DeSoto dominates Cedar Hill, clinches playoff berth for the 29th consecutive season

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CEDAR HILL — Claude Mathis has never missed the playoffs in his two stints as head coach at DeSoto.

But the school’s phenomenal playoff streak goes well beyond the 13 years that Mathis has been in charge of one of the preeminent high school football programs in America.

Quarterback Kelden Ryan accounted for 385 total yards and six touchdowns, including three rushing scores, and DeSoto continued its recent mastery of neighboring rival Cedar Hill with a 63-24 win Friday. DeSoto, ranked No. 25 in the nation by MaxPreps, scored touchdowns on its first eight offensive possessions and clinched a playoff berth for the 29th consecutive season.

“It’s the culture we’ve built over the years,” Mathis said. “It’s the past. We’re trying to live up to their expectations and trying to make sure we keep it alive. We sure don’t want to break that streak.”

The last time DeSoto didn’t make the postseason was 1995. It is 55-25 in the playoffs since then and has won three state titles in Class 6A Division II — in 2016, 2022 and 2023.

The Battle of Belt Line features two schools that are 5 miles apart, and DeSoto has won five in a row in the series while outscoring Cedar Hill 247-73 — an average margin of victory of 34.8 points. DeSoto and Cedar Hill first met in 1956 — a 24-6 Cedar Hill win — and DeSoto leads the all-time series 24-16 and has won 11 of the last 16 matchups.

Friday was the second-most points DeSoto has ever scored against Cedar Hill, trailing only its 65-21 win in 2003.

Four-star SMU pledge Daylon Singleton, who didn’t play last week because of a hip pointer injury, had one of the best games of his career with 13 catches for 194 yards and two touchdowns. But the big story was Ryan, a transfer from Fort Worth All Saints who was playing in his first game in the rivalry and finished 25-of-30 for 318 yards and three touchdown passes as DeSoto surpassed 50 points for the sixth time this season.

“What a magnificent game by Kelden Ryan,” Mathis said. “He is getting better and better and better. That kid hasn’t even hit his stride yet.”

Ryan, committed to Virginia Tech, scored on runs of 14, 2 and 41 yards and threw touchdown passes of 14 yards to four-star Texas A&M pledge Deondrae “Tiger” Riden Jr. and 59 yards to Singleton as DeSoto built a 35-7 lead at halftime. Ryan added a 19-yard touchdown pass to five-star sophomore Ethan Feaster in the third quarter just three plays after Feaster made a remarkable leaping catch for a 39-yard gain.

“It was pretty fun,” Ryan said. “Going into the week we knew it was a big game. We prepared hard and treated it like a big game, a rivalry game.”

DeSoto has continued its decades-long dominance despite being one of the smallest 6A schools in Texas.

DeSoto has seen its enrollment shrink to 2,127 students, which would have dropped it to Class 5A Division I in last February’s realignment had the UIL not granted DeSoto’s appeal to remain in 6A for the next two years. DeSoto’s losses this season are to Duncanville and North Crowley — ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the state — and DeSoto won’t have to face either of those teams in the playoffs since it will once again be in the Division II bracket as it tries to become the 20th school in UIL history to win three or more state titles in a row in 11-man football.

“The sky is the limit for this team,” Ryan said.

DeSoto (6-2, 4-1) remained tied with Lancaster (4-4, 4-1) for second place in District 11-6A, one game behind Duncanville (7-0, 5-0). DeSoto and Lancaster will face off in the final week of the regular season, with the winner likely claiming 11-6A’s top playoff seed in the Division II bracket.

Cedar Hill (3-5, 2-3) was a regional finalist last year — getting eliminated by DeSoto — but it will need a lot of help to make the playoffs for the 18th time in 20 years. With two district games left, Cedar Hill is a game behind fourth-place Waxahachie, and Waxahachie holds the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating Cedar Hill 24-13 last week.

Cedar Hill also has the daunting task of closing the regular season against undefeated Duncanville, winner of back-to-back 6A Division I state titles and ranked No. 4 in the nation.

Photos: DeSoto and Cedar Hill battle in Friday night football

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