Laxen was promoted from offensive line coach to head coach in January and turned Sheldon C.E. King from a 5-5 team into a Class 6A DII state finalist. The Panthers emerged from District 23-6A, one of the state’s toughest districts, to make their first state championship game in program history while playing 12 sophomores.
Trailing 55-35 with just under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Cuero recovered two onside kicks and blocked a potential game-winning field goal for a one-point victory. QB Jaxxon Marie earned Built Ford Tough Player of the Week honors after throwing for 322 yards, rushing for 100 yards and scoring eight total touchdowns.
Sinton avenged the loss in Round 4 of the playoffs with a similarly thrilling 45-42 victory.
Trailing 27-23 with 1:12 left in the game, East Bernard pulled off the trick play of the year. Amare Jones fielded the kickoff and handed it off to Dan Bartlett on a reverse, who then pitched it option-style to Luke Anderson for the game-winning touchdown.
The play became synonymous with East Bernard’s magical playoff run. After starting the season 0-3, the Brahmas made it all the way to the state semifinals by beating the No. 10, No. 7 and No. 1-ranked teams in Class 3A DII in consecutive weeks.
Alvarado, at 62.4 points per game, was the only 11-man team in TXHSFB to average over 60 points per game. Senior RB Demarcus Belton was one of the state’s most versatile athletes. He finished the year with 1,492 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns, while also putting up WR1 numbers with 1,419 receiving yards and 24 touchdown catches. QB KJ Jenkins took over for one of the state’s most electrifying playmakers (Cardea Collier) and didn’t let the offense skip a beat. The junior threw for 3,800 yards and 47 touchdowns to just four interceptions.
Stephenville and Kilgore were the only two teams in Class 4A DI to allow under 10 points a game. It’s only fitting that their matchup in the Class 4A DI State Championship resulted in the lowest-scoring title game since 1991. Kilgore actually allowed fewer points on the season (138 to 142). But Stephenville winning state, and shutting out Kilgore’s offense in the process, gives them the edge on an award for best defense.
With 10 returning starters on defense, the Yellow Jackets were the most complete unit in TXHSFB. Defensive tackle Kolton Death (81 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 2 sacks) and edge CJ Spellmeier (100 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 11 sacks) terrorized opposing QBs. They also freed up space for rangy linebackers Hudson Butchee (158 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 7 sacks) and Caleb Taylor (153 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 3 sacks). Whenever the QB did get a pass off, Cash Kribbs and Briar Floyd led a secondary that had 17 interceptions in 16 games.
Ash, a senior RB/LB at Class 2A DII Mount Enterprise, broke TXHSFB’s most unbreakable record in the same year the legend who accomplished it passed away.
In 1953, Sugar Land High School’s Ken Hall rushed for 4,045 yards in 12 games. On March 14, Hall passed away at the age of 89. This fall, Ash set the new single-season rushing record with 4,562 rushing yards in 15 games. Mount Enterprise’s 14-1 record was the best season in program history.
Ash is a Texas Tech linebacker signee and will attempt to follow in the footsteps of Jacob Rodriguez, a former high school quarterback who transitioned to linebacker at Texas Tech and finished fifth in Heisman voting.
Buck, a TCU edge signee, had 85 tackles, 36 tackles for loss and 22 sacks in 15 games. The senior earned District 26-6A Overall MVP after setting Lake Travis’s program records in single-season and career sacks.
Last year, Baker was the fourth-leading rusher on DeSoto’s team. This season, he had one of the greatest TXHSFB playoff runs of all time, totaling 1,628 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns across six games. Baker finished with 3,096 yards and 45 touchdowns on the year.
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