Texas
The stories that defined Texas high school football in the Dallas area in 2024
As we turn the page on 2024, The Dallas Morning News is looking back at the stories that defined high school sports in the Dallas area over the past 12 months.
Our staff considers it a privilege to write about schools in the Dallas area, and our coverage goes far beyond gamers and stats. Every year, we get to tell stories of incredible triumphs, heartbreaking defeats, tragedy, resilience and hope. These are your stories. Thank you for allowing us to tell them.
Below are the stories that defined football in the Dallas area in 2024.
More of our year-in-review
— Boys, girls basketball
— Baseball, softball
— Boys, girls soccer
— Volleyball
— Track, golf, others
D-FW can claim Texas’ best high school football team in an otherwise down year for Dallas
ARLINGTON — North Crowley showed out on Saturday in its dazzling 50-21 victory over Austin Westlake in the 6A Division I state title game, winning the program’s second state championship and putting Fort Worth high school football on the map in front of 36,120 fans at AT&T Stadium.
Until North Crowley took the field at 7:30 p.m., there was a possibility the Dallas-Fort Worth area might boast only one state champion in 2024. Celina routed Kilgore 55-21 in the 4A Division I state championship to capture the program’s ninth state title and its first under coach Bill Elliott.
But North Texas teams came up short in the next three title games, the region’s worst showing at state since 2021, when South Oak Cliff became the first Dallas ISD school to win a recognized state championship since 1958, but Denton Guyer and Duncanville fell in the 6A state championship games.
Two-time state champion South Oak Cliff missed a last-second field goal, falling 38-35 to third-year program Richmond Randle in the 5A Division II state title game Friday night. It was SOC’s second straight loss in the state championship game.
“The future is still bright,” South Oak Cliff coach Jason Todd said. “We just gotta find out what’s going to get us over this hump.”
— Click or tap here to read the rest of Myah Taylor’s story —
More 2024 state coverage
— Texas high school football central: 2024 state championship game stories, photos and more
— Gunter grabs third straight crown in dominant 3A-II state title win over Woodville
— Celina routs Kilgore in 4A-I state final, joining elite Texas high school football club
— North Crowley becomes new king of Class 6A with state title win over Austin Westlake
— Celina is a state champion once again, thanks to Bowe Bentley and a little air superiority
— Quentin Gibson broke an NFL player’s Dallas-area record in North Crowley’s state title win
— North Crowley, coach Ray Gates didn’t ‘duck any smoke’ in bold state championship season
— Attendance down for UIL state title games at AT&T Stadium for second straight year
— Full 2024 statewide UIL Texas high school football playoff, state championship results
Player’s death inspires Dallas football coach to finish goal: a black belt in karate
GARLAND — Josh Ragsdale thinks he resembles Will Ferrell.
Not from a physical standpoint, but during karate classes at the 9th Street Gym in Garland. That is where the 44-year-old Ragsdale towers over boys and girls a quarter of his age who are learning the same punches, kicks and self-defense moves — such as how to throw an attacker to the ground — as Conrad High School’s head football coach.
Picture Ferrell’s character Buddy in the movie Elf, except he’s wearing a traditional karate uniform called a gi and doing tornado kicks and fighting instead of making toys.
“I’m Elf,” Ragsdale said. “I’m the adult amongst a bunch of smaller folks, but it’s been neat for me to connect with them.”
— Click or tap here to read the rest of Greg Riddle’s story —
More notable reads from 2024
— First-year DeSoto quarterback Kelden Ryan is rolling ahead of showdown with Duncanville
— Plano East starters had to sit and wait in 2023. It’s made all the difference this season
— Argyle Liberty Christian’s transformation spurred by brotherly bond of CJ, Cooper Witten
— With trip to state title on the line, Denton Ryan’s Quin Henigan was raised for the moment
— Dealt an unimaginable loss, Lewisville star RB Viron Ellison Jr. is focused on healing
— The Dallas Morning News’ 2023 Offensive Player of the Year: Duncanville’s Caden Durham
— With his leukemia in remission, Lovejoy’s Sam Reynolds signs to play college football
— Keelon Russell is latest football star to bolster Duncanville track’s state title hopes
— Texas high school coaches call for rule changes amid staggering number of transfers
— ‘Match.com for high school football’: How Dallas-area teams find out-of-state opponents
— ‘It’s pretty amazing’: How video, data technology is changing Texas high school football
— Legendary Ennis football coach Sam Harrell to retire as battle with MS becomes too much
— Duncanville’s Dakorien Moore on track for Oregon, then NFL, but first goal is a three-peat
— Coaches frustrated with how UIL determines punishment, player eligibility for schools
— Jesuit football ‘Buddy Walk’ tradition uplifts honorary team members with Down syndrome
— Why coaches like Todd Dodge returned to Texas high school football after brief retirement
— After his football career ended, Dallas’ Rawleigh Williams found a different NFL path
— Why Texas HS football dynasties are tough to achieve in state’s highest classification
— How football coaches prepare backup quarterbacks to be game-ready when starters go down
— A family affair: Inside the life of current Cedar Hill, future UT Coleman triplets
— There’s more to Byron Washington than being ‘Big Baby’, DeSoto’s powerful offensive tackle
— Generational Euless Trinity offensive line has size and athleticism
— Texas high school football living up to hype for some of state’s top newcomers this season
— Quentin Gibson’s life-changing senior season helping power North Crowley’s 6A playoff push
— What goes into the inexact science of rating a 3-, 4- or 5-star football recruit?
— With sons by his side, Bill Elliott has Celina near doorstep of state championship glory
— Rivals on Friday, friends off the field: DeSoto and Duncanville players share strong bonds
— The family business: How Riley, Kailer and Cam Pettijohn help anchor the McKinney defense
— How DeSoto’s Deondrae Riden Jr. followed football from the backyard to Texas A&M
— Like father, like son: Dallas-area players with NFL pedigree making impact on field
— Influx of Nigerian-born athletes bringing new culture to Texas high school football
— Which Dallas-area playoff teams are winning with old-school offenses?
— Texas’ thorough recruiting approach creating strong pipeline of Dallas-area wide receivers
— Parish Episcopal’s Sawyer Anderson closing in on passing record, eyeing fourth state title
— Does defense win championships? Dallas-area teams riding strong defenses to state semis
— 2024-2026 UIL realignment: Analysis, district lists and must-read stories from SportsDayHS
— How D-FW high schools host commercials for major brands, from Subway to State Farm
— Texas colleges spend big money on official visits for top high school football recruits
— The Dallas Morning News’ 2023 Defensive Player of the Year: DeSoto’s Keylan Abrams
— The Dallas Morning News’ 2023 All-area teams, football awards and more— Why Cedar Hill, other Dallas-area schools have been hit hardest by decreasing enrollment
— On Conrad High’s football team, no one will wear No. 12 again. Unless they earn it
— Following in footsteps of NFL veteran father gives Hebron’s Patrick Crayton Jr. focus
— Cameroon native Ben Ebeke catching on to American football at W.T. White
— After late-season injury last year, Plano East’s Travis Agee back better than ever
— Byron Nelson QB Grant Bizjack making own mark in rich athletic family legacy
— Father-son, coach-QB combo living out lifelong dream while leading unbeaten Richland
— Parish Episcopal’s Sawyer Anderson humble as he closes in on all-time passing mark
— When it comes to kicking, Plano East standout Blake Letourneau has been a sure thing
— Professional composure has made Sachse’s Brendon Haygood a record-setting running back
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
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Saturday started out a bit warm and sticky outside in North Texas, but there will be plenty of sunshine in the afternoon. Temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 80s. Most of the area will stay dry today, but there is a chance for an isolated storm that could reach severe criteria late tonight for counties to the northwest of the metroplex.
Make sure you have an indoor plan for Mother’s Day celebrations tomorrow! Sunday morning will start warm, muggy, and dry for most with the exception of an isolated storm possible along the Red River.
A First Alert Weather Day is in place on Sunday due to a front that will swing across North Texas in the late afternoon through the evening. All modes of severe weather will be likely, but the main threat includes a significant risk of hail up to 2 inches in diameter and winds up to category 1 hurricane strength.
Once the front moves through, cooler temperatures will settle into the forecast on Monday. However, the cool down won’t last long. A warming trend returns and temperatures climb into the 90’s once again at the end of the next week. Stay tuned!
Just days before Mother’s Day, a North Texas father is grieving the sudden loss of his wife and unborn son after she died unexpectedly, only days before her due date. Avi Carey said he is still in shock over the death of his wife, Tiffany, whom he described as his “rock” and “soulmate.”
“Tiffany’s smile, her radiance, her presence … she didn’t meet a stranger,” Carey said.
Nearly two decades together
The couple had been together for nearly two decades, raising two children, Kingston and Kasyn, and preparing to welcome their third child, a baby boy they planned to name Kylo.
Carey said Tiffany began complaining of a severe headache just days before she was due to give birth. He recalled her sitting on the couch, dozing off multiple times – something he said was unusual.
A short time later, Carey found her unresponsive.
“I saw her face … her lips were blue. And I already knew,” he said with tears in his eyes.
A celebration turned to heartbreak
Tiffany Carey and her unborn son died May 2, leaving behind a grieving husband and two children. The loss came less than a week after the family had celebrated a baby shower.
“We went from celebrating the baby shower to planning a funeral in less than five days,” Carey said.
A crisis affecting Black mothers
Health officials say cases like this highlight a broader crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women in the United States are more than three times as likely as white women to die from pregnancy‑related causes, and most of those deaths – around 80% – are considered preventable.
Carey said he is still searching for answers and now lives with questions about whether warning signs were missed.
“I would say educate yourself. Take everything seriously,” he said. “That should have been a red flag … the headache.”
Honoring Tiffany’s legacy
Now, surrounded by baby supplies meant for a child who never arrived, Carey said he is focused on honoring Tiffany’s memory and raising their children with the values she lived by.
“She always said, ‘You’ve got to lead with love,’” he said. “She did that in everything.”
Trump administration to release UFO files soon, president says
President Trump said his administration plans to release information and materials relating to UFOs.
Ever look up at the vast Texas sky and see something move across it? It could be a shooting star, a satellite — or a UFO.
The Pentagon released several documents Friday, May 8, detailing sightings of unidentified flying objects, or “bogeys,” in U.S. airspace, including reports from Texas.
The documents were released by the U.S. Department of Defense at the directive of President Donald Trump, marking the release of government files related to “alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP)” and UFOs.
“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it’s time the American people see it for themselves. This release of declassified documents demonstrates the Trump Administration’s earnest commitment to unprecedented transparency,” said U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a statement.
Here’s a look at the files related to Texas.
UFO spotted in 1948 above Abilene, Texas
A DoD incident summary shows that on Jan. 1, 1948, a man identified as “Mr. A. Schroeder” reported a UFO in the 1100 block of Highland Ave in Abilene, Texas.
Schroeder reported seeing a stationary bright blue-green bell-shaped object in the western sky above Abilene at 1:25 a.m. and 1:30 a.m.
Fort Worth man sees UFO above Alaska
Also in 1948, Lt. Aytch Johnson noticed a silver flat disk in the sky in Fairbanks, Alaska.
According to the incident report, the Fort Worth man observed the object flying over Alaska at around 1:06 p.m. on April 18, 1948, at an estimated speed of 250 to 300 miles per hour.
The report also noted that the sighting “may have been the reflection of sun from wings” of aircrafts flying in the area at the time.
Possible UFO sighting during the NASA Gemini 7 space launch
The DoD released the transcript and audio file of NASA’s Gemini 7 mission in 1965 when astronaut Frank Borman reported to NASA mission control in Houston his sighting of an unidentified object, which he referred to as a “bogey.”
While the launch didn’t take place in Texas, the report came back to space control in Houston.
The conversation occurred on Dec. 5, 1965 — 4 hours and 24 minutes into the flight — when Borman notified space control that there was a “bogey” on their left-hand side.
When asked to clarify what they are seeing, Borman said he was seeing “hundreds of little particles” on their left, about three to four miles away.
As NASA Public Affairs clarified, the bogey was an unidentified object, along with the particles.
Pentagon documents report of other possible sightings in Texas
Some documents have connections or reports of possible UFO sightings in Texas, but are missing details to understand the situation.
For example, the DoD received a clipping from the Yoakum Times-Record reporting UFO sightings by Mrs. Anna Banys in 1947, but it is unclear why she was writing to the DoD.
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
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