New season: Tyler Legacy opens District 10-6A competition against Mesquite

Published 10:00 am Thursday, September 22, 2022

Tyler Legacy head football coach Joe Willis emphasized to his team on Wednesday morning that they are entering a new season.

While the Red Raiders are 1-3 overall, that all goes away on Friday as they open District 10-6A competition against Mesquite at 7 p.m. at E.H. Hanby Stadium in Mesquite.

“It’s a chance to get a new start,” Willis said. “This is a district game. It really doesn’t matter what your record is coming into district.

“What matters is who you played and did you get better off of those games. I think we definitely had some good teams to challenge us and find some answers. And I think we found some answers. We made some moves this week I think will make us better. That’s all great experience. But starting Friday, it’s a new season. We’ve got to be 1-0 after Friday.”

The Red Raiders will have a new-look offensive line. Senior Somadina Onwuzurumba and sophomore Cash Acker will be at left and right tackle, respectively. Senior Rodney Harden will move from center to right guard, and senior Jordan Crawford will take over at center. At left guard will be 6-1, 285-pound freshman Eric Miller.

“We moved some people around,” Willis said. “We’re feeling a little bit better there. We’ve got to run the ball, at the end of the day. The passing game and pass protection, all of that is important and you’ve got to have that, but if you can’t run the ball, you’re limited in what you can do, so running the ball is a real priority for us going forward.”

“Where we are right now from practice this week, it’s been picking up pretty good,” Harden said. “We’ve made some adjustments and we’ve just got to push through. We have to establish the run game and establish the past game.”

The Red Raiders will take on a Mesquite team that is 2-2 with wins over North Mesquite (44-32) and Arlington Lamar (26-15) and losses to Arlington (40-37) and Lewisville (44-7).

“They’re good,” Willis said. “Sizewise, they’re a big, physical football team. They’re a lot bigger than us on both sides of the ball. On defense, they don’t overcomplicate things, but again, they’ve got a lot of size. They play in a four-down defense with three linebackers, and those linebackers are really good. They’ve got a couple of interior techniques that have been disruptive. They’ve got good players.

“Offensively, they’re primarily a run team, but they’ve got a receiver they work the ball to in some screens. He’s an explosive player, so we’ve got to make sure we control him.”

The Red Raiders fell to the Skeeters 21-9 last season but had won the 2020 matchup 21-7. Legacy will look to get a win on Friday to start district play off on a strong note.

“Winning this game would be a big step for us,” Willis said. “This is a game we’ve said was a priority all along. You would be 1-0 and have a head start on everybody else. This is the kind of district where it’s going to come down to the very last week to decide who the playoff teams are. So if you’re going to qualify for the playoffs, starting 1-0, and especially beating a team that you’re going to be classified with in Division 2, that would be significant.”

“It would mean a lot to get this win in front of their fans,” Harden said. “And it’s their homecoming, so that would mean a lot to spoil their homecoming, just like we got ours spoiled.”

Around District 10-6A

Mesquite Horn is 3-1 with wins over Plano West (41-35 in overtime), Arlington Bowie (34-21) and Tyler (43-6) and a loss to Arlington (32-28). The Jaguars will open district against newcomer North Forney. The Falcons are 3-1 with wins over Rowlett (42-20), North Mesquite (31-14) and Dallas Wilson (41-20) and a loss to Whitehouse (47-30).

Rockwall-Heath is 3-1 with wins over Euless Trinity (68-38), Mansfield Lake Ridge (45-35) and Waco Midway (52-24). The Hawks will open district against rival Rockwall. The Yellowjackets are 3-1 with wins over Cedar Hill (34-12), Dallas Jesuit (51-23) and South Grand Prairie (38-31) and a loss to Prosper (19-11).

Royse City (2-2) — another district newcomer — will have a have a bye this week. The Bulldogs have wins over Grand Prairie (58-0) and The Colony (47-20) and losses to Melissa (48-24) and Arlington Bowie (41-28).