DeSoto is looking to stay at the 6A level for football.
DeSoto High School is petitioning the University Interscholastic League to stay in the 6A designation. This, despite the school qualifying to play in 5A due to its size.
It is noteworthy since DeSoto has won the 6A Division II in consecutive years.
Thursday’s tentative football district assignments, as released by the UIL,has some programs seeking to move districts.
One of those is DeSoto (DeSoto, Texas), which has seen its enrollment decline and would now fit into the 5A category. Presumably, it would be an easier path towards a state title, given that 6A is generally considered the deepest and most difficult classification in Texas high school football.
The enrollment for 6A status is for schools with a student body population of 2,275 students or above. There are 249 schools in Texas that qualify outright based on the size of their student bodies. Six programs have requested to be elevated to 6A status (of which DeSoto is one of the six schools).
The 5A designation is for schools that range in size from 1,315-2,274.
BREAKING: After winning back-to-back state titles, DeSoto submits appeal to UIL to remain in 6A.
DeSoto could have chosen to play in 5A Division I, where its shrinking enrollment put it.
Did DeSoto get away with a major non-call in their upset win?
On Saturday afternoon, DeSoto upset Duncanville in a game featuring two of the top teams in Texas. But DeSoto looks to have gotten a pretty significant non-call in their 49-35 win.
Duncanville came into the game on a roll and was ranked third in the nation in the USA TODAY Sports Super 25. In the very same poll, DeSoto was No. 12.
In the second quarter and with the ball at their own yard line, DeSoto got a non-call when it appeared that quarterback D.J. Bailey was sacked. On the play, Bailey was hit by a blitzing Duncanville defender.
Bailey’s right forearm appears to go completely down and it appears like his right knee went down as well.
The official, however, let the play go on and Bailey completed a 25-yard pass for a first down. For what it is worth, the official appears on the left side of the play with an un-obstructed view. Curious non-call but this view of the play was certainly better than this highlight clip from social media.
Would the call have changed the game? Potentially. DeSoto wouldn’t have gotten the big completion and would have been pinned deep in their own end.
But in a game that DeSoto won by two touchdowns, it is hard to pin one potential non-call from officials for being the sole turning point of the game. The truth is, DeSoto showed up and played with a chip on their shoulder, regardless of what possibly was a missed call from the officials.
Two boys football and two girls flag football teams played at Nike HQ and provided product insight as the brand looks to expand efforts.
Since the launch of the Air Jordan brand, Nike has made the “individual star” cool. From branding to youth camps, the sports designer and manufacturer has become a giant based on its attraction of the brightest and the best. Recently, though, the company has emphasized promoting the team over the player through initiatives such as 11-on and now the Nike Kickoff Classic in partnership with the NFL. Twenty NFL teams participated in this event by participating in national high school games, while Nike hosted four teams at its Oregon headquarters.
Nike league athletes and grassroots brand manager Matt James said the company wanted to create a more team-focused identity and philosophy.
“Football is truly the last true team game out there where Friday nights matter, your community, your teams, your coaches,” he said. “We wanted to get back to team and not only be about the five-star player but also be about the last person at the end of the bench.”
This three-day event at the headquarters wasn’t so much about NFL-level training but instead team bonding and exposure to the world of football outside the gridiron.
Former NFL player Bobby Taylor, who is the co-chair of the NFL Legends Youth Advisory Committee, spoke to the boys football players from DeSoto High School (Texas) and St. Augustine High School (New Orleans, La.) at a breakfast. And Katie Sowers, one of the first women to coach at the NFL level, did the same with the girls flag football teams, Alonso and Robinson high schools (Tampa, Fla.). Bo Jackson also made an appearance to speak to the players.
“I stressed to them how special this opportunity was,” Taylor said. “This is the first time it’s ever happened, and I think they all soaked it in.”
In the first high school games at the Nike facility, Robinson took down Alonso 12-6 on Friday afternoon before DeSoto beat St. Augustine 35-10.
(Photo: Nike)
The game was perhaps the justification for the trip, but the value came from other activities. On Thursday, athletes gathered with members of the Nike product insight team in the hotel. Who better to hear opinions from, after all, than the target audience themselves?
When DeSoto five-star receiver Johntay Cook II suggested dunk cleats, he saw a woman smile. Not long after, the group revealed a pair matching his recommendation.
“I was giving great ideas, I’m not gonna lie,” Cook said.
Nike league athletes and grassroots brand manager Matt James said the girls’ input on the product insights and social and digital sides were vital as the company and league try to further efforts to spread the sport.
It made the girls feel welcome, said Robinson head coach Jeff Saunders. It also provided more potential avenues for future involvement in the game beyond playing or coaching.
“The most important part of it was that their voices were heard. Their opinions mattered,” Saunders said. “… A lot of times, especially with girls flag football until this moment, they maybe haven’t.”
(Photo: Nike)
Broadening the exposure to this branch of the sport was a primary motivation for the event. Flag football and women’s involvement are both growing; six states, including Florida, now sanction flag football as a high school sport. In addition, several NAIA schools offer scholarships. Last August, the NFL and USA Football hosted a tournament, and in February 2021, Nike and the NFL donated $5 million in products and equipment to girls flag football teams around the U.S.
While boys athletes have NFL legends to look up to, there are fewer female role models in the world of football. The flag football teams stayed in Oregon to help coach youth girls flag teams on Saturday, James said. It’s not yet a major market, but it certainly is progressing.
“I think the challenge is there just hadn’t been enough support,” Taylor said. “But when you have entities like the NFL, Nike, supporting all of the efforts … the states that bring on girls flag as a sanctioned high school sport, and you also have the opportunity for girls to get scholarships … When you have this type of energy, it’s kind of hard for you to fail.”
