THE MATHIS WAY: DeSoto fueled on discipline; competition inside the program

Claude Mathis is “that” dude and DeSoto High School has become “that” program.

The Eagles face Southlake Carroll in an epic matchup Saturday at 2 pm in Allen Stadium for the right to advance to the Class 6A DII State Final.

DeSoto “U” will be there with all their swagger, their star players and their State Title rings from a year ago.

DeSoto holds the title that the rest of Texas is chasing.

It has taken some time for Mathis to climb to the top of the Texas high school mountain -- after previous stints at Sommerville, Austin LBJ, DeSoto (previously), University of Houston (RB coach) and Marshall -- but he’s been back at DeSoto and isn’t taking the pedal off the gas.

“When they hired me here, they knew I was a disciplinarian,” Mathis said. “We are going to be a discipline football team, if not, you aren’t going to win a lot of ball games. The kids know the rules, because me and the staff remind them every day. We keep our players humble and we keep the pressure on them to be disciplined. We don’t let up, ever.”

After winning his first state title in 2022, Mathis has the Eagles and the community wanting more… including himself.

“In the world we are in today, people judge me on state championships,” he said. “I was the first African American coach to win a Class 6A State Championship. That was last year. A few hours later, Coach (Reginald) Samples did it at Duncanville. A lot of coaches can win one state championship, but not many have won two or certainly not back-to-back. Those are things that stick out to me. I don’t talk about it much, but I want that for myself. To show other African American coaches that they can do it too.

“It takes a lot for all this to happen. It’s about this team, this coaching staff and all the great people and administration that surround and support this program. Winning is about all of us.”

…

South Dallas is loaded. DeSoto, Duncanville and South Oak Cliff have been dominating Texas football of late.

Why?

“I credit to some great coaching and great young men who are playing the game at a high level right now,” he said. “All of our goals are to win s State Championships. You can see the great classes coming through our junior highs, but you can also see when there may be a class that is not as talented. You just have to continue to adjust and we have in the I-20 corridor.”

This is one of those special classes.

QB Darius Bailey (Sam Houston-commit) has thrown for nearly 3,000 yards and 38 scores. He hands the ball to Marvin Duffey (1,370 yards) and Tiger Riden (National Recruit). WRs Daylon Singleton (SMU) and Antonio Pride are the big-play pass-catchers on the outside. The OL is led by Ronnel McLain (UH) and Byron Washington, among others.

“What’s good about our team is that we have dogs at every position,” he said. “Iron sharpens iron here. On offense, it’s DJ (Bailey), Tiger and our offensive line. On defense, Brandon Booker, Keylan Abrams and Marshall Kirvenare the alphas.”

They will have their hands full against one of the most decorated programs in the history of Texas – Southlake Carroll – which has won eight state titles.

“The keys for us will be to just continue the way we are playing,” he said. “We have to score on offense, keep the penalties down, know our alignments, stop their run and tackle well. The experience of winning state last year has helped us along the way this season.

“But I tell the team that they aren’t going to see any better and tougher competition than they see every day in practice,” he said.

Facts.