COLUMN: Eagles are No. 1, but Katy screaming same

And 1, anyone?

Following the likes of Mesquite, Skyline and DeSoto, Houston Lamar looked to be a glorified scrimmage for Allen to take in its quest to win the state title Saturday at The Palace in Dallas. Throw in Coppell, Southlake Carroll and Cedar Hill, and the case was being bandied about that Lamar may very well have been the seventh-best team the Eagles faced in the 2012 season.

This much is for sure: The Lamar Redskins -- undefeated though they were prior to Saturday's title tilt -- was never going to be mistaken for the other Class 5A state champ this season, mighty Katy.

The day's parallels were remarkable. When Allen won its first state championship in 2008, it was the Katy Tigers who won the Class 5A Division II championship. (Side note: With its latest title, Katy has entered the rarefied air of being among the top programs all-time in storied Texas schoolboy ranks. Count 'em: seven state trophies now for the city with a girl's name that dominates like Attila the Hun.)

Both Allen and Katy ripped through their playoff opponents' defenses the past two months. Each team's winning total of 35 in their final respective postseason games were the least they scored in their successful runs.

And both teams justifiably think they are the absolute best in Texas. Too bad the only sure way to find out is not going to happen.

The NCAA football season began the year with the historical decision the college Gestapo would finally acquiesce to overwhelming sentiment thundering for a playoff to replace its self-serving Ishmael, aka the BCS (which many contend always had one too many letters in its designation, anyway). The solution tendered by the NCAA was a Plus-1 playoff to be introduced following the 2014 season. Essentially, a bunch of so-called experts will decide which two teams are the very best following the season's bowl feast. Those two teams will then tangle in a one-game winner-take-all to decide the champion. The setup still leaves fans hanging, but it's definitely an improvement.

Texas high school officials denoted as the University Interscholastic League will never implement a Plus-1 between each classification's divisional winners, of course. For one, the season already runs until Christmas. Goodness, that's enough football for one year to satisfy even the most diehard of fans. Anybody still clamoring for more probably played one too many games wearing a leather helmet.

The only other possibility of being able to enjoy an Allen vs. Katy-type championship matchup is to go back to the previous format of having there be only one division in each classification. We all know you can't close Pandora's box, so that possibility is just as null.

That only leaves the compromise of the two titan programs reaching out to schedule an annual non-district game. The idea doesn't completely assuage the pining to know for sure, but it certainly evokes some seriously fun what-if scenarios. Like, remember the Alamodome! San Antonio's storied venue compliments the city's agreeable geographic location for the two powerhouses. How much fun would that be?

It's not Plus-1, but it absolutely would be the one to see!

Notes: Houston Lamar came back from 21-8 to tie Saturday's game 21-21 late in the third quarter. By the time Allen managed to finally subdue the Redskins, press box sentiment had evolved into the Houston magnet school team being every bit as good as any squad the Eagles played this season with the likely exceptions of only DeSoto and Southlake Carroll. Redskins QB Darrell Colbert was sensational in rallying his team to within a missed PAT of leading to begin the final frame. Colbert finished with 126 yards rushing and 207 yards passing that included two TDs. He also scored on a 7-yard run ... Noted in this venerated space a mere four weeks ago was how the Eagles' No. 1 might very well prove to be the No. 1 reason Allen would win state. On the strength of first-half TD runs covering 55 and 68 yards, Allen QB Kyler Murray -- wearing No. 1 -- was named the game's Offensive MVP. Eagles' DB Cameron Hartsfield was deservedly awarded the Defensive MVP Award ... Attendance was announced at 48,379, coming up just short of an anticipated record-breaking figure. Conjecture among pressbox WAGS was maybe 50,000 for the game, which would set the new mark. Alas, the record remains. The all-time attendance mark for a high school football game still stands as more than 49,000, set 35 years ago in Plano's 1977 state-winning effort over Port Neches-Groves. The Wildcats won that game, 13-10.

J. David Barron is a staff columnist for Star Newspapers. Reach him at dbarron@starlocalnews.com.

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