Photo by Brandon McAuliffe
By Nolan Ruth
X – @RealNolanRuth
===================================
ARLINGTON— For the fifth year in a row, the South Oak Cliff Golden Bears, out of Dallas ISD, appeared under the roof of AT&T Stadium for the Class 5A Division 2 state championship game. For the second year in a row, they would face the Richmond Randle Lions from Fort Bend County.
In 2024, the Lions pulled off a stunning upset of the Golden Bears 38-35 after South Oak Cliff missed a field goal as time expired. The Golden Bears remembered that, and set out to not let it happen again. After taking control of the game early, South Oak Cliff hit the gas and never let up, cruising to a 35-19 win.
On the opening drive of the game for the Lions, quarterback Tyler Skrabanek was picked off by Xavier Mayfield who got the ball to the 25 yard line. Three plays later, Jayden Williams connected with Torrin Teague from seven yards to put the Golden Bears in front 7-0.
After a defensive stop, Mikail Trotter began his MVP performance with a 30-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 14-0. However, this time Randle had a response as Landen Williams-Callis returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards to make it 14-7.
South Oak Cliff responded with a six-play, 62 yard drive capped off by a 38-yard scoring run by Teague just before the end of the first quarter to bring the score to 21-7.
Defenses settled in early in the second quarter before Trotter was able to score his second from 40 yards out with 3:14 remaining. Trotter finished the day with 143 yards on 11 carries and three touchdowns, and also had a 16 yard reception in the game.
The Lions quickly drove down the field but were forced to settle for a 32-yard Raul Vega field goal to end the half at 28-10.
The Golden Bears only needed one play to find paydirt in the second half, as Trotter broke free and scored from 44 yards out after recovering a surprise onside kick. Later in the third quarter, Vega came on to kick a 31-yard field goal for Randle to make the score 35-13 after three quarters.
Both defenses took over from there, and the game’s final points were scored when Williams-Callis took it in from seven yards for the Lions. From there, South Oak Cliff picked up a first down and was able to kneel out the clock, clinching its third state championship.
