Rockwall-Heath tops Tyler Legacy, 35-14

Published 11:39 pm Thursday, October 6, 2022

Tyler Legacy dropped its fourth consecutive game with a 35-14 loss to Rockwall-Heath in District 10-6A action Thursday night at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.

The Red Raiders got into the red zone four times to at least the 10-yard line on all four of those possessions, scoring just once in those trips.

“We had the red zone issue come up,” Legacy head football coach Joe Willis said. “Again, that’s cost us before. We had our opportunities down there. We missed an open receiver in one case, busted an assignment in another. And you know, football teams are going to make those mistakes, you’re never going to play perfect especially when people are pressed down on you. It’s down there in a tight zone, and you’re going to get a lot of pressure. But again, we’ve just got to continue to get better, because I saw a lot of growth tonight really on both sides of the ball.”

Jack Davenport returned the opening kickoff 56 yards to the Legacy 35. After a trick play that saw wide receiver Peyton Wingfield connect with J.D. Webb for a 31-yard completion, Malachi Tuesno scored on a 4-yard run to give the Hawks a quick 7-0 lead 18 seconds into the contest.

The Red Raiders went three-and-out, and the Hawks responded with a 13-play, 78-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass from receiver Davenport to quarterback Caleb Hoover, making the score 14-0 with 5:50 left in the opening quarter.

Legacy took over at its own 25 after the kickoff and ran the ball seven consecutive times. Quarterback Luke Wolf had two 17-yard runs on the drive, and Ladarius Yarber had an 11-yard carry. Wolf then completed a 19-yard pass to Jordan Hubbard to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Yarber to make the score 14-7 with 2:30 on the clock.

On the last play of the first quarter, Wolf connected with Kalan Greenhouse for a 42-yard gain. The Red Raiders ended up with fourth and two at the 7-yard line, but the Rockwall-Heath defense got the stop.

The Hawks punted before getting the ball back with a Brady Luff interception. Legacy forced another punt and used a 45-yard pass from Wolf to Sterlin Burleson to get into the red zone again. Legacy had first and goal at the 3-yard line, but had to settle for a 22-yard field goal attempt, which was blocked by the Hawks with 34 seconds remaining in the half.

The Red Raiders fumbled on their opening drive of the second half as Jaylon Hall-Wright came up with the recovery at the Legacy 24-yard line. Two plays later, Tuesno scored on a 20-yard run to make the score 21-7.

The Red Raiders answered just more than a minute later as Wolf scored on a 70-yard run to make the score 21-14 with 8:58 in the third quarter. The Hawks came right back with a nine-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Hoover to 6-6 Elliott Finley in third and 12.

The Red Raiders were forced to punt, and Christian Baxter booted it 56 yard to the Rockwall-Heath 9. The teams alternated two punts each before Legacy got the ball back with 10:40 left in the game at its own 48-yard line. Wolf got banged up on the drive but came back in on and third and 16, and Jayden Lexion intercepted a pass and returned it 64 yards to put the score at 35-14 with 7:20 to play.

Legacy had a 17-play drive and got to the 10-year line but was ultimately stopped on fourth down with 1:34 to play.

“I’m encouraged by what I saw,” Willis said. “You take the turnovers out of that and really the penalties and that’s a whole new ball game. We’re excited about what our football team can do. We’ve just got to grow, keep getting better every week.

“I think we were much more physical than I’ve seen us play all year, so that part was good. And that’s a physical football team. I saw us do some great things defensively, really stopped their run game. Again, we’ve got to shore up our protection piece of it and make sure that our quarterback can stay upright. I thought our option game looked good at times tonight, so I’m encouraged by what I saw. That’s a pretty good football team right there too, so they’re going to make some plays from time to time. Again, we’ve got a chance to be really good. We’ve just got to clean up a few mistakes.”

Legacy finished with 348 yards — 208 rushing and 140 passing. Rockwall-Heath had 281 yards —12- rushing and 157 passing.

Wolf was 7 of 14 through the air for 130 yards with two interceptions. He carried the ball 18 times for 143 yards and a touchdown.

Rockwall-Heath had three quarterbacks attempt a pass on the opening drive. Hoover — an Oklahoma State baseball pledge — finished 11 of 21 for 120 yards and a touchdown, and he caught a touchdown pass. Wingfield had six catches for 40 yards.

Legacy (1-5, 0-2) will take on Mesquite Horn at 7 p.m. on Oct. 14 at E.H. Hanby Stadium in Mesquite. Rockwall-Heath (5-2, 2-1) will host Mesquite Horn on Oct. 21.

Rockwall-Heath 35, Tyler Legacy 14

Rockwall-Heath    14     0       14     7 — 35

Legacy                7       0       7       0 — 14

First Quarter

RH — Malachi Tuesno 4 run (Na’el Shalabi kick), 11:42

RH — Caleb Hoover 6 pass from Jack Davenport (Shalabi kick), 5:50

TL — Ladarius Yarber 2 run (Christian Baxter kick), 2:30

Third Quarter

RH — Tuesno 20 run (Jack Allen kick), 10:06

TL — Luke Wolf 70 run (Baxter kick), 8:58

RH — Elliott Finely 14 pass form Hoover (Allen kick), 5:43

Fourth Quarter

RH — Jayden Lexion 64 interception return (Allen kick), 7:20

                           RH             TL

First Downs         17             18

Rushes-Yards      26-124       46-208

Passing Yards      157            140

Comp.-Att-Int.    12-23-0     9-20-2

Punts-Ave.          5-32.4       3-44.7

Fumbles-Lost       1-0            2-1

Penalties-Yards    5-45          2-20

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — Rockwall-Heath, Brittan Snider 12-54; Jack Davenport Easley 5-40; Malachi Tuesno 8-31; Caleb Hoover 1-(-1). Legacy, Luke Wolf 18-143; Ladarius Yarber 11-42; Sterlin Burleson 9-14; Jordan Hubbard 1-7; Micah Pierson 1-3; Landon Miller 4-2; Kenden Pauley 2-(-3).

PASSING — Rockwall-Heath, Caleb Hoover 11-21-0 120; Peyton Wingfield 1-1-0 31; Jack Davenport 1-1-0 6. Legacy, Luke Wolf 7-14-2 130; Landon Miller 2-6-0 10.

RECEIVING — Rockwall-Heath, Peyton Wingfield 6-40; J.D. Webb 2-41; Cameron Smith 2-39; Elliott Finley 2-22; Caleb Hoover 1-6; Malachi Tuesno 1-0. Legacy, Sterlin Burleston 2-50; Jordan Dubbard 2-22; Kalan Greenhouse 1-42; Micha Igaya 1-13; Nate Crockett 1-10; Za’Bryan Hood 1-8; Micah Pierson 1-(-3).