Senior X’Zavier Barnett rushed for 193 yards and five touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ big win.
SAN ANTONIO — Nearly 70 years after making the state title game for the first time, the Yoakum Bulldogs have reached the pinnacle of Texas football, beating Grandview on Thursday afternoon to win the Class 3A-DI UIL Championship.
It’s the Yoakum football program’s first state title in three trips to the big game, their previous tries coming in 1956 and 2016. And they won the same way they have all postseason: With a high-powered rushing attack that raced out to a 24-7 lead by halftime and didn’t let up in the second half, proving insurmountable for the two-time champion Zebras.
The final score: 45-29. According to Texas UIL, it was senior running back X’Zavier Barnett – an SMU commit – who carried the team on his back, rushing for 193 yards and five scores to win Offensive MVP of the game. Yoakum made the most of their time with the ball, scoring 45 points despite having the ball for a full seven fewer minutes than the Zebras.
It was the Bulldogs’ fourth double-digit victory in six postseason wins this year, punctuated by a dominant 71-27 win over Llano in the state semifinal last week.
They also defeated McGregor, Fairfield, Hardin and Columbus on their way to the podium at AT&T Stadium. Yoakum averaged 44.3 points in those games while holding opponents to 21.8 per matchup.
Yoakum finishes the season with a final record of 14-2, a school record for wins.