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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