last year’s bump from 3A-5A, now 4A-6A, the visual clearly shows what area dominates the lauded sport.
(Graphic by Tyler Agnew)
David Just, formerly of The Dallas Morning News, wrote the following in a column he posted just a day or two after — at the time 3A, 4A and 5A powerhouses — Aledo, Denton Guyer, Allen and Cedar Hill captured its state titles in 2013.
“The Dallas-Fort Worth area is the only region to capture state titles in the two largest classifications, and it accomplished that feat and more for the second time this weekend,” Just wrote.
“Argyle in Class 3A, Denton Guyer and Aledo in Class 4A and Allen in Class 5A preceded Cedar Hill in victory, giving D-FW five wins in five games and putting an exclamation point on a dominating football season in North Texas.”
2014-2015 Season
Dallas-area teams finished 4-1. The loss was not a blowout either. Class 4A powerhouse Argyle Eagles looked to capture their second state championship in four years, but lost a dogfight in double overtime to Navasota.
2013-2014 Season
Allen, Cedar Hill, Aledo, Denton Guyer and Argyle represented the Dallas area, going 5-0 by a combined 95-point differential. The closest victory was Argyle over Fairfield, 38-35.
2012-2013 Season
Denton Guyer, Allen, Cedar Hill and Lancaster reached state, but split the series 2-2. Lancaster fell to Cedar Park (Austin), 17-7. Katy (Houston) defeated Cedar Hill 35-24 to capture its seventh state title.
2010-2012 Season
The next two seasons, Dallas-area teams veered off the dominance it’s exhibited in 2012-2015. Eight teams from the Dallas area played, only three won. However, a stat worthy of mentioning is the five teams that lost were only defeated by an average of seven points. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s a touchdown and a near given extra point.
So even when Dallas-area teams lost, they were defeated only by a small margin.
The Hearsay and the Challenge
In Texas, football is king. Everyone knows that. However, in the smaller parts of the state, it is clear that Dallas-area teams have easily produced the best high school football.
Former Cedar Hill wide receiver DeMarkus Lodge — now at Ole Miss, and played a key part of the Longhorns’ 2013 and 2014 state championship teams — said it best when it comes to the next-level brand of football the Dallas-area plays.
“D-FW has the best athletes in the nation,” Lodge told Just. “We have some of the best football teams in the nation. We’re tough to beat.”
In 2007, Southlake Carroll — who won five of the ten Texas 5A state championships from 2002-2011 — decided to risk its 49-game winning streak against Miami Northwestern. The game had high expectations, and it drew a crowd of 46,000 at the Texas Stadium. Carroll lost the game 29-21, failing to reach 50 consecutive wins.
Last season, Allen scored 58 points to best former South Carolina state champion Dutch Fork, 58-53.
During opening weekend of this season, Euless Trinity is set to take on De La Salle of Concord, California. Some of you reading this may recognize the name of the school because the Spartans were featured in the film “When the Game Stands Tall”. De La Salle won the CIF Open Divisional Bowl last season (California’s state championship) with a 14-0 record.
In USA Today’s Super 25 rankings, three out of the four Texas teams in the list are from the Dallas area.
Since 2010, Dallas-area teams dominate high school football in Texas. So, teams based in Dallas, great job. Keep it going. And teams outside of Dallas, a challenge looms for you to rewrite the history books.
