Fans from across Texas gathered at San Antonio’s historic Alamodome on Saturday, eager to witness history in the making.
The day’s opening matchup did not disappoint, as Mansfield Summit and Fort Bend Marshall battled in a thrilling UIL 5A-Division II State Final.
Facing a formidable opponent in Marshall (37-2), the Jaguars rose to the occasion, securing a 54-47 victory in their second-ever State Final appearance—clinching the program’s first championship.
Head Coach Emund Prichett, who’s been with the team since moving over from Killeen Shoemaker in 2017, has helped build Summit into yet another brand out of the DFW area.
Though he bestowed the lion’s share of credit towards the young men who saw their goal become a reality.
“I’m just so grateful to see all their hard work finally pay off,” said Prichett. “More than that, I’m just glad that everyone else got to see it, because I witness their dedication every day. We’re so proud of these guys and none of this would have been possible without them.”
Summit already had some experience playing against Marshall this winter, as the two faced off during the tournament portion of their schedule in December – a game in which they were narrowly defeated 43-38.
However, things ended differently in the most crucial game of the year.
While it was fairly close early on, the Jaguars slowly began to pull away in the second quarter, going on a 13-0 run to make it 19-7 with 5:16 left in the half, and never giving up the lead for the remainder of the match.
This was largely due to the fact that the team played to their strengths, according to Prichett.
“That (the run) was definitely big,” he said. “But, for the rest of the game, our kids just played hard and got defensive stops, which is what we’re all about. We made some shots, took care of the ball, and we controlled the paint, so that was instrumental.”
The Jags capped off an incredible season with a 33-7 record, led by standout senior forward Ian Sedah, whose dominant performance (17 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists) earned him State MVP honors.
His contributions across the board don’t come as a surprise, considering he’s been one of the team’s driving forces all year long.
“It was really about being active and taking on that role all over the floor,” Sedah said. “As a team, we’re best at being physical, particularly when it comes to boxing out and getting rebounds. We just had more focus coming in, I think, which is why we were able to have that advantage in this game.”
This marked the second occasion that Mansfield Summit had advanced to the State Tournament, last reaching it in 2023, where they suffered a 52-50 heart-breaker against Killeen Ellison in the Semis.
Now that they finally got their ring, it’s become a full circle moment.
“During my freshman year (2023) I was scared and nervous, but I prepared myself this time around,” said junior point guard Theo Brannan. “I’ve been waiting for this. I told Ian (Sedah) and Caleb (Richard) that we were going to be back. We all knew what we were capable of, so this year was about keeping up that work so we’d be ready for the moment.”
The Jaguars return to Arlington as champions, fulfilling their promise of bringing home the title—one their fans will celebrate for years to come.