As Allen counted down the days to its first state championship appearance in 2008, Marcus Shavers – then a 6’4, 260 lb. defensive lineman at the University of Arkansas – was racing back to Texas in his little Buick Regal in hopes of making it back to see his alma mater play in Houston. 

Only the UIL’s largest classification, Class 5A at the time, had the location of its state championship games determined by the league, so several champions – including Prosper, Lake Travis and Sulphur Springs – had already hoisted their trophies. 

Shavers listened on the radio as Katy edged Wylie 17-3 in the 5A Division II title game before arriving in time to see the Eagles take the field at Reliant Stadium against Fort Bend Hightower. 

It was that day – when Allen defeated Hightower 21-14 to claim the first of five state championships – that Shavers knew he had to get into coaching. 

“I knew all those kids and I knew a lot of the coaches,” Shavers said. “I remember sitting in the bleachers, and it was the first state championship game I had ever attended. I was blown away by the amount of people interested in that game and seeing the coaches who coached me celebrating at the end was a confirming moment for me. 

“I saw all that and thought, ‘This is pretty special. I want to be a part of something like this one day.’ That’s what got me wanting to become a coach.”