The Cooldown: Week 29
The Cooldown- 2021 Week Twenty-Nine
Welcome to the final Cooldown of the 2020-2021 season! A year ago, I was writing about how DFW area teams didn’t get a chance to compete in the Final Four in San Antonio. We have come a long way since then. Thanks to the efforts from the UIL and every community across the great State of Texas, we crowned champions in football and basketball. That’s a really big deal. The spring sports still have seasons to complete, but the fall and winter sports have crowned champions to put a bow on the most challenging season we have ever endured. Now, let’s take a look at how the DFW area teams did in San Antonio this weekend!
6A: Duncanville downs Austin Westlake
City of Champions! Duncanville is on top once again! The Panthers won the 2019 State Championship and were set to compete in the Final Four in San Antonio when the season got canceled last year. Even though last year’s championship is split between four teams, Duncanville has now won three straight State Championships. What David Peavy has done with the Duncanville Panthers is special as he has still not lost a playoff game as the head coach in Duncanville.
Duncanville defeated Austin Westlake 66-53 in a game that was close up until the final minutes. Zhuric Phelps led the Panthers with 29 points and was named MVP. San Antonio native Juan Reyna chipped in 15 points in his hometown while C.J. Ford and Damon Nicholas scored seven points each. Ron Holland added six points and Davion Sykes scored two points. Kansas commit K.J. Adams led Austin Westlake with 20 points. The Panthers only led by three points heading into the fourth quarter before outscoring Westlake 29-19 in the final frame.
5A: Beaumont United survives Kimball in overtime
Kimball survived the toughest playoff road in the state to face Beaumont United in the 5A Championship Game. The Knights fought back from a nine-point halftime deficit to take a late lead. United’s Terrance Arceneaux hit a three with second remaining to force overtime. Arceneaux’s heroics weren’t done there, as he hit a game winning three in the extra frame to lift United over Kimball 71-70. The junior was named MVP and finished with 24 points and nine blocks on the night. Arterio Morris led the way for Kimball with 19 points while Kyron Henderson chipped in 13 points. Jaqualen Parks scored 11 points and Chauncey Gibson added 10 points. Jayden Blair and Deonte Greer finished with seven and six points respectively. Jayden Jackson and Ronald Gustus finished with two points each.
4A: Argyle eliminates Huffman
Argyle brought home their 2nd championship in school history! The Eagles cruised past Huffman 49-30 to win the 4A State Championship Game, the school’s first title since 2012. Argyle jumped out to a big first quarter lead and never looked back for the big win. MVP Skylar McCurry led the Eagles with 12 points while Nate Atwood and Eli Valentino added 10 points each. Grey Goodson scored eight points and Slate McMellian had five points. Hutch Burns and Jacob Dye rounded out the scoring, each score two points. Huffman’s lone double-digit scorer was Jacob Harvey with 10 points, a great testament to the Eagles' defense!
6A Women’s: DeSoto downs Cy Creek
DeSoto is State Champions for the first time in school history! The Lady Eagles defeated No. 1 Cy Creek 53-37 in the 6A State Championship Game behind 12 points from Kendall Brown and 10 points from Sa’Myah Smith! Ari’Yanna Hines and Amina Muhammad each added eight points. Ayanna Thompson scored seven points while Tionna Herron scored six points and Jiya Perry finished with two points. Kyndall Hunter led Cy Creek with 17 points and Rori Harmon finished with eight points for Cy Creek. DeSoto trailed by six points after the first quarter before taking a three-point lead to halftime. The Lady Eagles held Cy Creek to just 13 second-half points to cruise to an impressive victory.
5A Women’s: Cedar Park defeats Frisco Liberty
Frisco Liberty couldn’t overcome a halftime deficit, losing to Cedar Park 46-39 in the 5A State Championship Game. Liberty was led by Jazzy Owens-Barnett and Journee Chambers with 10 points each. Maya Jain added eight points and Ashley Anderson scored six points. Lily Ziemkiewicz scored five points for the Lady Redhawks. Despite falling in the State Championship Game, Frisco Liberty still had a great season and made it to San Antonio!
Player of the Week
My players of the week are Duncanville’s Zhuric Phelps and DeSoto’s Sa’Myah Smith! Both players were named MVP of their respective title games. Phelps scored 29 points to lead Duncanville past Austin Westlake and Smith scored 10 points in DeSoto’s win over Cy Creek!
Team of the Week
My teams of the week are all State Champions! Congratulations to Argyle, Duncanville, and DeSoto! The DeSoto women brought home their first State Championship. The Argyle men brought home their second State Championship. And the Duncanville men brought home the third straight State Championship. Congratulations to our DFW State Champions and to Kimball and Frisco Liberty, our State Finalists!