THE ARCHITECTS: History being made as minorities lead all Class 6A state final super-programs

As Texas High School football takes center stage this weekend at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, history is being made.

All four head coaches in the Class 6A title games are Black… Duncanville’s Reginald Samples, North Shore’s Willie Gaston, DeSoto’s Claude Mathis and Summer Creek’s Kenny Harrison.

Last season, Claude Mathis was the first Black head coach to win a state title at the highest classification of Texas High School football. A few hours later, Samples became the second as the Panthers knocked off North Shore.

Willie Gaston, who played QB for North Shore over 20 years ago before starring for the University of Houston, was elevated from his offensive coordinator position last spring after coach Jon Kay took a college position at Rice University. The first-year head coach has carried on the success of his predecessors as the Mustangs are in their fifth Class 6A DI state title game in six years. He will face Duncanville and coach Reginald Samples, the winningest black head coach in Texas high school football history with over 340 wins.

“It’s a special moment,” Gaston said. “There is a lot of people pumped up for this. There was a stereotype that minority guys couldn’t coach over the years. This weekend just shows you the growth of minority coaches and how good we have become.”

This week, the Houston TD Club awarded Gaston and Summer Creek coach Kenny Harrison as their 2023 co-Coaches of the Year. It is only the third time in the club’s history to have awarded co-coaches. Gaston and Harrison have led their teams to the top of the Texas high school football mountain this weekend… the coveted state game.

No team in the 105-year history of Humble ISD has ever reached a state final… until now. Harrison and his Summer Creek Bulldogs face DeSoto in the Class 6A DII championship. The history is not lost on Harrison, who grew up playing for Port Arthur Jefferson and SMU.

“It means a lot that all four of us have this opportunity,” he said. “We’re all quality coaches who have built tremendous programs. I’ve followed them for a long time and their successes. I’m excited to be a part of this for black coaches but even, more importantly, excited about the opportunity to win a state championship.”

Mathis, who was a star RB at Texas State, smashed through the ceiling last season, beating Austin Vandegrift 42-17 to win the Class 6A DII title in 2022. He’s back…

“This is just wonderful… this is history,” he said. “The only bad thing is that someone has to lose. We have come a long way in this profession of coaching and I’m so happy to be a part of it.”

While all four are playing to win and fit for championship rings, history is at hand as these four are breaking Texas-sized barriers.