Posted: Sun, 19 Dec 2010 08:45 AM - 13,197 Readers

By: Matt Wixon

An hour before kickoff of the Euless Trinity-Pearland game Saturday night, the concourse on the home side of Cowboys Stadium was packed. Fans in Trinity garb were backed up in a line that wasn't moving, forming a sea of people reminiscent of a predawn Black Friday shopping spree.

These people, however, had already made their purchases. But with their tickets in hand, they couldn't find a place to sit. Not in the lower parts of the stands, anyway.

"They won't let us in," one fan said, "until some more people leave."

That was the problem. Thousands of fans were at the day's first two games, and many weren't leaving before the powerhouse finale. The result was a crowd that, at 43,321 for the final game of the night, was near the state record of 49,953 that was set in the 1977 4A championship game.

"Everybody's coming," Trinity fan Hector Valdez of Bedford said. "Even the people who hate us."

Regardless of love or hate for any of the teams Saturday, the University Interscholastic League's first championship showcase was a great show. It was exactly what the UIL hoped for when it decided to put the biggest games of the season at one site on the same weekend.

"It's been incredible. You get the championship atmosphere," UIL athletic director Cliff Odenwald said. "We consider it a major success. We think the attendance number is great for the first year, and we think this has a chance to grow."

Twenty thousand people were on hand for the first game Saturday, which pit undefeated Denton Ryan against Austin Lake Travis in the 4A Division I championship. Lake Travis won, 27-7, and headed back south with a fourth straight title.

But a lot of the fans for Lake Travis, and Ryan, hung around for the 5A Division II title game. The crowd swelled to 37,747 as Cibolo Steele star running back Malcolm Brown's 2-yard touchdown run with less than three minutes remaining gave Steele a 24-21 win.

It was a tough day for Denton fans, obviously. But many of them stayed put in their seats as the Trinity fans filled in any openings around them. There weren't many openings, and by the start of the Trinity-Pearland game, the first three levels at Cowboys Stadium were packed. Fans stood against the rails along the stairwells and in the party plazas.

At halftime, fans did the wave. That's something you won't see often at a high school game, but then again, Texas high school football games are unlike anywhere else in the country.

And now with a showcase for the games, it makes the final weekend a hotter ticket than ever.

Fans will just need to remember to arrive early. If they don't, they'll be waiting for a seat.

*  Story Contributed by: Matt Wixon