By Michael Adams
Austin Sports Journal

ARLINGTON – Legendary Smithson Valley head coach Larry Hill took 32 years to win a Texas high school football state champiopnship.

A year later, Hill won his second straight.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to win one a year ago, and I know how long it took us to and hard that was, and I know how hard it was to defend it,” Hill said. “You’re a target, and it’s harder, you have to fight complacency, and there’s so many things that weren’t there before, and you have to deal with them, and these guys dealt with them.”

Smithson Valley capped another dominant season Friday night with a 28-6 win over Frisco Lone Star to claim its second straight Class 5A Division I state championship at AT&T Stadium.

Lone Star (15-1) entered the title game with an offense averaging nearly 50 points per game. However, Smithson Valley put together another dominant defensive showing and held Lone Star scoreless for more than 47 minutes.

“We just had to contain the quarterback (Trey Wright),” said senior Colton Hornsby. “He was the one that ran that offense, whenever we were getting him out of the pocket and not letting him run for those 20- and 30-yard plays, that was our game plan. I think we did that really well (Friday).”

Smithson Valley (15-1) set the tone early by controlling field position and tempo. Trent Amaya opened the scoring with a 35-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, then added a 27-yard kick just before halftime to give the Rangers a 6-0 lead at the break.

The game turned decisively coming out of halftime.

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On Smithson Valley’s first possession of the third quarter, quarterback Ty Knutson connected with Hunter Haug on a 39-yard touchdown strike, extending the lead to 13-0 and igniting the Rangers’ sideline. Haug finished with five catches for 91 yards, accounting for more than half of Smithson Valley’s passing production.

Smithson Valley’s defense continued to suffocate Lone Star’s high-powered offense, forcing punts on three straight possessions and repeatedly winning the battle up front. The Rangers recorded six sacks and forced multiple turnovers, limiting Lone Star to just 230 total yards and 110 rushing yards on 30 carries.

The knockout blow came early in the fourth quarter.

Caleb Peagler capped a short field with a 1-yard touchdown run, then Knutson added a two-point conversion to make it 21-0. Just 33 seconds later, Colton Hornsby intercepted a pass and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown, stretching the margin to 28-0 and effectively ending the contest.

Lone Star finally broke through late, as quarterback Trey Wright found Logan Brown for a 32-yard touchdown with 41 seconds remaining, but the outcome was long decided.

Knutson finished 12-of-21 passing for 160 yards and a touchdown, while Smithson Valley out-possessed Lone Star and consistently won field position. The Rangers also scored 15 points off turnovers, underscoring their defensive dominance on the state’s biggest stage.

With the victory, Smithson Valley cemented its place as the standard in Class 5A Division I, delivering a second straight championship through a gritty performance.

“At the beginning of the year, our coaches said the theme was going to be grit, and I thought that was perfect,” Knuston said. “Especially coming off last year. I thought we were going to have to be gritty, and we all came together and we were.”