‘It’s awesome’: Smithson Valley, longtime head coach Hill notch first football state title win in school history

ARLINGTON, Texas – The fifth time is the charm for Smithson Valley Rangers head football coach Larry Hill. He finally has his state championship.

The Rangers (14-2) topped the Dallas Highland Park Scots 32-20 on Saturday to win the UIL Class 5A Division I state title at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“Just had a few minutes to soak it in,” Hill said after Saturday’s game. “You know, we’ve been close a lot. We’ve had eight trips to the semifinals, four of those into the finals itself. And, you know, it’s always somebody else who wins it.

“But you know the old adage my Dad would tell me? ‘You know, son, it’s like pitching in washers. You know, you got to get it around the hole enough. And one of these times, that sucker is going to flip over and roll in there.' And, Dad, they did today.”

During the week leading up to the final, the Rangers said they wanted to be the team to help Hill win his first state championship, and they came through.

“It’s awesome. It’s awesome,” Smithson Valley quarterback Cade Spradling said after the game. “He’s (Hill) had other opportunities to win it but fell short. And I’m just happy we’re the team (that) could get done for him.”

Smithson Valley and Highland Park kicked off the final day of the Texas high school football season at 11 a.m. in the first of three UIL state title games (along with the Class 6A Division I and Class 6A Division II games) to determine three more state champions on Saturday.

The Scots scored first on the opening drive of the game via a 49-yard touchdown pass from Buck Randall to Cannon Bozman. The Rangers answered back with two field goals from Trent Amaya to trail 7-6 with 2:58 left in the first quarter.

On its next series, Highland Park immediately took a 14-6 lead when Buck Randall found Benton Owens for a 73-yard touchdown pass.

Two drives later, the Rangers got the big play they needed when defensive back Julian Colunga intercepted Randall and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown. Smithson Valley trailed 14-13 after the first quarter.

The Rangers scored the only touchdown in the second quarter when Spradling hooked up with Brody Day for a 24-yard scoring strike for Smithson Valley’s first lead of the game, 20-14.

Highland Park added on on two more field goals and the Rangers would get another field goal themselves to lead 23-20 at halftime.

The second half was all Rangers as they held the Scots (14-2) scoreless. A big reason for the second-half shutout: the Rangers defensive line, who sacked Randall three times.

The D-line put a lot of pressure on him, forcing him out of his comfort zone.

“I thought that was the difference,” Hill said after the game. “You know, we gave up a number of explosive plays in the first half. We talked about it at halftime. ‘We got to create a few more explosive plays, but we’ve got to start limiting their big chunk plays.' And part of that was getting the ball out of his (Randall’s) hands quicker. But you’re right. I think, more than anything, just being able to get up on him. You know, get him uncomfortable a little bit.”

Spradling was named the UIL Class 5A-Division I offensive MVP with 208 total yards and two touchdowns.

Colunga won defensive MVP thanks to his pick-six.

Read more reporting and watch highlights and full games on the Big Game Coverage page.