With 54 consecutive victories dating back at least half a decade, the Austin Westlake Chaparrals football team presented itself as the most dominant high school program in the State of Texas and one of the best in the nation.
The streak came to an end on Saturday in Houston when the incumbent Class 6A state champions fell 49-34 to the Galena Park North Shore Mustangs in a highly anticipated battle of storied teams who accounted for a combined six crowns dating back to 2018.
The Mustangs, whom Westlake vanquished on the way to their second consecutive 6A triumph in 2020, are slated for another title game showdown with the Duncanville Panthers on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported.
According to KXAN, the Chaparrals didn’t have answers for North Shore’s ground game and defense.
Jaden Greathouse’s last touchdown reception as a high schooler and a safety gave Westlake a short-lived two-point lead early in the game, but the Mustangs were essentially in the driver’s seat for much of the contest, the station reported.
First-year Westlake head coach Tony Salazar, who succeeded the retired Todd Dodge, told KXAN that North Shore’s “the one team that’s been better than us.”
Salazar, who helmed the vaunted Chaparrals defense under Dodge, felt bad his seniors couldn’t win a third or fourth straight title to cap off their prep careers.
“I hurt for these seniors right now,” the coach told the station. “We had a bunch of seniors who laid a foundation for success for years to come at Westlake High School.”
One of those seniors is Greathouse, who could be playing for Notre Dame next fall.
He took to Twitter to express no regrets over falling short of a fourth consecutive state championship game berth.
“I wouldn’t give this up for anything … Unfortunately, we couldn’t accomplish what we promised, but I am so thankful to what Westlake has brought to me,” the 6-foot-2 wideout said in a statement shared by the Westlake Nation account.