Subhead: The unbeaten Mustangs already won a road trip to Lafayette. Now Sheldon King comes calling, and whoever wins Friday takes the wheel in District 17-6A.
By T-Rohn
Y’all, North Shore crossed the Sabine this season, beat John Curtis in Lafayette, and drove home happy. Friday’s job is bigger, and it’s at home.
Plenty of Texans cross the Sabine for boudin. North Shore went for a win, which keeps better in the cooler.
No. 4 King (6-1) visits No. 3 North Shore (7-0) in UIL Week 9 at 7 p.m. Friday at Galena Park ISD Stadium, per MaxPreps’ game page. Rankings come from MaxPreps’ Texas Week 9 page. Both are 4-0 in District 17-6A, and HS Football Nation says it’s the only meeting this week between two teams in its top 10. The winner takes control of the district with two weeks left.
The Louisiana angle
North Shore beat John Curtis 27-17 in Lafayette, HSFN reported. Curtis is 2-5 this season, per MaxPreps. That’s a rare rough year for the Patriots, so the win may not shine quite as bright in December. Still, winning in Acadiana is never a small thing.
The résumés
North Shore is the defending Class 6A Division I state champion. It beat Duncanville 10-7 last December for its sixth title, the Houston Chronicle reported. HSFN lists a tough path so far: a 23-21 road win at South Oak Cliff, a 28-27 escape against Humble Summer Creek, and 35-0 shutouts of Lancaster and Atascocita.
King has a title-game memory of its own. The Panthers reached their first state final last season in Class 6A Division II, Houston Public Media reported, and fell 55-27 to DeSoto, per the Star-Telegram. HPM also noted that North Shore beat King during last year’s regular season and that King coach Cory Laxen was a longtime North Shore assistant, so these sidelines know each other well.
King’s only loss was 31-28 to Cypress Ranch in Week 2. Since then, the Panthers won 42-14 at Atascocita and posted six sacks and four takeaways against Crosby, per HSFN.
HSFN’s scouting view is that North Shore’s defensive front is the best in Greater Houston at collapsing interior gaps. That’s an opinion, but it’s an informed one.
The calendar is talking
After Friday, two regular-season weeks remain, and the UIL playoffs open Nov. 12-14, per the UIL football calendar. That makes Friday’s loser a passenger in the district race, needing help just to catch up.
Two weeks isn’t much runway. In Houston traffic, that’s barely enough time to get from the Loop to the Beltway.
The computer has opinions
MaxPreps rates North Shore at 49.7 and King at 43.4, and both held their spots this week. Six points of computer math is like the gap between your mama’s gumbo and your auntie’s. It’s real, but nobody’s saying it out loud at the table.
Friday, the scoreboard settles it for one night. The auntie still won’t concede.
The Gumbo Pick (for fun only)
North Shore 24, King 21. Beating the champs on their own field is a heavy pot to lift, and this King team looks strong enough to try. We’ll say the Mustangs hang on, barely.
Pack a lawn chair, a cooler and a second lawn chair. This one could go long.
Sources
- MaxPreps, Texas UIL Week 9 schedule, rankings and stat leaders (Eric Frantz, Oct. 20, 2026): https://www.maxpreps.com/news/eJkCOPFmTE2ahbQL1OMlxQ/texas-high-school-football-uil-week-9-schedule%2C-live-broadcasts%2C-scores%2C-state-rankings-and-statewide-statistical-leaders.htm
- MaxPreps game page, King at North Shore (venue and kickoff): https://www.maxpreps.com/tx/football/game/king-houston-vs-north-shore-houston/10-23-2026/?c=705fa9d8-7760-4d81-b4f5-64fd611d3d39
- Houston Chronicle, 2025 6A D-I final: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/high-school/football/article/north-shore-duncanville-uil-state-championship-21246283.php
- Houston Public Media (Dec. 15, 2025): https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/sports/2025/12/15/538722/high-school-football-championships-texas-uil-houston/
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2025 state finals roundup: https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/dfwvarsity/article313858772.html
- UIL football dates 2026-27: https://www.uiltexas.org/football
- HS Football Nation, Texas Week 9 Power Rankings (John Miller, Oct. 19, 2026): https://hsfootballnation.com/texas-high-school-football-week-9-power-rankings-2026/
- MaxPreps, LHSAA Week 8 page (John Curtis record): https://www.maxpreps.com/news/WfkBez8LF0-mNBlCgK0-WQ/louisiana-high-school-football-lhsaa-week-8-schedule%2C-live-broadcasts%2C-scores%2C-state-rankings-and-statewide-statistical-leaders.htm
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