Recap: Day 1 at the Texas high school football state championships

2A Division II State Championship: Bremond 28, Albany 21

What went down:

Sometimes it’s really simple in an athletic contest: The team that makes the fewest mistakes, wins. In the clash of the two smallest schools competing this weekend at AT&T Stadium, Albany made the fewest mistakes, taking a 21-7 lead into the fourth quarter over Bremond. All Bremond did from there is score 21 unanswered, erasing three quarters of beating themselves with an epic 12-minute beat-down to win 28-21. How’d they do it? They skipped the multiple looks on offense and kept things simple, ramming the ball down Albany’s throat. A final, desperate drive by Albany ended with a pass falling to the turf at the Bremond 10-yard line as time expired. It was soul-crushing for Albany, and pure euphoria for Bremond. And it was the perfect, climactic start to the weekend’s slate of games.

Name to know: 

Bremond quarterback Roshauud Paul was a one-man wrecking machine in the fourth quarter, scoring the tying and go-ahead touchdowns, finishing the game with 265-all purpose yards and having a hand on three scores – two on the ground and one through the air to Josh White. More importantly, Paul is just a sophomore. He’ll be a thorn in the sides of small programs all over the state for two more years.

It was awesome because:

Over 8,000 people showed up to watch schools with a combined enrollment of 278 fight for a title. That, and those two tiny schools both still had inflatable helmet tunnels for the entrance. Bremond even had a smoke machine, which clearly is what gave them their edge.

2A Division I State Championship: Canadian 34, Mason 7

What went down:

The setup was everything the casual fan could dream of with Canadian’s up-tempo spread attack against Mason’s grinding Wing-T ground assault. But the clash of offensive ideals didn’t quite pan out as hoped. After jumping out to a 7-0 lead, Mason failed to control the clock with its run game, and Canadian’s offense started pinging all over the field, scoring 34 unanswered behind the steady guidance of quarterback Tanner Schafer, who completed 22 of 28 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns, including one stretch where he completed 15 of 16.

Name to know: 

Miguel Castillo was the losing quarterback, but he was by far the sentimental hero of the game. At times, he was the only player that could keep his offense moving, seemingly finding yards after contact on every carry. He ran the ball 20 times for 103 yards and a score, and at one point, his jersey was torn in half and rendered useless. He played one play with it remaining on his person solely thanks to it being tucked in.

It was awesome because:

There were 13,706 in attendance for a game between two schools from towns with an average population of 2,562, and Canadian brought a train horn. It was extremely loud. Also, there was a barefoot kicker. No, seriously.

3A Division II State Championship: Waskom 41, Newton 22

What went down:

The Wildcats’ four-headed rushing monster just overwhelmed the Newton defense. Trace Carter, Dillon Benton, Kevin Johnson and Junebug Johnson all ran roughshod over the Eagles to the tune of 329 yards at a 7.31 yards-per-carry clip. With both teams’ offenses predominantly run-based, it was all but over when Waskom led 20-8 at halftime.

Name to know: 

As much as the Wildcats' backs were a menace, the one player that seemed built for the stage was Newton’s Roney Elam. Elam played both ways, quarterbacking on offense, but shining as a roving defensive back that dropped big hit after big hit. He may play for a small school, but his commitment to Texas A&M is no shock. He looks ready to drop the hammer on Saturdays.

It was awesome because:

Waskom’s enrollment is 271, and the Wildcats were decked out in slick Under Armour uniforms, capped off with eye-popping chrome helmets. Repeat: A town of 2,160 has a high school team with uniforms that would make some DI schools look trashy.

3A Division I State Championship: Cameron Yoe 70, Mineola 40

What went down:

Cameron Yoe became the third straight team to orchestrate a blowout after the day’s first game, and it was perhaps the least surprising of the bunch. Yoe came in shooting for a three-peat, and unfortunately for Mineola, the Yoemen weren't interested in leaving anything to chance, dominating from start to finish behind a relentless offensive attack.

Name to know: 

It was the Reid Nickerson and Traion Smith show. Nickerson was deadly through the air, and Smith was unstoppable on the ground. It was just a fantastic one-two punch. Nickerson threw for 304 yards and five touchdowns, and Smith ran for 124 yards and five touchdowns. You read that correctly. The duo accounted for every Cameron Yoe score.

It was awesome because:

The previous record for points by one team in a Texas high school football championship game was 70 points by Stephenvile in 2012. Cameron Yoe busted out the big guns to catch that record en route to its third straight state title.

Here’s the full schedule (all times central), courtesy of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. For more info on attending the games, check out their page. You can also visit the University Interscholastic League page for more information. All 10 games will be televised live on Fox Sports Southwest. Games may also be bumped to Fox Sports Southwest Plus; check your local listings. The games are being played in order of smallest schools to the biggest, so the talent pool gets deeper with each opening kickoff.

Thursday, December 18
10 a.m. — 2A Division II State Championship: Bremond 28, Albany 21
1 p.m. — 2A Division I State Championship: Canadian 34, Mason 7
5 p.m. — 3A Division II State Championship: Waskom 41, Newton 22
8 p.m. — 3A Division I State Championship: Cameron Yoe 70, Mineola 40

Friday, December 19
12 p.m. — 4A Division II State Championship: Gilmer vs. West Orange-Stark
4 p.m. — 4A Division I State Championship: Argyle vs. Navasota
8 p.m. — 5A Division II State Championship: Ennis vs. Cedar Park

Saturday, December 20
12 p.m. — 5A Division I State Championship: Aledo vs. Temple
4 p.m. — 6A Division II State Championship: Cedar Hill vs. Katy
8 p.m. — 6A Division I State Championship: Allen vs. Cy Ranch

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Max Thompson is at the Texas state high school football championships for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter! Follow @MaxThompson