North Shore quest to repeat ends in title game loss to Duncanville: 'We have much to be proud of'

Galena Park North Shore’s quest to secure a second consecutive Class 6A state championship came to an unsuccessful end on Saturday as the previously undefeated Mustangs fell to the Duncanville Panthers 28-21, per a report from Houston CBS affiliate KHOU. 

“It was a hard fought game [and] although we fell short to a great team in the Duncanville Panthers, we have much to be proud of,” the North Shore campus’ Twitter account posted postgame. “Congrats, Coach [Jon] Kay, coaching staff, players, [and] our entire school community.”

North Shore’s lone loss of 2022 also put the skids on a three-game winning streak it had against Duncanville, all in the state finals. 

The Mustangs’ championships in 2018, 2019 and last year came at the Panthers’ expense, with the first matchup between them memorable for a last-second Hail Mary that lifted the former to victory. 

Their latest battle and its result; however, was what Duncanville players, coaches and supporters have been waiting for the past half decade.

High school sports website MaxPreps reported that North Shore-Duncanville Part IV bore the same show-stopping drama as did the last three matchups.

Per MaxPreps, both teams took a tie into the second half until junior rusher Caden Durham punched in one of his three touchdowns on the ground in the third quarter to put the Panthers in the driver’s seat. 

The Mustangs threatened to either send the game into overtime or win it on a two-point conversion with senior signal-caller David Amador leading a stampede all the way to the Duncanville 15 as the game entered its waning moments. 

But a crucial defensive stop by the Duncanville defense snuffed Amador’s attempt to convert a fourth down near the end zone with about a minute to go on the 2022 season helped seal the title for the Panthers, according to MaxPreps.

North Shore finished the year 15-1. 

On the way to its most recent in a string of state final appearances, the Mustangs became the first team since Austin Lake Travis to defeat perennial heavyweight Austin Westlake in almost four years. 

The Mustangs ended the Chaparrals’ 54-game winning streak and quest for an unprecedented fourth championship in a row with a 49-34 win in the 6A semifinals. 

MaxPreps reported that North Shore has compiled a 74-4 record since 2018.