COLLEGE STATION - - The passengers on DeSoto’s football train change, but the conductor stays the same. And Claude Mathis’s program continues to steamroll everyone in its path.

The Eagles defeated Austin Anderson, 38-20, in the Division I final to take their second 7-on-7 championship in three years.

“We showed a lot of fight,” Mathis said. “I knew we had lost a lot from last year’s team. The culture is strong, but they have to go through it. They have to go through the highs and lows, and that’s what this tournament helps us with.”

DeSoto didn’t experience any lows – at least on the scoreboard – over the weekend in College Station, going a perfect 8–0. Mathis’s squad has won back-to-back championships, playing more games (32) in two seasons than most high school football programs play in three (30).

They aren’t tired yet.

“We love this,” Mathis said. “This is what we do. This is part of our culture. The sun is our friend.”

Senior quarterback Kelden Ryan, who transferred this offseason from Fort Worth All Saints to compete for the right to replace program legend DJ Bailey, blossomed on Saturday. The Virginia Tech commit threw every pass in the championship game, six of which went for touchdowns.

Mathis compared Ryan’s weekend to Bailey’s first 7-on-7 tournament as the starter two summers ago. That year, Bailey overcame tough love from the older players to lead the team to the championship. Ryan aced that same trial by fire.

But for all the talk of new faces, it was a returning starter who shined brightest. Senior wide receiver Daylon Singleton, an SMU commit, caught four touchdown passes, quelling any hope of an Austin Anderson upset.

“He’s blazing fast, nobody can run with him,” Ryan said. “So I just have to put it out there and give him a shot.”