Claude Mathis passes final test in state championship game

ARLINGTON – Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. And definitely not in coaching. That was the book on Claude Mathis – a head coach capable of arriving to the horizon, but never over it. 

That changed Saturday afternoon when his Eagles knocked off Vandegrift to claim the Class 6A Division II championship – the second in DeSoto history. Mathis reached the promise land in his 17th season as a head coach. His record is now 159-57. He’s made the playoffs in 16 of 17 seasons. The only time his team missed the postseason was back in 2004 at Somerville – his first year as a head coach.