ARLINGTON – History is always worth the wait. Just as Reginald Samples. The long-time Godfather of Dallas football finally checked off the final box in his Hall of Fame career when his Duncanville Panthers dispatched of North Shore on Saturday night at AT&T Stadium to claim the Class 6A Division I championship. 

"I'm going to rest well tonight and watch the Cowboys tomorrow," Samples said after the game. "I'm sure it'll hit me more next week. I woke up at 3:30 a.m. last night and wrote down some notes for this game. I don't sleep well the night before big games." 

Late-season heartache was a staple of Samples’ first 32 season as a head coach. He’s won 326 games as a head coach, but he was best known for falling short. The torment began in 2004 when his Dallas Lincoln squad lost 33-27 to Kilgore in double overtime when a 42-yard field goal attempt was blocked and returned 67 yards for the game-winning touchdown. Samples’ Duncanville squad lost to North Shore in 2018 on a Hail Mary. 

And that’s not all. Southlake Carroll beat his Dallas Skyline team in 2011 on a 35-yard touchdown run with 46 left when a fox ran across Ford Stadium on SMU’s campus. Arguably the best quarterback he’s ever coached – Ja’Quinden Jackson – tore his ACL in the semifinals of the 2019 season and missed the rematch against North Shore. Even Kyler Murray broke Samples’ heart. 

"I was having flash backs of Hail Mary's and some of those other endings," Samples said. "I heard the roar of the crowd and saw our players celebrating, so I knew I could relax." 

But that’s now in the rear-view mirror. Samples is a champion. The bridesmaid tag no longer works.  His legacy off the field was already cemented. His coaching tree provides shade in sunny South Dallas. A look at the 2022 UIL State championships paint a perfect story. His former assistant – Jason Todd – led South Oak Cliff to its second straight title on Friday night. Claude Mathis’ DeSoto, which shares a district with Duncanville, won the Class 6A Division II game earlier on Saturday. The three schools are separated by 20 miles. 

Samples became the 10th Black head coach to win a state title with the win over North Shore. Mathis became the ninth – and the first in Class 6A – earlier that day. Todd joined the list in 2021. All three won in 2022. The trio claimed three of the four titles in Texas’ biggest divisions. 

"We're good coaches with good players," Samples said. "I think people need to start giving more credit to South Dallas. We play good football here." 

Texas high school football runs through South Dallas. Just as Samples planned the whole time.