North Shore, Shadow Creek, Atascocita load non-district schedule with De La Salle, St. Joseph's Prep and Allen
HOUSTON – The opening Saturday of the 2020 season is going to be one to watch.
Start with the defending back-to-back 6A Division I State Champion North Shore Mustangs. The team that has become a power program in Texas will test its snuff against California-power De La Salle in Week 1 at Galena Park ISD Stadium.
"We're excited about that," North Shore coach Jon Kay said. "They've got a national program for a good reason and the success that they've had there speaks for itself. It'll be a good opportunity for us to play a new opponent."
According to a Houston Chronicle report, the game is still being finalized between the two teams. For the past two seasons, North Shore had opened their seasons with battles against cross-town rival Katy, which they split those meetings.
De La Salle has won six state championships, winning four-straight from 2009-2012 under head coach Bob Ladouceur. De La Salle is also the program that went 12 years without losing a game, winning 151-straight, which was made into the movie When the Game Stands Tall.
"We were looking for a quality opponent to play and we certainly got that in De La Salle," Kay said.
This story gets better though – that will not be the only game played at Galena Park ISD Stadium that day.
Defending 5A Division I State Champion Shadow Creek will open their first season as a Class 6A program – being aligned into District 23-6A – against Pennsylvania-power St. Joseph's Prep – the defending PIAA Class 6A Champions.
"It'll be interesting, it'll be exciting for our kids, exciting for our fans," Shadow Creek coach Brad Butler said. "Like I said, I'm not real familiar with them but I know looking down their roster there are some familiar names."
St. Joseph's Prep enters the 2020 season seeking the program's third-straight state title and its sixth since 2013.
The deal made between North Shore and Shadow Creek does not include a home-and-home portion, where they would have to travel in 2021.
Instead, North Shore will play Shadow Creek in Week 1 of the 2021 season at Freedom Field.
The other notable non-district game heading into the 2020-2021 seasons is perennial playoff contender and 2016 State Semifinalist Atascocita scheduling a Week 2 meeting with Allen.
"I think it's fun," Atascocita coach Craig Stump said. "I think the kids enjoy it, it's motivating for the offseason and our fans enjoy it. It's a little bit of travel but I think when you're on that level that's what you do. No matter what happens in the game, just the competitive contest is what we're looking for."
Atascocita will travel to Allen for both years in 2020 and 2021, which Stump said Allen will help with. The Eagles have reached at least the third round or farther in the playoffs each season since 2015.
Seeing teams like North Shore and Shadow Creek go outside the box for opponents and then Atascocita hooking horns with Allen, Stump said he likes it wishes more teams around Texas would do that.
"It'd be kind of interesting," he said. "Maybe get San Antonio schools against Houston for example. We're looking forward to it."
