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Updated: October 18, 2022 @ 4:44 am
Daily Sun File photo/ Paul Borsellino
Tiger WR Braylyn Brandon, seen here breaking free for 49-yard catch-and-run against Ennis, had a 90-yard catch-and-run touchdown last week against Mansfield Summit.
Daily Sun File photo/ Paul Borsellino
Tiger WR Braylyn Brandon, seen here breaking free for 49-yard catch-and-run against Ennis, had a 90-yard catch-and-run touchdown last week against Mansfield Summit.
The Tigers continue their toughest stretch of the schedule this week when they face No. 6-ranked Midlothian Heritage at 7 p.m. Friday at Community National Bank & Trust Stadium.
The Jaguars are arguably the best team they will face this season as the schedule winds down to the final three games of the year. The Tigers, who just played Mansfield Summit, the preseason No. 5 Class 5A DII team in Texas, are finding out first-hand just how strong their new district is during a three-game stretch against Summit, Heritage and Everman (next week) — three teams that are a combined 11-1 in district games, and the one loss belongs to Summit, which lost to Heritage two weeks ago.
Heritage looks more and more like the No. 1 team in the district with wins over Summit (44-20) and Ennis (38-35). The Jags have won six in a row since losing to Class 4A DI state champ Stephenville on opening night in a classic shootout, 49-42. They have outscored opponents 303-124 this season and are coming off a dramatic win over Ennis.
The Jaguars were trailing 35-31 when Mason O’Neal scored on a 12-yard run to lift Heritage to a 36-35 lead with 1:11 left in the game, and added a two-point conversion to nail down the 38-35 victory. The loss dropped Ennis to 2-2 in the district race and into a third-place tie with Seguin. Those two teams meet in Ennis Friday for what is comparable to a playoff game.
The Tigers have played well throughout their season, and suffered two tough losses to Seguin and Burleson, which both scored on big pass plays late in the fourth quarter to come from behind and beat the Tigers, who followed those games with a lopsided loss to Summit last week. The Tigers played Summit close early and trailed 21-14 at halftime before losing 56-14.
Tiger QB Adrian Baston had another big game, despite facing what appeared to be the best defense the Tigers have faced this season. Baston ran for 109 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries and completed 5-of-13 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown.
Baston gave Tiger fans their two biggest moments of the night when he broke free for a 65-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive with 9:34 left in the half, and later connected with Braylyn Brandon for a 90-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 3:47 left in the half that closed Summit’s lead to 21-14.
Dontay Thomas, the Tigers’ Swiss Knife star who does it all, finished the night with 48 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries (6.0 per carry) and caught two passes for 61 yards.
Those were the highlights for a Tiger team that was out-manned in the trenches by a bigger and more physical team.
They will face another huge test against Heritage, which features one of the most talented quarterbacks in the district in Kaden Brown, a senior who has completed 85-of-119 passes (a whopping .714 percentage) for 919 yards and 22 touchdowns while running for 372 yards and two TDs.
Heritage’s O’Neal has rushed for 641 yards on 98 carries and scored eight touchdowns and receivers Xavier Moten (25 receptions for 468 yards and 14 touchdowns) and Stetson Saratt (20-384 and three TDs) are averaging 18.7 and 19.2 yards per catch.
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