The end of a dynasty in Texas high school football

The Midland Lee Rebels run as state champions ended with a 45-35 loss to Keller Fossil Ridge.

The Rebels lost their first playoff game since a 1997 loss to Amarillo High. The loss also was tough to take since it occurred in Ratliff Stadium in Odessa, the home of their rival, the Odessa Permian Panthers.

The Rebels trailed Keller from the beginning of the game when the Panthers scored on the third play of the game. The Rebels answered with a touchdown on the next possession. Fossil Ridge went to score four more first half touchdowns while Lee scored two more touchdowns to make the halftime score 35-21.

Lee scored a third quarter touchdown to cut the Panthers to seven points. But, Keller put the game away by scoring 10 unanswered points to extend their lead to45-28. Midland added a meaningless touchdown late in the fourth quarter to bring the final score to 45-35.

The Rebels finished the season at 8-5, but more importantly the loss ended their three year run as Class 5A state champions. The Rebels won their first state title in 1998 my defeating San Antonio MacArthur 54-0. In 1999, the Rebels won their second straight title by defeating Aldine Eisenhower 42-21. They three-peated in 2000 my beating Austin Westlake 35-21. No one had three-peated in the highest classification since Abilene High did it from 1954-1956.

The Rebels run also produced one of the greatest players in Texas high school football history in Cedric Benson, who is now starting at running back for the Texas Longhorns. It also produced one of the greatest teams in the 1999 Midland Lee Rebels, who finished at 16-0 and were named national champions by USA Today.

It might be along time before we see a run like this in Class 5A again, but when it does happen, I hope it will be just as memorable as Midland Lee's run.