By Allan Jamail
Houston, TX – Saturday, December 7, 2024, at the Thorne Stadium, a neutral playoff site, before a sellout crowd, the GPISD North Shore Mustangs (13-0) dominated the Humble ISD Atascocita Eagles (12-1), winning 49-21 in the UIL Texas High School Football Championship Contests of the Class 6A Division 1 Regional Finals. They have beaten the Eagles in five straight playoff games and won nine consecutive matchups.
With the temperatures hovering in the upper 40’s and raining intermittently, the Eagles received the opening kickoff but failed to make a first down, so they punted to the Mustangs. The Eastside Boy’s junior quarterback Kaleb Bailey wasted no time moving the team down field, and he scored the game’s first TD just seven minutes into the first quarter.
The Mustangs defense was awesome to say the least, throughout the game. They held the Eagles offense from making first downs and from scoring in the first quarter. The defense stopped the Eagles time and time again and gave their offense the ball that made 21 points before the Eagles could final put up 7 points before halftime.
The North Shore defense shutout the Eagles from scoring in the first and third quarter. (SEE BOX SCORE.) The Eagles never went ahead or tied the game. The defense stonewalled the Eagles four times near their goal line — and once when Eagles quarterback Cardae Mack was stuffed on 4th down from the 1 yard line. To add insult to injury, North Shore then marched 99 yards to score and took a 21-0 lead before halftime. From then on, the Eastside Boys never looked back.
North Shore Head Coach Willie Gaston said after the game, “I think the kids understand that we want to just come out and fight another week. Survive and advance. That’s what we’re trying to do: survive and advance. I think that’s the driving force. They want to play as long as possible.”
Gaston also said after the game, “I didn’t know Westlake had won until just now. I didn’t get on any social media, and I didn’t get any scores because I wanted to be all in on this game, and I didn’t want to be caught looking ahead. But they’re another familiar opponent, with a good program. Coach (Tony) Salazar does a good job over there. We’ll be ready to go, and I know he’ll have his team ready to go.”
Mustang’s senior receiver Quanell Farrakhan Jr., who made two touchdowns, said, “We really just want to keep focusing on each upcoming team. We don’t look to the future or look ahead. So now we’re on to Westlake, and we’ll just keep focusing and practicing hard.”
Mustangs Field General Kaleb Bailey said, “We don’t look ahead, we stay focused on who we’re playing the week of the game. We take it one game and one week at a time. We practice hard each week getting ready for the opponent we’re going to play.”
Kaleb Bailey rushed for 250 yards and two TD’s on 10 carries, averaging 25 yards per carry. He completed 78 % of his passes (14 of 18) for 192 yards and two TDs.
North Shore scorers: Kaleb Bailey 2 TD’s; Quanell Farrakhan Jr. 2 TD’s; Kaleb Maryland 2 TD’s; D’Andre Hardeman Jr. 1 TD; and extra point kicker Daniel Cruz was perfect, 7 for 7 points.
Linda Jamail, Photographer/Statistician
The Mustangs (14-0) will next play the Austin Westlake Chaparrals (13- 1) at 2PM on Saturday, Dec. 14, at Legacy Stadium in Katy, a neutral site. The Chaparrals lone loss was to the Atascocita Eagles, 39- 21, back in September. North Shore beat the Chaparrals in the semifinals the past two seasons, including 23-14 last year. This game will make North Shore’s seventh consecutive year to play in the state semifinals.
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