#bEASTTexas Football Countdown: Mount Vernon

Published 5:45 am Saturday, August 20, 2022

Editor’s Note: During the 30 days leading up to the high school football season, we will be spotlighting teams ranked in the preseason #bEASTTexas Fabulous 15 for the 2022 season. The series continues today with one of the teams tied for No. 2 in the Class 3A/2A/TAPPS poll: the Mount Vernon Tigers.

Mount Vernon’s high level of success continued in 2021. The Tigers advanced to the postseason for the sixth straight year and went to the state semifinals for the second consecutive year, positing a 14-1 record. The Tigers scored a school-record 707 points, averaging 47.1 points per contest.

Poll history: Mount Vernon entered the poll for the first time after week three in 2019. The Tigers got as high as No. 8 in 2019. In 2020, Mount Vernon spent four straight weeks at No. 5. After a preseason ranking of No. 7 in 2021, Mount Vernon jumped to No. 2 after week two and was No. 2 for nine of the last 10 weeks of the 2021 season — landing at No. 3 the other week.

Those dudes: Braden Bennett and Mackenzie McGill. Bennett is the reigning Class 3A Player of the Year after going 212 of 333 for 3,789 yards and 41 touchdowns, while also carrying the ball 108 times for 638 yards and five touchdowns. McGill ran for 2,082 yards, had 445 receiving yards and scored 43 touchdowns. McGill has offers from Grambling State, Incarnate Word, Northwestern State and Texas State.

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For more on Mount Vernon and other East Texas high school football programs, check out The Zone magazine, which releases today inside the Tyler Morning Telegraph and Longview News-Journal.

Aug. 26: at Quinlan Ford

Sept. 2: Gladewater

Sept. 9: at Omaha Paul Pewitt

Sept. 16: Sabine

Sept. 23: *at Mineola

Sept. 30: *Bonham

Oct. 7: *at Winnsboro

Oct. 14: *Emory Rains

Oct. 21: *at Commerce

Nov. 4: *Pottsboro

*District 5-3A Division I Game

All games at 7:30 p.m.