Tyler Legacy hosting Rockwall in season finale

Published 2:54 pm Wednesday, November 2, 2022

For the second straight week, Tyler Legacy will play on Thursday night.

And the Red Raiders are hoping the result from last week is duplicated as they ended a six-game losing streak with a 31-24 victory over North Forney — their first district victory.

“It feels good to win,” Tyler Legacy head football coach Joe Willis said. “These kids have worked awfully hard this year. We’ve played one of the best schedules around. To get a win and to be able to celebrate with your teammates afterward, it means a lot.”

Legacy (2-7, 1-4) will look to close the season with two consecutive wins when it hosts Rockwall (8-1, 5-0) at 7 p.m. Thursday on Earl Campbell Field at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.

“They’re the district champion,” Willis said. “Offensively, they’re going to put up a lot of points. They play at a very fast tempo, so our defense is going to have to be on point. We feel like the strength of our team is our defense. Offensively, we’re going to have to control the clock a little bit, and we can’t have turnovers. You’ve got to do all the things you’ve got to do to win any football game, control the line of scrimmage, not turn the ball over and play complementary football.”

Thursday will be the final high school game for seniors Nate Crockett, Adaryian Scott, Jordan Renaud, Candan Ragsdale, Brantley Hooper, Ladarius Yarber, Todderick Ragsdale, Kenden Pauley, Christian Baxter, D’Waylin Cleaver, Camryn Rollins, Jayden Williams, Keion Seaton, Grant Parker, Jonathan Rogers, Alejandro Salgado, Jakylan Cole, Braylon Fields, Rodney Harden, Fancy Love, Jordan Crawford, Jaleel Nauls, Somadina Onwuzurumba, Brenden Mitchell, Will Grant, Khalil Tutt, Tykeyseon Davis and Jaylen Dail.

“For those guys, this is going to be the last game here,” Willis said. “Some of these guys are going to go on to play at the next level, but for some of them, it will be the last football they play. It’s definitely a special moment. It’s a moment I want our underclassmen to pay attention to because they’re going to blink twice and that moment is going to be there for them. Being a part of a football team is a special think, and playing high school football is an unbelievable experience. For these guys, it’s the end of a chapter in their lives. Hopefully they take a lot of the things they learned through the game with them later on in life. We wish them the best.”

“It means a lot,” senior receiver Nate Crockett said. “I feel like I was just a freshman. It goes by very quick.”

THAT’S FANCY

One of the seniors for the Red Raiders is defensive lineman Fancy Love, who has nine tackles and a sack this season.

Love said his name is a family name, and it’s Fancy Mahari Love IV.

Love said he’s looking forward to playing one more game.

“It hasn’t set in yet,” Love said. “But I know this is the last game and the last practice. It hasn’t hit me just yet, but I know it will hit me tomorrow night. I want to get some tackles and get some sacks. That’s the main goal like any game.”

JUMP BALL

With 6:14 remaining and Legacy trailing 24-17 against North Forney, Legacy quarterback Luke Wolf scrambled like he had many times before in the contest. A defender approached Wolf to make the tackle, and Wolf hurdled him and finished off his run into the end zone to tie the score at 24 with a 16-yard run.

“I have been telling everybody that I didn’t have a thought process with it,” Wolf said. “I guess I just reacted to it and just did it, and it worked out.”

“Obviously that’s not something we coach them to do, but athletes sometimes in a situation like that will make plays,” Willis said. “And that was a very athletic move. Again, it’s not something we recommend all of the time. But again, when an athlete out there on the field is reacting and being a good athlete, we definitely want to encourage that.”

Wolf threw for 137 yards and ran for another 150 yards in the win.