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Expectations High for Midlothian Heritage

Will Sophomore Season Be The Charm?

The Jaguars of Midlothian Heritage took the Texas High School Football world by storm in just their first varsity season in 2016. The young program finished the inaugural season with an 11-2 record while making a run to the Class 4A Division 1 Region 2 Semi-Finals where they lost a heart breaker to Kennedale 49-47. One would have to look long and hard for an offense as potent as the Jaguar offense was last season where they averaged almost 47 points per game. Overall, Heritage outscored their opponents 606-346, and this against a loaded schedule which included the likes of Sunnyvale, Decatur, Sanger, Crandall, and Alvarado.

Entering the 2017 season, Coach Lee Wiginton’s squad looks to be among the favorites to win the whole 4A DI enchilada. The offense returns nine starters and among those is arguably one of the best quarterbacks in all of Class 4A, Landon Ledbetter. Ledbetter completed 65% of his passes on the way to throwing for 3,250 yards and an eye popping 43 touchdowns in 2016. The offensive line returns Houston Cougar commit Jack Freeman, who used his 6’4, 235 LB frame to record 73 knock downs, and Cody Ashmore who tallied 34 pancakes of his own.

So now that we have listed two of the more important aspects of what makes up a salty football team, offensive line and quarterback play, let’s look at the cats that make this high octane offense even more deadly. Running back Nathan Gaskamp has the size (6’1, 220) that makes FBS recruiters drool. Gaskamp had a standout 2016 outing where he ran for 1,265 yards, 14 touchdowns, and averaged 7.6 yards per carry. At receiver, Kerrion Fields is a defensive coordinator’s nightmare. Fields hauled in 1,743 yards receiving with 19 touchdowns and ran for another 330 yards. Many defenses will of course have to give over the top help to any corner covering Kerrion Fields which will open things up for receiver Noah Parker who finished 2016 with over 920 yards receiving.

If you had to point to one area of vulnerability last season, it would probably be the Jaguar defense. Heritage found themselves in several shootouts and much of that was due to the youth of the defensive unit. 2017 will see six of last year’s defensive starters returning. With a year of experience under their belts, the defense, which features standout lineman Jon Sanders who recorded 66 tackles and two sacks last season, will likely be much better than last year’s unit which gave up an average of just over26 points a game.

I love nothing more than taking in the Friday night performance of a championship caliber football team, so it goes without saying, I can likely be found roaming the sidelines, press box, and or bleachers on least two Friday evenings in Midlothian this season. See ya’ in Jag town!

by Grant Goodwin

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