Ahead of their final high school game, we thank these stars for their service. 

All-Purpose Athlete: Jamarion Vincent, Waco Connally

Waco Connally head coach Terry Gerik knew Jamarion Vincent was destined for DI football when he first watched him play in junior high. Then, during his first season of freshman football, Vincent scored five touchdowns in one half. 

“We have some pretty dang good skill position kids,” Gerik said. “But when the ball is in Jamarion’s hands, he’s just different.” 

That’s why, over the years, they’ve given it to him in as many ways as possible. Vincent is a Baylor defensive back commit who leads Connally with seven pass breakups this year. But he also played quarterback as a junior and then transitioned to the team’s leading receiver as a senior. Vincent has 775 yards and 10 touchdowns in nine games.

Vincent joins a distinguished line of former Waco Connally stars in Division I football, but the program is ecstatic that they can still watch him in person with a short drive to Baylor.

“Most of the time, we only get to watch them on TV,” Gerik said. “This might be a chance for our coaches and our community to go see him in action!”

Quarterback: Corey Dailey, Seguin 

Seguin head coach Craig Dailey says Friday’s Senior Night will be the most emotional he’s experienced in his 22-year career. 

His son, Corey, has been on the sidelines with him since he was a five-year-old ballboy. The last four years, he’s blossomed into a three-star quarterback, throwing for 8,769 career yards and 116 total touchdowns. 

But it’s not the Friday nights that Craig will remember most. It’s the Monday morning game planning sessions, or the drives to Austin after basketball practice for a training session, or flying to an Elite 11 Camp at 5:00 a.m. the day after a baseball game. 

“It’s a relationship I’ve never had with anybody else, how close we are,” Craig said. “This whole journey, from all the recruiting trips to 7-on-7 tournaments to camps, we’ve spent a lot of time together.”

It’s fitting Craig won’t remember the game days the most, because Corey’s impact on Seguin High School was felt far beyond the Friday Night Lights. He averaged over 20 points per game on the hardwood and hit .490 with a 1.21 ERA in baseball. Corey is committed to play his college football at Pittsburgh.

Running back: Nezahul Cisneros, El Paso Burges

Heading into the year, the city of El Paso had two big-time running backs on everyone’s radar: Franklin’s Ernie Powers and El Dorado’s Ryan Estrada. But during the offseason, Burges head coach Bernie Luna told Nezahul Cisneros he believed he could join their ranks.

Cisneros had to put a lot of trust in the coaching staff. As a junior, he served as the team’s Swiss Army Knife, alternating between wide receiver and running back because there was an established senior in the backfield. If he couldn’t be the feature back on his own team as a junior, how could he become one of the city’s best as a senior? But Cisneros bought in, attending every summer workout even when he was ill or had a nagging ankle injury. 

Burges (4-5, 2-5) may not make the playoffs, but Cisneros had a season to remember. In one year as the full-time running back, Cisneros has rushed for 1,290 yards and 15 touchdowns on 7.4 yards per carry. 

Now, in the final week of practice, Luna hopes that just because Cisneros’s high school career is over, his football career can go on.

“Every single yard that he gets, he earns,” Luna said. “He does not go down on the first contact. He practices the same way. There’s only one speed, and that’s full speed. So watching him in practice right now, I hope he gets the opportunity to play somewhere.”

QB/WR Duo: Seth Mayberry and Jordan Porter, Plainview

Seth Mayberry and Jordan Porter will put on a Plainview uniform for the final time on Friday night, but their names will stay in the school’s record books for quite some time. 

Mayberry, a four-year starter, has reset every passing mark in program history. Plainview head coach Wyatt Martinez coaches the quarterbacks, and over the last four years, he’s watched Seth morph from a 14-year-old with wide eyes in the huddle to a young man completely in command of the locker room. This last season was Mayberry’s best yet, totaling 3,305 yards and 34 touchdowns in just nine games. 

“With Seth, there aren’t many names like that, at any school, that can give four years of their heart and soul to a program and leave the kind of legacy he’s going to leave,” Martinez said.

While Mayberry has been a starter from Day One, his top wide receiver this season, Porter, had to wait his turn. Porter was Plainview’s third option as a junior with 335 yards. But Martinez and the coaching staff knew he had the talent to break out as a senior. In July, Martinez pulled Porter into a one-on-one meeting that would change the course of his high school career. 

“If we’re gonna be able to do this thing for Seth’s last year, he’s gonna need a go-to-guy,” Martinez told him. “And it needs to be you.”

In Week 4 against Dumas, Plainview No.2 wide receiver went down. Drawing Dumas’s best cover matchup all game, Porter hauled in a school-record 18 receptions in one game. Even in a loss, Martinez saw in Porter’s eyes that their summer conversation had come to fruition: he was the guy. Porter has since broken the single-season catches (86) and yards (1,285) records.

Offensive Line: Drew Evers, Flower Mound

Brian Basil has known Drew Evers since elementary school. Drew’s brother, Nick, was a star quarterback at Flower Mound and is now playing for the UConn Huskies. Basil hasn’t just watched Drew sprout up to over 6’4, 300; he’s seen him grow as a man, especially as he handled the recruiting process while stacking 40 Division I offers.

Evers, an SMU commit, ends his Flower Mound career as a two-time First Team All-District selection and a Preseason Whataburger Super Team member. 

“He’s a big kid, but also really athletic,” Basil said. “He’s a force on that offensive line that we count on for protection and then in the run game. Everything really revolves around him.”

Inside Linebacker: Jaylen Gude, Waco

Since new Waco head coach Esrom Martinez was hired in March, his Lions have played behind the 8-ball this year. Sitting at 0-9, Martinez feels hopeful that with 18 of 22 starters set to return, and a full offseason, Waco can rebound in 2026. But just the other day, a long-time high school teacher approached him in the hall and said they needed to get a win for senior linebacker Jaylen Gude, because he deserved it. 

Gude has racked up 128 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and three sacks in his senior season. He is everything Martinez looks for in a linebacker: a sure tackler with an unbelievable motor. But for as talented of a player as he is, it’s not why teachers around the school building have cheered extra hard for him all these years.

“He’s not only a really good athlete on the field, he’s also a really good student in the classroom,” Martinez said. “His family goes to church. He does everything right. He’s just one of those All-American kids that you want to be in your program.”

Outside Linebacker: Elijah Wade, Mesquite Poteet

Mesquite Poteet head coach Terrence Orr II has had a front-row seat to the highest levels of football. He played at DeSoto and then at Texas State. His two brothers made the NFL, and Zach is now the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator. Terrence caught the coaching bug, as well, with stops at DeSoto, Hebron and North Crowley.

When he took the Mesquite Poteet job this offseason and saw Elijah Wade, he knew he had a player.  

“He’s one of my best linebackers,” Orr said. “He’s probably one of my best safeties, and he’s our best edge rusher.”

Through nine games, Wade has 63 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and a touchdown. Four games ago, the coaching staff moved Wade from the inside to outside linebacker, and he racked up seven of his nine sacks this season in that short span. 

Although Mesquite Poteet missed the playoffs, Wade’s emergence allowed the Pirates to win more games this year than in the previous three combined. 

“Whenever the season gets over with and these colleges come by, he’s going to be the first person we put on tape and brag about,” Orr said. “He was getting a lot of interest in the spring, but now having the film to back it is going to pay dividends.”

Defensive Back: Dominik Carillo, Kaufman | Career Achievement: Aljour Miles, WR

Kaufman’s season might not end in the playoffs like it has every year since 2019, but head coach Jeramy Burleson says the Class of 2026 has a lot to be proud of. 

“Each group is going to leave its own mark,” Burleson said. “This group, their mark isn’t necessarily their record. But they’ve left the legacy of hard work and discipline through adversity. To me, that’s a bigger legacy than any record could be.” 

Two specific players displayed a heart that will beat in the Kaufman locker room long after they’ve graduated. 

Wide receiver Aljour Miles, an SMU commit, was Kaufman’s leading receiver each of the past three seasons. But while the touchdowns were electric, Burleson will better remember all the afternoons Miles spent at his house. Burleson’s son, Ty, was the starting quarterback last year, and he and Miles were a dynamic duo on and off the field. To Coach, even more impressive than the athleticism was the way he let everyone else go before him in the pregame meal line and picked up trash after everyone left the cafeteria.  

“I know a lot of people say this, but I really mean it: this is one of the finest young men I’ve ever coached. He’s just a really good person. It’s due to the way his mom and dad have raised their kid.” 

Dominik Carillo won’t play college football like Miles, but he had just as big an impact this season. The senior had six interceptions and was also an MVP of the special teams unit, blocking four PATs as an edge rusher and serving as the team’s long snapper.

Burleson says Carillo’s breakout season came after he didn’t miss a single summer workout the previous two years combined and showed up every morning on his own accord to lift weights.