No team in the nation had a path to a state title like the one Allen (Texas) High traversed in the UIL Class 6A Division bracket, and after coming through unscathed, the Eagles vaulted to the top spot in the final Scout Top 50 HSFB Poll.
Allen (16-0) capped its perfect season by beating Cypress Ranch 47-16, and are Scout's national champions.
"It means a whole lot to be recognized like that, all of the hard work they put in and to the kids coming up it will be pretty important," Allen coach Tom Westerberg said. "The (Dallas-Fort Worth) metroplex football is the best in the country, and for us to go through the four games we went through in the metroplex and to come here and finish it out here, with Cedar Hill winning theirs, and for us to sweep it out with metroplex team in 6A, it doesn't get any better than that."
Final 2014 Scout Top HSFB Poll
Allen's challenging path to the title enabled it to jump ahead of Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman, which went 15-0 and won the Nevada Division I state title. In the process, Bishop Gorman had several impressive out-of-state wins, beating Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco (finished No. 31) and Corona (Calif.) Centennial (No. 30).
Once the calendar turned to October, though, the competition ended. Bishop Gorman moved into league play, then went 9-0 and outscored its opponents 543-54.
Meanwhile, Allen's path to the No. 1 spot in the poll was difficult, and impressive.
It opened the season by defeating Denton (Texas) Guyer (No. 26). In the playoff run, Allen beat DeSoto (Texas) High (No. 12), Euless (Texas) Trinity (No. 42) and Dallas Skyline (No. 8).
"It is a great honor to be No. 1," said class of 2016 five-star offensive tackle Greg Little said, who is committed to Texas A&M. "We have worked so hard in the summer and in the offseason to get to this point right here, so it's a great honor to be the No. 1 team right now."
Allen quarterback and Texas A&M commit Kyler Murray led the way by throwing for 317 yards and five touchdowns, and he ends his high school career 42-0 as a starter.
The loaded Eagles also have Oklahoma four-star offensive tackle commit Bobby Evans, Notre Dame receiver commit Jalen Guyton and receiver Lee Morris in its senior class, and there is plenty of talent in the 2016 class as well.
Jaylon Jones is a four-star cornerback and Levi Onwuzurike, an outside linebacker/defensive end prospect, holds several offers, and Little.
"A lot of hard work has been put in to this program this season and the past three seasons," Murray said. "It's been a great run for me and my teammates and I am just glad that I got to go through it with these guys.
"We had one of the hardest ways to come to get to state. To play great teams like that it is crazy. Like I said it is a testament to all of the hard work that we put in and all of the hard work we do at Allen. These coaches believe in us and we believe in each other. It has just been a great run."
National recruiting analyst Greg Powers contributed to this report
