This is part 2 of a 6-part series. They have won 137 wins over the last decade and hoisted the hardware of four state championships. They are the Allen Eagles.
The Eagles won State Championships in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017. The three-peat was led by QB Kyler Murray. In 2017, it was the Brock Sturges show.
2017
The Eagles went 16-0 that season, averaging 41 points per game, and met Lake Travis in the 6A State Finals at Jerry’s World (AT&T Stadium-Arlington, TX). It was a close game that was won by the Eagles 35-33. RB Brock Sturges rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns against the Cavaliers. QB Grant Tisdale added 82 yards on the ground and scored a rushing touchdown.
Sturges finished the season with 2167 yards and 30 touchdowns.
2014
Allen posted another undefeated season (16-0) in 2014, averaging 49 points per game. The Eagles were led by QB Kyler Murray, who passed for 4713 yards and 54 touchdowns. Murray also rushed for 1495 yards and 24 scores. Murray himself accounted for 6208 yards of total offense.
The Eagles faced off with Cy-Ranch in the 6A championship game. It wasn’t even close. Murray made sure of that. He passed for 316 yards and 5 touchdowns and added 63 yards on the ground.
WR Kerry Hall caught nine of Murray’s passes for 129 yards and three touchdowns. RB Keon Williams rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown.
The Eagles racked up 488 yards of total offense.
Murray received many accolades in 2014, including:
- USA Today National Offensive Player of the Year
- National Gatorade Player of the Year
- Gatorade Texas Player of the Year
He signed with Texas A&M as part of the Class of 2015, but transferred to Oklahoma and won the Heisman Trophy in 2018.
2013
Once again, Allen posted yet another undefeated season (16-0) and scored a whopping 807 points, an average of 50 points per game. Murray was the field general and passed for 3672 yards and 46 touchdowns that season.
In the 5A Final against Pearland, and the Eagles roared to a 63-28 rout. They held Pearland to less than 300 yards of total offense. The Allen defense recorded three sacks, 2 INTs, 10 TFL’s, and 1 fumble recovery. They held Pearland to 7 of 17 on third down.
Murray rushed for 188 yards and a 1 TD and passed for 280 yards and four touchdowns.
RB Jalen Barlow rushed for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns. WR Cole Carter caught five passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns. And WR Jalen Guyton caught four balls for 125 yards.
2012
The Eagles finished the 2012 season at 15-1. They began the first of their three-peat championships in the 5A state final against Houston Lamar. The Eagles were outgained in the stat sheet but held off Lamar for the title.
Kyler Murray was named the Offensive MVP of the game after rushing for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns and passed for another score. He had touchdown runs of 55 and 68 yards.
Murray finished the season with 2044 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, and 1370 yards rushing, and 25 touchdowns.
RB Marcus Ward rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Ward had TD runs of 1 yard and 67 yards.
Cameron Hartsfield was named the Defensive MVP for the Eagles. He recorded nine tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 fumble recovery, 3 pass breakups, and 1 quarterback hurry.
A New Head Coach for 2021
The Eagles will have a new head coach for 2021, and he is a familiar name to Texas high school football fans. Chad Morris leads the Eagles into the 2021 season.
Coach Morris returns to the high school ranks in the Lone Star State after coaching college ball at the FBS level:
- Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach, Auburn-2020.
- Head Coach, Arkansas-2018-2019
- Head Coach, SMU-2015-2017
- Offensive Coordinator, Clemson-2011-2014
- Offensive Coordinator/Associate Head Coach, Tulsa-2010
- Head Coach, Lake Travis Cavaliers-2008-2009. Back-to-back 4A State Championships.
Morris inherits 11 returning starters from a 10-1 team of a year ago. He will have some talent on the offensive line, averaging 280 pounds per man (with two OL players at 300+ pounds each). The defense returns six starters, led by LB Caison Smith, who racked up 64 tackles in 2020.
Tony Thomas is a freelance writer. He writes about college football on his own site, www.thegridironnews.com.
It’s been three years since the Allen Eagles last won a state championship. With his brand of offensive football, does Coach Chad Morris lead the Eagles back to the 6A mountaintop in 2021? Comment below.
