Boys: Fort Bend Clements (Sugar Land, Texas)

The battle is continually raging between Houston and Dallas for high school supremacy across all sports, and that was renewed yet again last weekend when Fort Bend Clements met defending champion Coppell for the Class 5A title. Clements (from the south Houston suburbs) started the season 3-2-1 but managed to right the ship by going 13-0-2 over the final 15 games of the regular season. A 5-0 run in the postseason set up Clements with a meeting against Brownsville Lopez in the state semis, which Clements won 3-2 to set up a scintillating finale against Coppell.

Coppell entered the final unbeaten against teams from Texas and with all the momentum, but Clements managed to trounce Coppell 3-0 to hoist the title trophy for the first time in program history. Match MVP Santiago Padruno put Clements up for good in the 20th minute. Alejandro Saez put the team up 2-0  in the 57th and Trinidad Luna added the capper with 55 seconds left to put it away. The pair of wins at state last week capped a 23-2-3 record.

Girls: Lewisville Hebron (Carrollton, Texas)

The story in the battle for the 5A girls title was a similar story - a team in search of its first state title up against a juggernaut defending its title. This time, though, Hebron was facing a two-time defending 5A girls champ in Plano West, which was in the midst of one of the most impressive runs in state history. A three-peat would’ve put the Wolves in rarified air indeed. Hebron had other plans.

Hebron opened state by trumping Katy Cinco Ranch 3-1 in the semifinals, and Plano West followed suit in the other semifinal with a comprehensive 3-0 win over San Antonio Reagan. The finale was testy and closely battled, and neither team scored through regulation or overtime. That set up for a tension-filled penalty round, which Hebron keeper Molly Lansford dominated by making two crucial saves to allow Hebron a 4-3 win on penalties. And with it, the program’s first state title over one of the state’s best dynasties.

Honorable mention

Boys: Byron Nelson High School (Trophy Club, Texas); Jackson Hole High School (Jackson Hole, Wyo.)

Girls: Austin Vandegrift (Austin, Texas); Bettendorf High School (Bettendorf, Iowa)