North Shore Stuns Texas by Completing Miraculous Turnaround to Win 6A D1 State Title

Once written off as “too young” and “in rebuild mode,” North Shore flipped its season behind a ferocious defense, six straight playoff wins, and a culture built on “Earning The Right to Win.”

North Shore Mustangs took their game to a higher level in a stunning run to the Texas 6A-D1 state championship. / Franklin Jenkins

After starting off the season with a loss to eventual Texas Class 5A Division II state champion South Oak Cliff and ending the regular season by getting shutout at home for the first time in decades the North Shore Mustangs (Galena Park, Tx) came into the playoffs facing many questions and doubters.  

A Season That Started in Crisis Ends in Championship Glory

With their 57-game district win streak ending in embarrassing fashion, many people around the state and the nation felt North Shore aka “Da Show” was having a rebuild season after three decades of dominance due to the “Da Show” having an inexperienced and young roster. What they didn’t count on was this young roster living up to the standard established under legendary Texas High School Hall of Fame head coach David Aymond who built “Da Show” 30 years ago based around the synonym “ETRTW”

“ETRTW”: The Standard That Saved the Season

Simply put “Earning The Right to Win”.

With no option but to live up to the “ETRTW” standard to pull off a miraculous turn around, the Mustangs were able to play their most consistent ball of the season in the playoffs while putting together an incredible winning streak of six consecutive victories. The list of victims include two teams ranked in the Top 5 of the state polls all season long in national powerhouse squads Lake Travis (Austin, TX) and Duncanville. 

Six Straight Wins, Two Powerhouse Upsets, and a Historic Defense

During its insane playoff run, North Shore held three of its six opponents to seven points or less, highlighted by defensive virtuoso performances against Lake Travis and Duncanville in the state semifinals and championship games, holding those squads to six and seven points, respectively.

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This weekend North Shore officially completed their season comeback by proving all the haters and non-believers wrong by beating Duncanville in a defensive struggle 10-7 in the Texas 6A Division I state title game for the fourth time since 2018. 

State Title Sealed by MVP Jaylen Bocard’s Breakaway Spark

“This feeling is amazing, to stick to one goal all season and to fight and put in all the work and effort to come out on top,” Jaylen Bocard 6A-D1 Offensive MVP whose 44-yard touchdown broke the 0-0 score in the third quarter. “When you fight everyday with your team and your brothers it’s all to come out on top. Everybody who doubted us check me out we did it.”

Willie Gaston Was Built for This Moment

After becoming a star quarterback while playing for the North Shore program from (1998-2001) to being an offensive assistant and offensive coordinator from 2008-2022 to head coach of North Shore program the last three seasons, head coach Willie Gaston has been a big part of the fabric which has compiled a remarkable 104-7 record the last seven seasons. As a result, Gaston was more than capable of dealing with the difficult task of leading the Mustangs through the adversity they faced all season long.

By learning how to do things “The North Shore Way” under the tutelage of Aymond and four-time state champion coach the legendary Jon Kay, who now serves as defensive coordinator at Rice, Gaston was able to give the program the resolve and focus needed to get the job done. To say, Gaston had North Shore at its best when their best was needed and all the chips were down on the table during the playoffs would be an understatement.

The Numbers Behind the Run: Never Trailing, Always Dominating

North Shore outscored opponents by 21 points per a game while never trailing a single second in the postseason.

“I’m just thankful man as there are so many people who are the reason why I’m here as David Aymond hired me and gave me the opportunity as a young coach and Coach Kay gave me the opportunity to be a coordinator and again I’m sitting here because of both of those guys,” Gaston said in an exclusive interview with High School on SI. “(Aymond) laid the foundation with the blueprint for everything we do, and Coach Kay will tell you this when he was here the thing we do is because of Coach Aymond as we do the same stuff still. We are just a bunch of hard-working kids from the good old East side of Houston.”

“Da Show” Isn’t Slowing Down Anytime Soon

Gaston knows nothing but winning as a head coach as he’s been a state runner-up, a state semifinalist and now a state champion in his three seasons at the helm. Don’t expect the “Da Show” to slow down, as they are built to win a few more state titles which could morph into mythical national titles. If this season proved anything, it proved Gaston is the perfect man for the job and with at him helm expect North Shore to keep “Earning The Right to Win” and doing things “The North Shore Way”.