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The Galena Park North Shore Mustangs football team accomplished what so many in Texas thought was virtually impossible on Saturday: Putting the skids on Austin Westlake’s 54-game winning streak.
The Mustangs defeated the incumbent Class 6A state champion Chaparrals 49-34 at Rice Stadium to set up another sequel in its final-round rivalry against the Duncanville Panthers, Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported.
Winners of a combined 29 games in 2022, North Shore and Duncanville are slated to face off in the Class 6A, Division I title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Saturday.
“See y’all in DFW,” the North Shore campus’ Twitter account posted postgame.
KTRK reported that the Mustangs, who seek to defend their crown from 2021, derailed Westlake’s hopes of becoming the first-ever four-time football state champions by employing a strong ground game and an equally potent defense.
According to the station, Saturday’s emphatic victory acted as a measure of revenge for North Shore, which was one of the teams the Chaparrals vanquished on the way to their second consecutive 6A triumph in 2020.
First-year Westlake head coach Tony Salazar, who succeeded the retired Todd Dodge, told Austin NBC affiliate KXAN that North Shore’s “the one team that’s been better than us.”
Per KXAN, senior Mustangs rusher Rashaad Johnson scampered for three touchdowns, with one of them logging 73 yards.
Despite trailing Westlake for about five minutes in the second quarter, North Shore was essentially in the driver’s seat for much of the contest, the station reported.
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football reported that the Mustangs hold a 3-0 state championship game edge over Duncanville, winning the 2018, 2019 and 2021 matchups.
The Panthers punched their ticket to their fourth meeting with North Shore by making easy work of the Prosper Eagles 41-0, the publication reported.
The Mustangs themselves are riding a lengthy winning streak, which stands at 28 games as of Monday.