Mansfield Legacy, Wylie advance to state tournament

ROCKWALL -- It was do-or die time for 12 teams who came into the Rockwall SQT all gunning for the final two spots at the state tournament and in the end it was a newcomer stealing the show. The 16 team tournament featured four teams (Lamar, Plano, Lakeview Centennial and Tyler Lee) who had already qualified.

Not many people gave the Mansfield Legacy Broncos much of a chance to be in the mix but the young and talented Broncos were hungry and looking to build some momentum as they head into their second season of varsity play. 

Legacy finally began clicking on all cylinders in their fourth tournament of the year by going undefeated (4-0) beating Arlington Lamar 26-24 in the first game on a touchdown pass with 30 seconds left from junior quarterback Quentin Hasten to senior Tyler Smith setting the tone for the day.

The Legacy QB tandem of Senior Andreus Jones and Hasten was stellar combining for 22 Touchdowns and just one interception on the day. Legacy put up 41 points in each of the next 3 games beating a strong Rockwall team 41-14, Community High 41-6 and in the semi-finals 41-26 against Midlothian. Senior reciever Rodney Whitmore was almost unstoppable all day, as he and Jones hooking up for 3 long TD's in the final game.

The balanced play of senior receivers Billie Bennett, Alex Scott and Tyler Smith made the Broncos a nighmare for opposing defenses. The Legacy defense was just as stout. Junior tailback/safety Ian Simon went both ways scoring touchdowns and shutting down the opponents top wide recievers throughout the day. Senior safety Zim Williams led the defense with three interceptions and cornerback Casey Dauzat had two. Junior Cornerback Tevin Mitchell locked down his side of the field while strong safetey Joe Musselman led the team in deflections.

Legacy showed they are a force to be reckoned with. This new program, with only its second year of varsity play ahead has shown it can compete. As a side note this is the first time an MISD school has qualified for the State tournament, an impressive accomplishment considering the talent that has passed through the district over the last few years.

Also qualifying for the tournament was the Wylie Pirates. The state finalists from last season had their work cut out for them having to fight for their lives in the opening round against Naaman Forest. Senior receiver Colby Harper lived up to his big play reputation catching the game winner.

A showdown with 8-5A rival Plano didn't go as well for the Pirates as they were handled easily, 40-21. Wylie bounced back from that one in a big way with arguably the day's best game - a 31-30 victory over Allen. Coming off of a good performance in a regional 7-on-7 tournament in Arkansas last week, Allen started slow and didn't seem to have the same sense of urgency. Both Matt Brown and Tucker Carter picked right up where they left off a year ago with strong outings but it wasn't enough as Wylie got the stop they needed as Allen went for the two point conversion to try and win at the end of regulation. With Plano, Wylie and Allen all 2-1 in pool play, Wylie advanced on the tie-breaker to the semi-finals against a Garland Owl team that looked impressive in Mesquite a week ago. The Owls jumped out to a 14-13 halftime lead but Wylie made some nice adjustments, utilizing the speedy Nick Knott out of the backfield.

The Owl defense had no answer for the speedy senior and Wylie exploited the mismatch all game long, winning easily 38-19. It was decided early in the day that there would be no championship game due to the intense heat. Wylie impressed by advancing out of a tough bracket as did Legacy by going undefeated and qualifying for their first state tournament.

Rockwall SQT Final scores

POOL A
Mansfield Legacy 26 - Arlington Lamar 24
Rockwall 38 - Community 6
Mansfield Legacy 41 - Rockwall 14
Arlington Lamar 38 - Community 7
Rockwall 34 - Arlington Lamar 34
Mansfield Legacy 40 - Community 12

POOL B
Midlothian 45 - Rowlett 12
Garland Lakeview 34 - Lewisville 30
Garland Lakeview 26 - Rowlett 13
Midlothian 38 - Lewisville 20
Garland Lakeview 34 - Midlothian 13
Lewisville 37 - Rowlett 18


Pool C
Tyler Lee 33 - Garland 13
Arlington Seguin 38 - Rockwall-Heath 13
Tyler Lee 25 - Arlington Seguin 19
Garland 33 - Arlington Seguin 27
Tyler Lee 32 - Rockwall-Heath 31

Pool D
Allen 35 Plano 26
Wylie 41 Garland Naaman Forest 40 (OT)
Wylie 31 Allen 30
Plano 59 Naaman Forest 39
Plano 40 Wylie 21
Allen 56 Naaman Forest 44

Date of Article: Sat Jun 27, 2009 9:06 pm