North Shore beats Atascocita: Texas high school football playoff live updates recap

Nationally ranked Mustangs evade upset-minded Atascocita, 34-28, in showdown of Houston area's best

North Shore (13-0) is the Texas high school 6A-Region III champ.

The Mustangs roared back with a big second half and survived a furious Atascocita (11-2) comeback to win 34-28 regional final playoff matchup between two perennial Houston powerhouses on Saturday.

It's North Shore's seventh consecutive regional crown in its ninth straight appearance.

The game kicked off at 2 p.m. (central time) at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Pasadena, Texas, and the winner faces an Westlake, which beat Lake Travis simultaneously, in the UIL 6A Division I state semifinals next week.

Texas high school football playoff scores: Regional final live updates (12/1/2023)

The Houston area rivals squared off once before on Oct. 27. Atascocita stuck around early, but North Shore ran away with a 61-35 win late. 

To reach Saturday's quarterfinal round, North Shore blasted Cy-Fair 45-9 and Atascocita outlasted Lamar 34-14 in the regional semifinal round at NRG Stadium.

The game is available for replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required). Scroll down for a live game thread recap with the top plays and photos from Veterans Memorial Stadium.

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FINAL: NORTH SHORE 34, ATASCOCITA 28

Atascocita junior linebacker Jordan Johnson brings down North Shore QB Kaleb Bailey in the first half of a UIL 6A Division I regional final showdown with nationally ranked North Shore on Saturday / Photo by Tom Dendy

FOURTH QUARTER

-- Not so fast. Kaleb Bailey in victory formation.

-- Atascocita comeback? Zion Brown hit Cameron Glenn for the Eagles duo's second TD connection of the game. Glenn caught a pass over his right shoulder and snuck into the right corner of the endzone. (34-28, North Shore | 1:57)

-- Atascocita trims the deficit to two scores, as Zion Brown hits Cameron Glenn for touchdown on a goal line screen. (34-21, North Shore | 5:18)

-- That's a 28-0 run by North Shore, for those counting. One wonders what was said, and what adjustments were made at half. 

-- Have a day, Chris Barnes! The North Shore senior catches a deep ball and outruns a defender 20-some yards for his second score, and even more padding on the Mustang lead. (34-14, North Shore | 7:03)

THIRD QUARTER

-- North Shore is taking over. Kaleb Bailey fakes a handoff and powers his way to a short-yard touchdown run. (27-14, North Shore | 2:55)

-- Hello, North Shore. The Mustangs block a punt and return it for touchdown to take the lead and swing the game two scores in just over 90 seconds to open the third. (20-14, North Shore | 9:11)

-- North Shore opens the second half with a bang. Christopher Barnes catches a screen pass, shakes a defender into another area code and explodes past blockers for a long-hail TD. (14-13, Atascocita | 10:52)

SECOND QUARTER

-- North Shore gets on the board. Quarterback Kaleb Bailey fakes a handoff and scampers around the left side and barreled through contact into the endzone for a TD run. (14-6, Atascocita | 11:31)

FIRST QUARTER

-- Cardae Mack adds to the Atascocita lead. The multi-talented athlete takes a handoff up the middle, shakes a defender at the line and bursts free for a long TD gain. (14-0, Atascocita | 1:38)

-- Speed. Everywhere. Atascocita is on the board after Zion Brown hits Jelani Watkins, who beats a defender and goes 98 yards for TD. (7-0, Atascocita | 7:41)

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LIVE PHOTO GALLERY

All photos by Tom Dendy.

Photo by Tom Dendy

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