The DeSoto Eagles put a definitive stamp on a season of dominance.
The Eagles set a state record, and receiver Daylon Singleton tied another as they had no trouble successfully defending their Class 6A Division II state championship on Saturday, Dec. 16, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The Eagles scored the most points in a 6A championship game, defeating Humble Summer Creek 74-14 to cap a perfect 15-0 season. Also, receiver Daylon Singleton tied a 6A state title game record by catching three touchdown passes.
DeSoto dominated the contest from the outset, leading 36-7 after the opening quarter, in which Singleton also caught all three of his scores. Quarterback DJ Bailey found him for scoring passes of 26, 55, and 52 yards.
Bailey ended the night with 281 passing yards and four touchdowns. Almost half the yardage went to Singleton, who caught five passes for 136 yards.
Bailey was voted the Offensive MVP after completing 16 of 22 passes. Defensive MVP honors went to the Eagles’ Keylan Abrams, who had six tackles, three for a loss, a sack, and an interception.
Bailey, who was only a junior, ended his phenomenal season with 4,152 yards passing, 49 touchdowns, and just three interceptions.
And he accomplished this by playing one game less than most other state champions. Typically, teams play ten regular-season games, but the Eagles only played nine.
The Eagles indicated what would come when Marvin Duffey scored on a 54-yard run less than a minute into the game on his way to 151 yards rushing. Just over seven minutes into the contest, DeSoto had a 29-0 lead.
The Eagles were dominant on both sides of the ball. The offense racked up 548 yards (260 rushing, 288 passing), and the defense limited Summer Creek (14-2) to 156 total yards (64 rushing, 92 passing). The Bulldogs averaged 1.7 yards per rush and were 0-for-11 on third-down attempts.
The DeSoto defense forced two turnovers, six sacks, and 12 tackles for a loss.
The Eagles also had the ball for almost 10 minutes less than the Bulldogs.
Special teams also got in on the scoring. Andre Wisner blocked a punt, Sael Reyes picked it up and tossed a lateral to Brandon Booker, who took it 27 yards for a touchdown.
The Eagles never punted in the game themselves.
With 801 points this season, the Eagles had one of the most explosive high school offenses of all time nationally, according to the website Maxpreps.
The victory was also the 22nd straight for DeSoto. It was their third state championship, having also won one in 2016. They are now 3-0 in state championships.
It’s the second consecutive season the Eagles and rival Duncanville, both from District 11-6A, have won state titles. The Eagles defeated the Panthers 49-35 during the regular season in 2023, while their last loss before beginning their current win streak was 41-17 to Duncanville in 2022.
Earlier in the day, the Panthers defeated Galena Park North Shore 49-33 for their second straight title.
Class 6A Division II state championship
Saturday, Dec. 16, at AT&T Stadium, Arlington
DeSoto 74, Humble Summer Creek 14
DeSoto 36 10 14 14 – 74
HSC 7 0 0 7 – 14
D – Marvin Duffey 54 run (Jamari Laye pass from DJ Bailey)
D – Deondrae Riden, Jr. 14 run (Angel Diaz kick)
D – Daylon Singleton 26 pass from Bailey (Diaz kick)
D – Singleton 55 pass from Bailey (Diaz kick)
SC – Lloyd Avant 6 run (Brian Mays kick)
D – Singleton 52 pass from Bailey (Diaz kick)
D – Diaz 33 FG
D – Bailey 1 run (Diaz kick)
D – Jaden Trawick 8 run (Diaz kick)
D – Ethan Feaster 26 pass from Bailey (Diaz kick)
D – Brandon Booker 27 return of blocked punt (Diaz kick)
SC – Avant 1 run (Mays kick)
D – Antonio Pride 12 pass from Chad Williams (Diaz kick)
Statistics
First downs: DeSoto 22, SC 10.
Rushes-yards: DeSoto 40-260, SC 37-64.
Passing yards: DeSoto 288, SC 92.
Caught-thrown-int.: DeSoto 18-24-0, SC 6-19-1.
Fumbles-lost: DeSoto 1-1, SC 2-1.
Punts-average: DeSoto 0-0, SC 8-26.4.
Penalties-yards: DeSoto 8-65, SC 3-18.
Third-down conversions: DeSoto 8-12, SC 0-11.
Fourth-down conversions: DeSoto 1-3, SC 1-2.
Time of possession: DeSoto 19:02, SC 28:58.
Individual leaders
Rushing
DeSoto: Duffey 12-151, TD; Riden, Jr. 12-73, TD; Jai Trawick 8-59, TD.
SC: Avant 20-42, 2 TD.
Passing
DeSoto: Bailey 16-22-0, 281 yards, 4 TD; Williams 2-2-0, 12 yards, TD.
SC: Blake Thomas, 6-19-1, 92 yards.
Receiving
DeSoto: Singleton 5-136, 3 TD; Pride 8-112, TD; Feaster 2-37, TD.
SC: Caleb Welch 2-51, Tre Brown 2-35.
Tackles
DeSoto: Keylan Abrams 6, Booker 6, Jason Douglas 6.
SC: Josiah Pratt 8, Brandon Jones 7.
Tackles for loss
DeSoto: Abrams 3, Marshall Kirvin 2.5, Douglas 1.5, Booker 1, Laye 1, Aundre Wisner 1, Camden Mathis 1, Sael Reyes 1.
SC: Pratt 1.5, Kyran Duhon 1.5, Jaylen Carter 1, Kaleb Walker 1, Collin Irving 1.
Sacks
DeSoto: Kirven 2.5, Douglas 1.5, Abrams 1, Booker 1.
SC: Irving 1.
Interception
DeSoto: Abrams.
Fumble recovery
DeSoto: Jaylin Jones.
