In 2013, a crowd of 54,347 jammed into AT&T Stadium to watch Allen play Pearland in the Class 5A Division I state championship game.
It was the largest crowd ever recorded for a Texas high school football game. But they weren’t just there to see Allen’s all-world quarterback, Kyler Murray, or an Allen team in the midst of a 57-game winning streak.
They were there to witness the best of Dallas-Fort Worth take on the best of the Houston area.
On that day it was no contest. Murray directed a 63-28 blowout as Allen won the second of three consecutive state titles. But over the last decade, D-FW holds only a slight advantage in the battle between the state’s two major metropolitan areas when it comes to deciding state champions and bestowing bragging rights in Arlington.
High School Sports
Major League Baseball has Rangers vs. Astros, who play for the Silver Boot trophy each season and met in a memorable 2023 American League Championship Series that the Rangers won in dramatic fashion on their way to their first World Series title.
But that rivalry, along with Cowboys vs. Texans and Mavericks vs. Rockets, has nothing on the passion, fervor and intense community support involved when the best high school football teams from Dallas and Houston go head-to-head in a state championship game.
There will be three such matchups Saturday at AT&T Stadium.
The tripleheader will kick off with South Oak Cliff (14-1) playing Richmond Randle (15-0) at 11 a.m. in the Class 5A Division II state championship game, followed by Duncanville (12-1) facing Galena Park North Shore (13-2) in the 6A Division I final at 3 p.m. and concluding with DeSoto (12-3) vs. Houston C.E. King (13-2) in the 6A Division II title game at 7 p.m.
All three Dallas-area schools are looking to build on their dynasties, as Duncanville and DeSoto are both trying to win their third state title in four years and SOC is playing for its third championship in five consecutive state finals.
“Since I moved to Dallas in 2018, I was always told it’s always been Dallas vs. Houston,” said DeSoto four-star wide receiver Ethan “Boobie” Feaster, a USC signee. “I’ve grown to have the same pride since then. I put on not only for my home, but I put on for Dallas. I have friends in that area, so of course it also motivates me for bragging rights.”
DeSoto wide receiver Ethan Feaster (1) celebrates after winning a Class 6A Division II state semifinal game against Southlake Carroll, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Mansfield. DeSoto defeated Southlake Carroll 57-44.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
D-FW vs. Houston history
Duncanville vs. North Shore has become one of the best rivalries in the sport, as this will be the sixth time in eight years they have played each other in the 6A Division I title game. Five-time state champion North Shore won the first three matchups — including 41-36 on a legendary 45-yard Hail Mary touchdown on the 2018 game’s final play — before three-time state champion Duncanville got its revenge with a 28-21 win in 2022 and a 49-33 victory in 2023.
“It’s definitely added motivation being that it’s Houston,” said Duncanville senior defensive back Braylon Edwards, a Colorado signee. “We want to prove that the best football is played in the Metroplex. We respect the greater Houston area, but we want a Dallas sweep and to get the series even with North Shore.”
Duncanville defensive back Braylon Edwards (7) breaks up a pass intended for Allen wide receiver Carter Harris (4) during the second half of a Class 6A Division I state semifinal.high school football playoff game on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Mesquite.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
South Oak Cliff serves students from south and east Oak Cliff in Dallas, while DeSoto and Duncanville are suburbs just south of Dallas. All three schools are within 12 miles of each other, with DeSoto and Duncanville separated by 8.8 miles, and their southern Dallas County connection could unite those fan bases to cheer for each other against Houston’s best, even though DeSoto and Duncanville are bitter rivals on the field.
Schools from Dallas-Fort Worth have faced Houston-area teams in state championship games 15 times since 2015, with D-FW holding an 8-7 edge after Richmond Randle beat South Oak Cliff 38-35 last year to end a three-game D-FW winning streak.
Aledo owns three of those D-FW wins, Duncanville and Highland Park each have two, and DeSoto’s one win was the biggest blowout in UIL state championship history — a 74-14 beatdown of Humble Summer Creek in 2023.
DeSoto head coach Claude Mathis lifts the championship trophy after a victory over Humble Summer Creek in the Class 6A Division II state championship game on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
While the Dallas vs. Houston angle carries a lot of weight with the players, it’s immaterial to the coaches.
“I don’t really think that is a big issue, Dallas vs. Houston. North Shore could be Fort Worth,” Duncanville coach Reginald Samples said. “It is what it is. I have to play somebody. I’m just happy that we played well enough to get here.”
DeSoto coach Claude Mathis said, “I haven’t really thought about it. We just focus on the opponent that we play. But I know people are beginning to compare Dallas and Houston a lot.”
Big crowds and budding stars
Dallas has America’s Team, the State Fair of Texas and the booming financial district “Y’all Street,” while Houston is known for NASA, The Galleria, the oil and gas industry and its humidity. They are vastly different in many ways, but when it comes to high school football, they have common ground, as great traditions and elite talent make these matchups special.
Nine schools in UIL history have won seven or more state titles in 11-man football, with four (Aledo, Celina, Southlake Carroll and Plano) from D-FW and one (Katy) from the Houston area. Of the top 35 recruits in the state in the Class of 2026, 18 are from D-FW and seven are from schools within 60 miles of Houston.
If the past is any indication, expect huge crowds at the Cowboys’ home stadium.
Three of the five largest crowds in state history were for D-FW vs. Houston state finals, with Allen-Pearland followed by 52,308 for Allen vs. Cypress Ranch in 2014 and 48,379 for Allen vs. Houston Lamar in 2012. The first five Duncanville vs. North Shore showdowns have averaged 42,691 fans — with all drawing over 40,000 — and a high of 47,818 on hand for North Shore’s 31-17 win in 2019.
Duncanville players run out before a Class 6A Division I state championship game against Galena Park North Shore at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, on Saturday, December 21, 2019.
Juan Figueroa / Staff photographer
Those two metropolises will be represented Saturday by stars such as Feaster (rated the fourth-best receiver in the nation), DeSoto junior running back SaRod Baker (picked up an Ohio State offer Sunday), Duncanville edge rushers KJ Ford (Florida signee) and Landon Barnes (Ole Miss signee) and Richmond Randle five-star junior running back Landen Williams-Callis (61 college offers).
Williams-Callis is having one of the best seasons in state history, having run for 3,370 yards and 58 touchdowns according to statistics on MaxPreps, while Baker needs 29 more yards to become the fifth Dallas-area player to ever rush for more than 3,000 yards in a season.
“What I think makes the rivalry so great is the history and the way that Dallas comes together to support their teams,” DeSoto senior quarterback Legend Howell said. “To be honest, C.E. King being from Houston doesn’t really give me any extra motivation, but knowing that this is my last ever game in high school football and carrying on the DeSoto legacy is my motivation.”
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Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.