North Crowley beat Duncanville, earning the school’s first state championship appearance since 2003.
ALLEN, Texas — It’s playoff season in Texas high school football, and anything can happen.
No. 9 North Crowley stunned No. 3 Duncanville with a 36-34 win inside Eagle Stadium Saturday, snapping Duncanville’s championship appearance streak.
It was a matchup between Panthers, and North Crowley pulled off the upset on the back of two solid scoring runs in the first and fourth quarters.
North Crowley’s scoring started early. Four minutes into the game, North Crowley quarterback, senior and UNT signee Chris Jimerson threw a 32-yard touchdown to senior and Colorado signee Quentin Gibson.
Jimerson followed that up one minute later with a 26-yard bomb to senior UNLV signee Cornelius Warren III to put the team up 12-0. From there, the defense held it down to keep the score there for the rest of the first quarter.
To start the second quarter, North Crowley built their lead with a 26-yard field goal to put them up 15-0.
Duncanville finally found a response halfway through the second, with JaQualon Armstrong running the ball in for their first touchdown of the night. With a successful PAT, Duncanville got the score to 15-7.
By halftime, Duncanville was able to score again off the back of a 14-yard rushing TD from senior quarterback and Alabama signee Keelon Russell, ending the second quarter 15-14.
Coming off the halftime break, Russell threw a 58-yard bomb to senior and Oregon signee Dakorien Moore, giving Duncanville a 15-21 lead, their first and only of the night.
North Crowley quickly regained the lead when Jimerson connected a 16-yard pass to senior Cameron Hunter, putting them at 22-21 after a successful PAT. Both teams remained scoreless in the third.
North Crowley could not be contained in the fourth quarter.
Again, Jimerson put on a clinic with a 49-yard bomb to Gibson to put the team up 29-21. Duncanville responded as Armstrong ran in a 6-yard touchdown, but a failed two-point conversion kept them trailing 29-27.
On an aggressive 4th and goal play, Warren III ran it into the end zone from the one-yard line for North Crowley, bringing the score to 36-27.
Duncanville was able to score again. A Russell 31-yard pass to junior Ayson Theus brought the score to 36-34. However, North Crowley was able to run out the clock, securing the opportunity to play inside AT&T Stadium for a chance to win a state championship.
North Crowley and Westlake will compete for the 6A-D1 state championship on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m.
North Crowley will make their first appearance in the championship game since 2003. Meanwhile, they also snapped Duncanville’s three-year run of championship appearances against North Shore.