Dallas South Oak Cliff dominates Argyle to reach its fourth consecutive state title game

The Dallas South Oak Cliff football team will be playing in their fourth consecutive state championship game after the Golden Bears manhandled Argyle 37-3 on a misty, rainy night in a Class 5A Division 2 state semifinal on Friday, Dec. 13, at Ford Stadium on the campus of Southern Methodist University.

South Oak Cliff (13-2), No. 1 in the final Dave Campbell’s Class 5A Division 2 state poll, will meet No. 5 Richmond Randle (15-0) at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 20, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington for the 5A D2 crown. Randle downed Boerne 42-7.

“I thought our kids came out and played real motivated, spry football,” said South Oak Cliff coach Jason Todd whose program has won two of the previous three times they’ve been to the title game. “We were kind of shaky on some things at the beginning of the game, but our defense kept us in it.

“The offense got that touchdown drive and we kind of got the momentum going and it just kind of snowballed from there. They’re a very good team and we have a lot of respect for those guys, but at the end of the day this team is a motivated team from what happened last year.”

What happened last year was a 20-17 loss in the state title game against Port Neches-Groves which Todd said left a very bitter taste in the mouths of his team. The Golden Bears pounded PNG last week 56-14 in the quarterfinals.

The game was a tight, defensive duel until the final minute of the first half. Both teams went three and out to start the game, but the Golden Bears got things rolling on their second drive.

South Oak Cliff marched 80 yards in 15 plays on a drive that was capped with a five-yard scoring run off right tackle by Mikail Trotter to give the Bears a 7-0 lead with 2:26 left in the first quarter.

No. 4 Argyle (13-2) came right back, driving to the SOC nine yard line where the possession stalled and the Eagles were forced to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Anthony Ruvalcaba. The kick on the first play of the second quarter cut the lead to 7-3.

From that point both defenses played well, but in the final minute of the second quarter the Golden Bears took over. After Argyle lost the ball on downs at the SOC 34, the Bears marched right down to score on a 13-yard pass play from quarterback Carter Kopecky to Jalen Moore to make it 13-3 with 40 seconds left before the intermission.

On the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage after the kickoff, SOC’s Jaden Shelton picked off an Argyle pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown to make it 20-3 with 26 seconds left in the half. Argyle never recovered.

“I think our kids were well prepared going to the game, but in a football game that has two equal opponents, you can’t have anything go wrong,” said coach Todd Rodgers, in his 22nd year at Argyle. “We had some things misfire, but the interception before the half was kind of a dagger in our heart.

“We were able to get the ball to start the second half, and we really needed points there, and we weren’t able to get it. So kudos to South Oak Cliff. They’re a great football program, and I wish them well next week.”

South Oak Cliff came out in the second half and scored on its first three possessions, in large part due to the Golden Bears defense. Argyle went three and out to start the third quarter and SOC scored on its ensuing series on a 16-yard run by Trotter to go up 27-3 with 5:06 left in the third.

A pair of forced fumbles resulted in the final two scores. SOC defensive lineman Kordea Houston sacked Argyle quarterback Maguire Gasperson who fumbled and Houston’s line mate JaDarian Jones was there to fall on the loose ball at the Argyle 32.

Ceasar Olvera followed with a 26-yard field goal to up the lead to 30-3 with 1:24 left in the third quarter. On the second play of Argyle’s next series, a hard hit by Golden Bear defensive back Rickey Giles on an Eagle running back jarred the ball loose and Jones was there again to gather in the fumble for South Oak Cliff.

The Golden Bears only needed to cover 28 yards this time and Levon Morton did the honers with a one-yard scoring run with 8:10 left in the game.

South Oak Cliff only allowed 133 yards of total offense to Argyle, 36 in the second half.

“They played up to the death row standard,” said Todd of his Golden Bear defensive unit. “They did what they were coached to do and they did a great job. We had a couple of mistakes and some things we’re going to need to clean up, but we’ll be prepared for next week.”

Argyle was trying to reach the state championship game for the seventh time and for the first time in Class 5A. The Eagles last trip to state came in 2020 where they defeated Lindale for the 4A D1 championship.

“I love our kids,” said Rodgers of his 2024 squad. “They are guys that can show up every day and work really, really hard. They’re hyper focused on what they’re doing and they don’t do anything nonchalant.

“It’s all in all the time and that’s why there’s tears because it costs us something. When you invest in a football team and you pour into the success of an organization you put the organization over yourself. It’s that next step of manhood and I think our kids are in that area right now.”