By Allan Jamail / Guest reporter
Katy, TX. – Saturday December 14, 2024 at the Legacy Stadium, the old phrase “all good things must come to an end” proved to be true for the North Shore Mustangs varsity football team. The Mustangs, one of the state’s most winning teams in high school 6A history, lost in a lopsided game to the Austin Westlake Chaparrals, 35 – 10.
Westlake didn’t allow history to repeat itself in the 2024 6A Division I semifinals. The Mustangs had taken out the Chaparrals in the semifinals the past two seasons, but behind a tremendous defensive effort and four touchdowns by quarterback Rees Wise, the Chaps earned the program’s 12th all-time berth in the finals.
“We knew we were this good, it was just a matter of winning this game,” Chaps Head Coach Tony Salazar said. “It’s been a thorn in our sides the past couple of years, but our guys didn’t run from the challenge. They went head first, full speed.”
“It was personal after the last two years. We told the boys, the captains, ‘We’re not going out like that again, and we knew they were overlooking us,” said Chaps senior linebacker Elliot Schaper. “So we gotta come out fast and hit them in the mouth. And that’s what we did. They were not expecting that.”
The Chaps proved they were up to the physical challenge.
“We’re a physical team. We’re a more physical team than anybody we play,” said Chaps junior QB Rees Wise, “and that’s what we did, that’s why we have that score up there.”
The Eastside Boys only led for a brief period once in the entire game, after a 3-point field goal early in the first quarter. Soon thereafter, the Chaps went ahead 7 – 3 with five minutes remaining in the first quarter, and never gave up the lead.
After the first quarter, they led 14 – 3. The Chaps defense held the high-scoring Mustangs to only one touchdown, which was made when QB Kaleb Bailey hit receiver Quanell Farrakhan Jr. on a 9-yard pass with 11 seconds before the halftime’s closing; score of 21 – 10.
Westlake sacked Bailey numerous times and kept him running so he couldn’t pass accurately. When Bailey did have an open receiver with good pass protection, for some unknown reason his usual accurate passes were not on target. Bailey carried the ball for 95 yards on 12 attempts, and went 12 for 23 passing for 153 yards.
The Chaps shut down the offense’s running and passing games, but North Shore’s normal tough defense couldn’t do the same, allowing the Chaps to score a TD in all four quarters — something no opponent has done this season. Chaps Junior QB Wise ran for a TD and passed for four, without a sack, and with plenty of time to pass.
The Chaps were relentless on defense and playing with urgency and swarming to the football. They were strong at the point of attack in the trenches and tight in coverage on the backend.
Sometimes coaches will say they never look ahead — no further than their next opponent. NS Coach Willie Gaston said this just last week after defeating Atascocita. Austin’s Coach Tony Salazar didn’t take that same approach before the semi-final game with the Mustangs. He said he knew weeks ago the road to the state championship had to go through North Shore.
They knocked out and hammered a team who just last week garnered 600 yards on offense and has scored 6 to 7 TD’s each game.
NS BIG GAMBLE FAILED
North Shore’s decision to gamble on 4th down on their end of the field at the beginning of their third quarter drive was a mistake, according to Salazar.
“That one TD early in the third quarter was huge because it goes from an 11-point game to an 18-point game like that,” said Salazar, snapping his finger. “Obviously, a big play from our defense, but it was capitalized on by our offense. That’s what we talk about — backing each other up. Great offense, great defense, great special teams, and we did that more times than them. We just worked and worked, and I think you saw our offense had a heck of a game plan tonight.”
“We made some big-time plays in the passing game,” Salazar continued. “We ran the football against a run-heavy stout defense, and our kids made big plays. I mean fourth down stops. When we had to make the big plays, they made them tonight. A complete team victory.”
Gaston took the blame for the loss.
“We really couldn’t get on schedule offensively,” Gaston said. “Once you get off schedule, you get predictable, you allow them to blitz you. That was the biggest thing — just getting off schedule and not staying ahead of the chains. I’ve got to do a better job in the play calling and try to keep things like that from happening.”
Last season, Gaston said after losing the state championship game that he had to both coach and call offense plays, unlike former Coach Kay, he said, who only had to coach, while Kay had him (Gaston) call the offense plays.
Maybe it’s time Gaston relinquishes the play calling to another coach. This is the first time the No. 2 state-ranked North Shore (14-1) failed to reach the state championship game since Westlake ousted the Mustangs in the 2020 semifinals, played in January 2021. Since 2018, North Shore has qualified for state five times. Reaching that stage has become an annual expectation.
Duncanville’s No. 1 state-ranked team was also ousted from the playoffs on Saturday as well.
Linda Jamail, statistician/photographer