Photo provided by Head Coach AJ Eisenman
At this time last year, the Houston Christian football program had already set a new precedent by making their debut at the SPC-3A state championship, where they narrowly fell 30-27 to Trinity Valley in a double-overtime heart-breaker.
Fast forward to this past weekend and the Mustangs were back in the Final, playing against none other than Trinity Valley.
In what ended up being a battle of the defenses, head coach AJ Eisenman and company would dish out some poetic justice by defeating the Trojans 21-12 on Saturday.
"For one thing in our league, they (Trinity Valley) matched up with us size-wise," said Eisenman. "The strength of our team has been our line on both sides of the ball, which definitely came into play. They had some big guys, and a great running back (Ben Ngishu). But we buckled down, and our defense played really well -- limited them to just two scores in the game.
"It was really just about us doing what we do. You get to that point as a coach where you don't want to over-do it. You just want to trust in what these guys have been working on all year long, put them in the best position to make plays, and that's how it played out."
Offensively, the Mustangs were without one of their star athletes, Greg Guidry (Sr. RB/DB), who suffered a shoulder injury in the week prior.
However, Eisenman gave plenty of credit to a number of individuals who stepped up when it mattered most -- Mac Barrow (Sr. LB/RB), newcomer Noah Chang (Sr. CB), and the team's two quarterbacks, Ron Reis (Sr.) and RJ Evans (So.) among them.
Their re-tooling of the offense, particularly with new packages, placed a higher emphasis on the passing game -- allowing senior receivers Bennett Mallory, Kirby Orth, and Anderson Jones to play bigger roles -- which proved to be a determining factor in the match-up.
More so than a "revenge game", though, this critical victory marked Houston Christian's first state title since the school was founded in 1998.
Naturally, the weight of the moment was not lost on Eisenman.
"It's always fun when you can come back and redeem yourself," he said. "The same thing we've been talking about last season -- it's been a long time coming. It was a win on the back of culture that's been built up for so long. Our mantra, again, was 'Stand Strong', and at the end of the day, we were the one left standing.
"This achievement was extremely validating for me, my staff, the young men on the field, and everyone involved. A lot of the times you're told to compartmentalize your faith, but we did the exact opposite. We leaned into it. When you come at it from that angle, it's twice as rewarding."
The Southwest Preparatory Conference is sure to dole out plenty of All-SPC selections towards Houston Christian in the near future.
But for now, the Mustangs can finally revel in the prize they've been seeking for the past two decades.
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With the Winter season approaching, the second series of our campus-coordinated media days has officially commenced.
Recently, our team traveled to Goose Creek CISD for their exclusive district-wide Media Day.
We caught up with GCM Girls Soccer Coach Roman Huizar, discussing the team's Regional Semis appearance last year, and the mind-set in 2025.
Check out the interview below!
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For the 2024 Texas high school football season, we enter the third season.
There is the offseason, the regular season and now we embark on the postseason.
To no one's surprise, Class 6A North Shore enters the playoffs as the No. 1 team in Houston after running the table and most recently beating Top 10 opponent Sumer Creek. Fulshear, Willis, Katy, Ridge Point, Bridgeland, Cypress Falls, Westfield, Lamar and Randle all ran through their district slates undefeated. They hoist their district's golden ball, but there is much, much more to play for.
Randle looked absolutely dominating all season in Class 5A, while Kinkaid takes the SPC Championship and is VYPE's No.1 private school for the season.
Here are how the rankings shook out entering the playoffs.
...
VYPE's Class 6A Top 25
No.1 North Shore Mustangs
No. 2 Atascocita Eagles
No. 3 Fulshear Chargers
No. 4 Willis Wildkats
No. 5 Katy Tigers
No. 6 Ridge Point Panthers
No. 7 Bridgeland Bears
No. 8 Shadow Creek Sharks
No. 9 The Woodlands Highlanders
No. 10 Klein Cain Hurricanes
No. 11 Summer Creek Bulldogs
No. 12 Katy Jordan Warriors
No. 13 Cypress Falls Eagles
No. 14 Westfield Mustangs
No. 15 Clear Springs Chargers
No. 16 Tomball Cougars
No. 17 Dickinson Gators
No. 18 Lamar Texans
No. 19 Hightower Hurricanes
No. 20 Pearland Oilers
No. 21 Cy-Fair Bobcats
No. 22 Deer Park Deer
No. 23 Kingwood Mustangs
No. 24 Cypress Woods Wildcats
No. 25 Paetow Panthers
…
VYPE's Class 5A Top 10
No. 1 Randle Lions
No. 2 Iowa Colony Pioneers
No. 3 Huntsville Hornets
No. 4 FB Marshall Buffs
No. 5 Montgomery Bears
No. 6 La Porte Bulldogs
No. 7 Barbers Hill Eagles
No. 8 Galveston Ball Tors
No. 9 Angleton Wildcats
No. 10 Galena Park Yellowjackets
...
PRIVATE SCHOOL
No. 1 Kinkaid Falcons
No. 2 FBCA Eagles
No. 3 Houston Christian Mustangs
No. 4 Second Baptist Eagles
No. 5 Episcopal Knights
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