Ellis County Sports Your source for Ellis County Sports News
By Travis M. Smith | KBEC Sports
Week one of the high school football slate in Ellis County saw several outstanding performances, ranging from Sir Michael Veasley’s 200-yard rushing day to Maypearl snapping a 10-game drought. KBEC Sports has recapped all of the action from the week that was below.
The 3 with recaps and photos: Ennis defeats Waxahachie in the 98th Battle of 287, Midlothian Heritage hangs 63 on Gatesville and Red Oak stumbles in its season opener.
Midlothian Panthers
The Panthers defense, which we warned you all about in our season preview, shutout Carrollton Creekview, 30-0.
The Midlothian secondary did not allow the Mustangs to complete a single pass but did intercept one Brett Esch attempt. The unit also limited all nine Creekview ball carries to 36 yards or fewer for a measly 2.8 yards-per-carry on 38 carries (107 yards) and just four first downs.
Midlothian also recovered two fumbles.
The Midlothian offense gained 260 total yards and 16 first downs during the win.
Laine Martin led all ball carriers with 50 yards and one touchdown on 10 attempts.
Ethan Hill (10-37), Darren Greeson (2-37), Jeremy McCoy (4-25) and seven other Panthers rushed for 199 yards. Colton Sessums (5-13) and Jake Peters (2-2) added touchdown runs.
Tate Corbin completed 4-of-8 passes for 61 yards.
Midlothian will host Killeen Shoemaker at 7:30 p.m. Friday at MISD Multipurpose Stadium.
Palmer Bulldogs
The Palmer Bulldogs shutout county-rival Italy, 22-0, at Gladiator Stadium.
Adrian Cisneros scored the first Bulldog touchdown from 1-yard out with five minutes and change to play in the first quarter. Ben Waddle added the two-point conversion run for an 8-0 Palmer lead.
On the ensuing Palmer possession, Jacob Hartley connected with Waddle for a 65-yard touchdown and 14-0 Bulldog lead.
A Palmer interception with 11 minutes to play in the first half set up the third Bulldog touchdown — a 25-yard pitch-and-catch score from Hartley to Elijah Garcia.
The Bulldogs converted on the two-point attempt for the 22-0 final score.
Palmer will host Grand Saline in week two on Friday, while Italy travels to Mildred. Both non-district games are slated to kick off at 7:30 p.m.
Maypearl Panthers
Maypearl picked up its first victory under second-year head coach Sam Riepe in resounding fashion Friday, beating Grape Creek 28-0.
The victory snapped a 10-game losing streak that dated back to a 36-26 bi-district playoff loss against Whitesboro on Nov. 17, 2017. The Panthers last win came one week prior, a 56-6 victory against Dallas Madison.
Maypearl finished the 2018 season with an 0-9 record and recorded 20 or more points just once — a 42-20 loss against McGregor on Oct. 5, 2018.
The first of four Maypearl touchdowns Friday came when Jaxson Emerton connected with Lex Lewis for a 35-yard score.
The score held into the second quarter, but it did not take long for the Panthers to strike again.
Tyler Stroud set up the second Maypearl touchdown with a 52-yard run to the Grape Creek 8-yard line. A couple plays later, Emerton found Heath Roesler for an 11-yard touchdown pass with nine minutes and change to play in the first half.
Each team’s offense stalled on the ensuing drives. The Maypearl’s Cooper Maxwell then recovered a fumble on the Grape Creek 10-yard line near the four-minute mark.
Stroud made the most of the short field with a 1-yard touchdown run to put the Panthers on top, 21-0, just before the half.
The running back added a second rushing touchdown with two minutes to play in the third quarter, this time from 13 yards out, to put Maypearl up 28-0.
The Panthers will next face Gateway Charter Academy on the road at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Gators fell in their season-opener against Celeste, 47-12.
Milford Bulldogs
Milford, the top-ranked team in 1A flexed, its muscles Friday with a 54-30 victory against No. 7 Bishop Gorman.
The Bulldogs will face Abbott on the road at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Life Waxahachie Mustangs
Sir Michael Veasley ran wild as the Life Waxahachie Mustangs made quite the statement Friday in a 58-15 win against county-foe Ferris.
Veasley rushed eight times for 227 yards and two touchdowns during the victory. He paced the Mustangs offense that picked up 19 first downs and netted 535 yards of total offense.
Mustangs quarterback Gage Mayfield completed five-of-his-seven passes for 135 yards and four touchdowns.
Tony Evans was on the receiving end of three of those touchdowns, finishing with five catches for 107 yards, while Christopher Gillespie had two catches for 44 yards and a score.
Back-up quarterback Coby Oder completed two passes for 16 yards.
Robert Williams (2-37) added a rushing touchdown for the Mustangs.
The Life Waxahachie defense held the Yellowjackets to 265 total yards.
Jeremiah Fultz (11), Trenten James (10) and Xavier Gipson (10) all recorded double-digit tackles for the Mustangs. Gipson and James added a team-high 1.5 tackles-for-loss and each recorded one sack.
Life Waxahachie cornerback Robert Williams returned one of his three interceptions for a touchdown.
Ferris quarterback Nate Aguinada completed 10-of-his-19 passes for 133 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions.
Demarcus Rankin finished with a team-best 63 receiving yards on three receptions, while Matthew Nunez (3-39) hauled in the lone Aguinada passing touchdown.
Kayden Barnes led all Ferris running backs with 21 carries for 69yards, while Aguinada scored a rushing touchdown on one of his 19 carries for 46 yards.
Ferris travels to Benbrook in week two for a 7:30 p.m. kick off, while Life Waxahachie will make the trek to Nolan Catholic for a 7 p.m. start. Both games are on Friday.
Avalon Eagles
Avalon made easy work of visiting Abbott during a 42-7 victory Friday.
The Eagles scored five touchdowns in the first half to build 36-7 halftime lead. They added a sixth score in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Miguel Padron stole the show during the win. The senior completed 6-of-his-14 passes for 146 yards and one touchdown. He also added a game-high 133 yards and five touchdowns on 16 carries.
Rhett Newton was the Eagles leading receiver, pulling in four passes for 117 yards and one touchdown. He added five carries for 22 yards and went 1-of-2 for 16 yards through the air.
Kevin Vidales led the Avalon defense with 12 tackles, while Newton (11), Padron (8) and Tristan Smith (6) also contributed.
Noe Hernandez grabbed the lone Avalon interception, while Bryan Faber recovered two fumbles. Marcos Kinser and Kevin Vidales also fell on top of a loose football for the Eagles.
The Eagles travel to Iredell for a 7:30 p.m. kick off on Friday.
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Travis M. Smith, @Travis5mith
tsmith@kbec.com
