Matt Faye | Dec. 15, 2022
The Port Neches-Groves football team is one win away from a state title, but a difficult opponent awaits next.
South Oak Cliff stands in the way of Port Neches-Groves’ first state championship victory since 1975. The Golden Bears are the reigning Class 5A-II champions and will try to defend their title Friday night at AT&T Stadium.
Before the two teams meet with history at stake, here are five things to know about Port Neches-Groves’ next opponent, South Oak Cliff:
Can Bears go back-to-back?
South Oak Cliff has a chance to make Dallas history on Friday night. A win would make the Bears the first Dallas ISD team to win consecutive UIL state championships.
Last year, South Oak Cliff beat Liberty Hill, 23-14 in the title game. Port Neches-Groves already took care of Liberty Hill last week, and now looks to spoil the Bears’ potential party.
Shaky starts to the season
Much like Port Neches-Groves’ shaky start to the season, South Oak Cliff didn’t look great in the early part of its schedule, either. The Bears lost their first three games, but have since ripped off a 12-game win streak.
The early setbacks for South Oak Cliff came against extremely tough competition: Duncanville, Lancaster and DeSoto. Two of those teams — Duncanville and DeSoto — will also play in separate state championship games on Friday.
A tense playoff run
Things haven’t been easy for South Oak Cliff during its postseason run. Plenty of tense moments have taken place along the way. Four of the Bears’ five playoff wins have come by single digits. Their largest margin of victory was a 14-point win two weeks ago against Melissa.
Last week in the state semifinals, South Oak Cliff beat Argyle, 14-6 during a defensive battle.
Productive running back duo
South Oak Cliff’s offense leans on two productive running backs, senior Tedrick Williams and junior Danny Green. Both have rushed for more than 1,000 yards and combined for 22 touchdowns between them.
Port Neches-Groves was up to the task last week against Liberty Hill’s vaunted rushing attack. The team will have to give that same effort, if not more, to stop the Bears’ run game.
South Oak Cliff utilizes three players at quarterback: William Little, Trey Walton and Carter Kopecky. All of them have seen significant playing time and thrown for at least 500 yards this season.
Battle up front
Friday’s championship result could very well come down to the battle between the Port Neches-Groves offensive line and South Oak Cliff’s defensive line.
The Bears’ defensive front features plenty of Division I talent, highlighted by University of Texas commit Billy Walton. Another senior defensive lineman, Keith Smith, was previously committed to North Texas before the Mean Green’s recent coaching change.
Port Neches-Groves will combat that talented defensive front with some big lineman of their own on offense. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound Jansen Ware could match up with Walton or Smith come Friday night.
