Key Highlights
- To do so, DeSoto must get past Houston Sheldon King, which is making its state championship game debut, in Saturday night’s University Interscholastic League 6A Division II championship game. LIVE STREAM:Victory+ (Victory Plus) will stream for free all 12 UIL state championship games. DeSoto is in the title game for the fourth time in program history, and the Eagles have won all three times they’ve previously gotten this far.
- In addition to the back-to-back crowns in 2022-23, the Eagles also won in their state title game debut, 2016. Last season, DeSoto’s bid to win three straight titles was derailed by Longview in the regional finals.
- The Eagles then started this season 0-2 with losses to Creekside (Ga.) and North Crowley. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut they’ve rounded more into form from there, winning 12 of their next 13 contests, with the only defeat in that span to Duncanville, which played for the 6A Division I championship earlier on Saturday. DeSoto avenged last season’s playoff defeat to Longview by beating the Lobos in the area round, 60-28.
- The Eagles have scored at least 56 points in all five playoff wins, including last week, when they rallied in the second half to defeat previously undefeated Southlake Carroll, 57-44. One player that has fueled the Eagles during their postseason run has been junior running back SaRod Baker.
- In the five playoff wins, he has combined to rush for 1,503 yards on 135 carries with 19 TDs. Sheldon King enters its first state championship game at 13-2.