Ellis County Sports Your source for Ellis County Sports News
By Travis M. Smith | KBEC Sports
Week two was a tough one for a couple Ellis County teams, namely state-ranked Midlothian Heritage and Ennis. It also served as quite the non-district boost to the likes of Avalon, Milford, Red Oak, Maypearl, Ferris and Midlothian.
Countywide recaps compiled by KBEC Sports are below.
The two with full recaps and photo galleries: Waxahachie Indians defeat Mesquite Poteet and Red Oak Hawks bulldoze Princeton.
Avalon 79, #6 Iredell 32
The statement win of week two in Ellis County came from the Avalon Eagles with their road victory against sixth-ranked Iredell, 79-32.
The Eagles scored 21-or-more points in every quarter except the second during the win, amassing 570 total yards in the process.
Senior quarterback Miguel Padron led the way for the Eagles with 347 total yards. He completed 6-of-his-16 passes for 135 yards and four touchdowns, while also adding 212 yards and three scores on 20 carries.
Rhett Newton completed 9-of-his-13 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown. The senior added seven carries for 88 yards and one score. Newton also led all Avalon receivers with three receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
The night for Newton even included a team-best 61 kick-return yards (1 TD) and 12 tackles.
Justin Dean (2-71), Bryan Faber (7-68) and Marcos Kinser (2-20) each added one touchdown reception.
On the defensive side, the Eagles were led by Newtons 12 tackles, as well as Padron (8), Kevin Vidales (8), Kinser (7) and Faber (5).
The Eagles will host (2-0) Union Hill at 7 p.m. Friday.
The Bulldogs defeated Ovilla Christian (53-6) in week one and Dallas Lutheran (52-6) in week two.
Milford 60, Abbott 14
Milford posted its first 45-point mercy-rule win of the season Friday night against Abbott.
Jasean Brooks scored three touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs and he did it in three different ways.
Brooks took his lone carry 25 yards to the house, then caught one pass for 42 yards and a score, and added a 15-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Milford ultimately scored 46 points in the first quarter and added 14 more in the second to engage the mercy-rule.
Senior quarterback Ricky Pendleton completed 3-of-his-4 passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns. He added two carries for 60 yards and a score, while Joshua Martin (1-29) also added a rushing touchdown.
Joshua Martin carried his lone rushing attempt for a 29-yard touchdown.
All in total, the Bulldogs needed just 11 offensive plays to score five touchdowns in the first and only half Friday night.
Tyvon Gates also returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown to complete the Milford scoring.
Jaylon Davis led Milford with nine total tackles, while Pendelton (8), Brooks (8), Ka’charo Cook (7), Damyan Woodward (5) and Tyvon Gates (5) all recorded five tackles or more.
The Bulldogs entered the game ranked second in the state in the DCTF 1A poll, despite a season-opening win against state-ranked Gorman (54-30) in week one.
Milford returns to action at 7:30 p.m Friday in a non-district matchup against (2-0) Oakwood. The Panthers are coming off of a week two win against Aquilla, 53-8.
Ferris 33, Benbrook 0
Following a week one in-county loss, the Ferris Yellowjackets bounced back to throttle Benbrook on Friday.
And thanks to a stellar defensive effort, the (1-1) Ferris offense needed just 15 first downs and 247 yards of offense to pull off the 33-0 win.
The Yellowjackets limited Benbrook to a measly 88 yards of total offense, with 33 of those coming on the ground.
Ferris junior quarterback Nate Aguinaga completed 5-of-his-16 passes for 80 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Matthew Nunez was on the receiving end of both of those passing scores, finishing the game with three catches for 61 yards.
Ivan Garcia led the Ferris ground attack with 11 carries for 80 yards and one touchdown.
The Yellowjackets return to action at 7:30 p.m. Friday against (1-1) Quinlan Ford in a home non-district tilt.
Maypearl 57, Gateway Charter 12
Maypearl continued its hot start to the football season with an impressive 57-12 victory against Gateway Charter Academy on Friday.
The victory, which came one week after a 28-0 win against Grape Creek, was the second under second-year head coach Sam Riepe. Maypearl turned a 14-6 first-quarter lead into a 35-6 halftime advantage and never looked back.
Jaxson Emerton completed 19-of-his-27 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the Panthers victory. The junior quarterback added nine carries for 31 yards, which was third on the team to Grant Hamby (6-77) and Tyler Stroud (7-33).
Lex Lewis was the leading receiver for Maypearl, finishing with five catches for 70 yards. Cooper Maxwell added seven grabs for 59 yards.
Emerton completed passes to seven different Panthers on the evening.
Cooper Maxwell led Maypearl with nine total tackles while Patrick Nulisch added five.
Nulisch, Aidan Matthews and Horner Arizpe (2) recovered fumbles for the Panthers, and Heath Roesler pulled down the lone Maypearl interception.
The Panthers will look to continue their undefeated start to the season on the road at 7:30 p.m. Friday against (1-1) Clifton.
The Cubs will be coming off of a 16-12 loss against perennial power Crawford.
Killeen Shoemaker 20, Midlothian 51
The Midlothian Panthers rolled to an undefeated start in week two against Killeen Shoemaker, 51-20.
It was the Midlothian defense that set the tone early with a safety in the opening two minutes. Panther quarterback Tate Corbin added a two-yard touchdown run about seven minutes late for a 9-0 Midlothian lead and the rout was on — well, almost.
De’Andre Exford returned the ensuing kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown to pull Shoemaker within one point, 9-8. And then the rout was officially on.
The Panthers offense scored the next six touchdowns in the second and third quarters for a 51-8 lead. Shoemaker added a pair of mop-up time scores in the fourth quarter for the 51-20 final.
The Panthers outgained Shoemaker 506 yards to 207 on the evening, which included 23 first downs to 11.
Nathan Hall led all ball carriers with nine rushes for 175 yards. Laine Martin (8-82) scored two touchdowns on the ground, while Corbin (5-3) added two and Jeremy McCoy (10-54) had one.
Corbin also completed 2-of-his-four passes for 50 yards and one touchdown to Ethan Hills (13 yards).
Riley Angel (1-36) and Avery Gibson (1-34) also caught passes for the Panthers.
Midlothian opens District 5-5A action at 7:30 p.m. Friday at home against (0-2) Joshua.
#5 Midlothian Heritage 28, Kennedale 35
Midlothian Heritage does not lose often in the regular season. But that was the case Friday in a heartbreaker against unofficial rival Kennedale.
The Wildcats, who have already thwarted the Jaguars twice in the postseason, outscored Heritage 21-7 in the second half for the 35-28 victory.
The loss marked the first for the Jaguars since falling to eventual state champion Waco La Vega 45-18 on Sept. 28, 2018. It is also just the third all-time for the Heritage football program in its short history, with the only other regular-season loss coming in the Jaguars first-ever varsity game against Sunnyvale (56-36) on Aug. 26, 2016.
Heritage quarterback Cade Sumbler completed 14-of-his-30 passes for 231 yards. He finished with two touchdowns and two costly interceptions.
Jay Wilkerson led all receivers with eight catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Haydon Wiginton caught three passes for 66 yards.
Cullen Stone, a junior running back, led Heritage with 14 carries for 96 yards, while Wilkerson (2-14) and Brody Greeson (3-8) each added a rushing score.
Noah Gray led the Jaguars defense with 17 total tackles. Konner Jones finished with 15 tackles and Wyatt Thomas added 12 tackles and recovered on Kennedale fumble.
Midlothian Heritage will look to rebound against No. 10 (2-0) Decatur at 7 p.m. Friday.
#15 Ennis 34, Bishop Lynch 41
Bishop Lynch held Ennis out of the end zone in the second half Friday and scored in the final two minutes to stave off the Lions, 41-34.
Darries Boyd sprinted home for a 60-yard game-winning touchdown with 1:20 to secure the victory. Ennis entered the halftime locker rooms with a 34-21 lead.
Ennis quarterback Collin Drake tossed three first-half touchdowns, including a 77- and 80-yard score to Laylon Spencer, to help build the initial lead.
Drake finished the night with 427 yards and four touchdowns to one interception on 17-of-32 passing. Spencer pulled down eight of those passes for 311 yards and three scores, while Karon Smith (4-68) added the other Lions touchdown.
Devion Beasley led Ennis with four carries for 32 yards and one touchdown.
Ennis entered the game as the 15th-ranked team in the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football 5A poll following a week one win against 6A Waxahachie.
The Lions will now face Kaufman in a road match at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Life Waxahachie 26, Nolan Catholic 74
Despite nearly 400 yards of offense, the Life Waxahachie Mustangs were steamrolled by Nolan Catholic on Friday night.
The Mustangs netted 389 total yards on 50 offensive plays in the 74-26 loss, while the Life Waxahachie defensive unit surrendered 576 yards.
Gage Mayfield led the Mustangs with 72 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. The senior quarterback also finished the game 6-of-11 for 101 yards and a score, while Coby Oder was 4-of-12 for 115 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Believe it or not, Mayfield was also the Mustangs leading receiver, pulling in four passes for 115 yards and one touchdown.
Toney Evans caught the Mayfield touchdown pass on one of his two catches for 61 yards.
Sir Michael Veasle added nine carries for 47 yards. Jamal White had 35 yards and a touchdown on three carries.
The Mustangs defensive unit was led by Jamal Whitman’s seven total tackles, 2.4 tackles-for-a-loss and one sack. Christopher Gillespie added two tackles and four pass breakups, while Jeremiah Fultz led the team with eight total tackles.
Life Waxahachie returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Friday against (0-2) Kemp. The Yellowjackets have yet to score a touchdown this season, having been shutout by No. 10 Sunnyvale (50-0) and Mabank (48-0).
Italy 33, Mildred 35
The Italy Gladiators fell in a heartbreaker Friday night against Mildred, 35-33.
Mildred jumped out to a 22-14 first-quarter lead and held a 29-20 advantage at the end of three quarters. Italy managed to outscore Mildred 13-6 in the fourth quarter but was unable to convert on the potentially-game-tying two-point attempt.
The Gladiators picked up 18 first downs — five more than Mildred — and won the time of possession game 24:00 to 21:00.
Mildred picked up 363 yards of total offense, which included 324 yards on the ground.
The Gladiators fell to 0-2 on the season with the loss and will shift focus to a non-district game against (2-0) Blooming Grove at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Italy.
Blooming Grove defeated Kerens 41-7 in week two.
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Travis M. Smith, @Travis5mith
tsmith@kbec.com
