Legacy senior center Nigel Wallace has an appreciation for life and well-being that most kids his age wouldn’t understand. Wallace had a scary episode during an offseason workout in February of 2021. He didn’t eat that day, got no sleep the night before and was battling an illness. Despite that fact, Wallace tried to go on with his day, which included working out. While working out, he got light-headed and experienced dizziness and collapsed. He said head football coach Clint Hartman and defensive coordinator Frank Maldonado picked him up, put him on a cart and brought him to immediate medical attention in the trainer’s room. That was the last thing he remembered. Wallace was sent to Midland Memorial Hospital and was later airlifted to Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock. He woke up after being in a coma for five days. “It was Super Bowl Sunday when I woke up, so that’s how I remember it,” Wallace said. “I didn’t really know. I was confused because I just remember passing out on a Wednesday. I remember it was a Wednesday and then Sunday I woke up and I was watching the Super Bowl. It messed me up a little bit because I didn’t really understand. It was a five-day thing. I’m good now. I’m happy to be here.” And the Rebels are happy too, as Wallace has since overcome the ordeal and will start his sixth game at center when Legacy (2-3) visits Frenship (4-1) for its District 2-6A opener at 7 p.m. Friday at Peoples Bank Stadium in Wolfforth. The 6-foot-4, 265-pound Wallace is playing the sport he loves after sitting out his entire junior season. He said was cleared to play for this season after doctors couldn’t figure out why he had his scary health episode during a workout. But he attributes the incident to his poor nutrition and a lack of sleep. Wallace also feels fortunate that he is of sound health and doesn’t have any brain damage after being in a coma. Wallace says his heart stopped beating at one point. He thanks Hartman and Maldonado for saving his life. “I was a religious person before,” Wallace said. “I trusted in God and I trusted in the process. I have a good coach, I have a good team around me. Good coaches. They’re all going to take care of me. When I came back, they didn’t give up on me. (Offensive line coach Boe Smith) didn’t give up on me. Nobody gave up on me. None of the coaches. Not even my teammates. “They kept pushing me to be a better human and when I got cleared, I’m in the position that I am now so I just thanked them for that. I learned that family and that stuff is important. Other teams they wouldn’t do this. They stuck with me, made sure I was all right, made sure I was good. They made sure I was all right like Coach Hartman and them. That’s what I learned is just to have faith and trust the process.” Trusting the process worked out on Aug. 26 when the Rebels needed a center after Jaxon Alexander transferred back to Midland Christian. Wallace found out during the athletic period that he would be starting at center later that night in Legacy’s season opener against Amarillo High. Hartman says Wallace is a great kid who lights up a room when he walks in. “You always want to see a kid that has a smile on his face even in tough times, that’s Nigel,” Hartman said. “He’s the class clown in the locker room and then he’s the good kid that goes in your classroom and makes your class better. He’s also the kid in the hallway that will help you if a kid is getting out of hand. He’s everything that you want in being a student athlete/football player. Even last year when he couldn’t play, he never missed a practice. He always here. He was a good teammate and then he really busted his tail in the offseason when he got healthy to come back and work hard.” Wallace says he doesn’t even feel deprived about losing his junior season because he became a stronger person because of it. “I feel like it was a year of me getting better and developing character because in football you have to have high character and still have your mental toughness,” Wallace said. “I feel like it was a building moment for me, not physical but mental. I feel like I didn’t really lose anything there. I feel like if anything, I gained. I feel like I have a lot of football in me.” And now Wallace has his sights on helping the Rebels start off district with a win in their quest to capture a share of a fifth-straight district championship. “I just want to let people know that we’re not done,” Wallace said. “People can say we’re 2-3 and this and that, but I really don’t care. They don’t know what we do behind these walls. We grind every day. I love my teammates for it. That builds character. These coaches put in 100% every day. They miss time with their families to be with us and that stuff goes a long way and that explains a lot. I feel like we can dominate this district and we can really do it.” Follow Christopher on Twitter: @chris_MRTsports LEGACY AT FRENSHIP When/where: 7 p.m. Friday, Peoples Bank Stadium, Wolfforth Radio: KCRS 95.5 FM/97.5 FM/550 AM Online: www.midlandisdsports-rebels.com/broadcasts or Midland ISD athletics app Records: Legacy 2-3, 0-0; Frenship 4-1, 0-0 Last game: Converse Judson 60, LHS 50 (Sept. 23); FHS 56, Rio Rancho (N.M.) Cleveland 52 (Sept. 23) Last meeting/series: LHS beat Frenship 68-28 in 2021 to improve to 5-1. What to watch –LHS head coach Clint Hartman says his team is eager to start district after it had a bye week following two losses to San Antonio area powers Cibolo Steele (35-28 in OT) and Judson. The Rebels last won on Sept. 9 with a 56-20 win over Abilene High. –The Rebels hope to start better after falling behind 47-0 to Judson. LHS outscored Judson 50-13 the rest of the game behind four TD passes and a rushing TD from Marcos Davila but the hole was too deep to crawl out of. –The Tigers beat New Mexico’s defending state champion in their final non-district game behind a 440-yard passing performance from Hudson Hutcheson. Hutcheson has completed 72.3% of his passes this year and has a deep receiving corps. –Since Jay Northcutt took over as Frenship head coach in 2017, Hartman’s Rebels have scored at least 50 points in the five previous meetings, all LHS wins. –Abilene High is both teams’ common opponent. Frenship beat Abilene 21-7 on the road on Sept. 16. Next: LHS at Odessa Permian, 7 p.m. Oct. 14; Frenship at Midland High, 7 p.m. Oct. 14...

The Legacy and Midland High tennis teams have their itineraries set for the playoffs in El Paso. The third-seeded Bulldogs (9-9) will visit District 1-6A No. 2 seed El Paso Franklin in the bi-district round of the team tennis playoffs at 1 p.m. CDT Tuesday. MHS will be competing in the postseason for the ninth straight season. Meanwhile, the fourth-seeded Rebels visit District 1-6A champion El Paso Coronado in the bi-district round at 1 p.m. CDT Tuesday. It's believed that Legacy will be competing in the postseason for the first time since 2003. District 2-4A champion Andrews will play Fabens in the Class 4A bi-district round at noon Tuesday in Fort Stockton. District 3-4A champion Big Spring meets Levelland in the bi-district round at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Andrews....

LHS GOES TO 4-0 IN DISTRICT SAN ANGELO – The Legacy volleyball team improved to 4-0 in District 2-6A play after a 27-29, 25-16, 25-18, 25-22 at San Angelo Central on Tuesday. Kendall Harrington had a triple-double for the Lady Rebels (23-8 overall) with 14 kills, 15 kills and 22 assists, to go with four aces and 2.5 blocks. Marisa Calzada had 21 digs, Tatiyana Gildon had a double-double with 12 digs and 21 assists, and Rayah Coy also had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs. Legacy next travels to face Wolfforth Frenship at 5 p.m. Friday. LEGACY DEF. SAN ANGELO CENTRAL, 27-29, 25-16, 25-18, 25-22 Legacy statistics Kills – Kendall Harrington 14, Rayah Coy 10, Sarah Philley 8, Kimberly Rabe 7, Camila Salazar 5, Kylee Radwanski 5, Kyndall Torres 1 Digs – Marisa Calzada 21, Harrington 15, Tatiyana Gildon 12, Coy 12, Torres 12, Philley 7, Rabe 6, Radwanski 3, Salazar 1 Assists – Harrington 22, Gildon 21, Calzada 1, Philley 1 Blocks – Rabe 3.5, Harrington 2.5, Philley 2 Aces – Harrington 4, Gildon 3, Coy 3 DISTRICT 2-6A VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS District Overall W L W L Legacy 4 0 23 8 Permian 3 1 25 8 Midland 2 2 13 18 Frenship 2 2 11 20 SA Central 1 3 25 13 Odessa 0 4 15 11 Friday, Sept. 30 scores Legacy 3, Midland High 0; Wolfforth Frenship 3, Odessa High 0; Odessa Permian 3, San Angelo Central 0 Tuesday’s scores Midland High 3, Odessa High 2; Legacy 3, San Angelo Central 1; Odessa Permian 3, Wolfforth Frenship 1 Friday’s matches San Angelo Central at Midland High; Legacy at Wolfforth Frenship; Odessa Permian at Odessa High; all matches at 5 p.m....

LUBBOCK – Four Midland ISD swimmers each had two gold medals during the Lubbock Mini-Invitational, Thursday at Pete Ragus Aquatic Center. Senior Holden Lewis and sophomore Aidan Pope each garnered a pair of golds to lead the Legacy boys swim team. Lewis and Pope teamed up with Reid Davis and Gendry Morales to help the Rebels win the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 2 minutes, 10.91 seconds. Lewis also finished first in the 100 backstroke (1:12.43), while Pope won the 200 freestyle (2:19.01). Sophomore Lanie Atwater and junior Sadie Ryan took home two golds for the Midland High girls team. Atwater, Sadie Ryan, Alyssa Campbell and Sarah Ryan guided the MHS 200 medley relay team to the top podium spot (2:16.79). Atwater was the winner in the 100 back (1:12.90) and Sadie Ryan claimed first in the 100 IM (1:15.96). MHS sophomore Lynsey Hoppman won the 200 free (2:38.45). Big Spring junior Malaki Vaughn took first in the 100 free (1:04.90) and was a part of the Lady Steers’ winning 200 free relay team. Lubbock Mini-Invitational At Pete Ragus Aquatic Center, Lubbock Thursday Top 3 area results only listed Boys 200-yard medley relay – 1. Legacy (Aidan Pope, Reid Davis, Gendry Morales, Holden Lewis) 2 minutes, 10.00 seconds; 2. Midland High (Ian Ramsay, Caleb Brown, Aaron Stubbs, Jacob Sinclair) 2:10.91 200 free – 1. Pope, Legacy, 2:19.01 50 free – 3. Morales, Legacy, 28.14 100 fly – 1. Ramsay, Midland, 1:10.80; 3. Stubbs, Midland, 1:16.57 100 free – 3. Davis, Legacy, 1:02.65 100 back – 1. Lewis, Legacy, 1:12.43; 2. Pope, Legacy, 1:13.93; 3. David Summers, Big Spring, 1:14.02 200 free relay – 2. Legacy (Morales, Christian Leyva, Pope, Lewis) 1:52.52; 3. Big Spring (Summers, Christian Pantoja-Strickland, Mario Pedraza, Ismael Castillo) 1:55.69 Girls 200 medley relay – 1. Midland (Lanie Atwater, Alyssa Campbell, Sadie Ryan, Sarah Ryan) 2:16.79; 2. Big Spring (Malaki Vaughn, Arely Cruz-Garcia, Naomi Reyes, Avarielle Nuno) 2:23.25 200 free – 1. Lynsey Hoppman, Midland, 2:38.45; 2. Sar. Ryan, Midland, 2:38.45 100 IM – 1. Sad. Ryan, Midland, 1:15.98; 2. Reyes, Big Spring, 1:17.10; 3. Vaughn, Big Spring, 1:18.24 50 free – 2. Campbell, Midland, 29.17; 3. Atwater, Midland, 30.20 100 fly – 2. Campbell, Midland, 1:20.95; 3. Steffany Pina Arment, Big Spring, 1:30.87 100 free – 1. Vaughn, Big Spring, 1:04.90; 2. Sad. Ryan, Midland, 1:06.23 100 back – 1. Atwater, Midland, 1:12.90; 2. Cruz-Garcia, Big Spring, 1:17.78 100 breast – 3. Hannah Hall, Legacy, 1:30.44 200 free relay – 1. Big Spring (Reyes, Cruz-Garcia, Nuno, Vaughn) 2:00.83; 3. Midland (Atwater, Rylee Blagg, Hoppman, Natalie Mellen) 2:13.59 Written By Midland Reporter Telegram ...

The Legacy first-team offense could not be stopped Friday night. The Rebels’ first teamers took the field 10 times and scored 10 touchdowns. When it was all said and done, Legacy rolled to a 68-28 rout of Wolfforth Frenship in Friday’s District 2-6A football game at Grande Communications Stadium. The No. 19-ranked Rebels (6-1, 2-0) had numerous offensive stars in the blowout. Running back/slot receiver Donny Bishop scored five touchdowns, rushed for 122 yards on seven carries and had four catches for 175 yards. LHS sophomore quarterback Marcos Davila enjoyed the best game of his young career, completing 11 of 14 passes for 300 yards and four TD passes. Davila added 44 yards rushing to finish with 344 total yards of offense. Makhilyn Young had his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season, carrying the ball 17 times for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Christopher Brazzell had 85 yards receiving and a TD. “We executed on all levels,” Young said. “We did our thing. We did our job. We handled the little things and executed what we needed to execute.” The Rebels’ 55 first-half points fell one point shy of the school record of 56 scored in a single half. “Offensively, there were too many guys to say how good they were,” LHS head coach Clint Hartman. “You have the Makhilyns, the Bishops, the Brazzells, all the guys that got the ball. But those five (linemen) up front, they are pretty good. People don’t ever give those five guys enough credit. I do. They’re a good unit. They’re really good when all five of those guys are firing. They gave us four or five different (defensive) fronts and it didn’t matter. They just applied their rules. It’s a testament to (offensive line coaches) Boe Smith and Coach (Brent) Swanson. I hadn’t really been overly happy even after every win. This one I am more happy than I have ever been.” The first quarter started off as a shootout. Chad Pharies led the Tigers to touchdowns on their first three scoring drives. Pharies got the scoring started when he ran around the left side of his offensive line and scored on a 63-yard TD run. Pharies also scrambled for a 20-yard scoring run on third-and-long and his 75-yard TD pass to Kaden Meier pushed Frenship to a 21-14 lead with 3:40 to play in the first quarter. “We have to clean up the first quarter where we had two blown coverages,” Hartman said. “They made plays. That quarterback is good as advertised. He slid around the pocket, made throws. If you go back, we had a couple of missed sacks that we missed. That’s him (making plays). We settled down after the two blown coverages. We can’t afford those in big games. But we did talk today, sometimes the offense needs the defense. Sometimes the defense needs the offense. And after that, we played Rebel football. We’ve got a pretty good club. We’re going to keep driving and pushing them.” The Rebels, though. answered every one of the Tigers’ scores. Davila and Bishop connected for LHS’ first two scores through the air. A 30-yard TD run by Young tied the game at 21-all with 2:49 left in the first. The game’s turning point occurred on the Tigers’ fourth possession when the Rebel defense forced a three-and-out at the end of the first quarter. LHS defenders Cole Stapleton and Jeremiah Alvarado combined for a sack on second down and Chase Barton provided a sack on third down, forcing the first punt of the game. That three-and-out started a string of five consecutive stops by the Rebel defense. “When the defense goes, we go,” Young said. “When the offense goes, they go. We all follow each other. One thing led to another, it wasn’t a shootout no more. (The defense) played on all cylinders. We played on all cylinders and it was game.” During that stretch, the LHS offense continued to pour on the points, finishing the half with 41 unanswered points. Young broke away on a 54-yard run up the middle to extend Legacy’s lead to 41-21 with 5:49 remaining in the third. On Frenship’s ensuing possession, the Tigers fumbled the ball on a trick play, which was scooped up by Cole Stapleton and returned 29 yards to the Frenship 45. On the next play, Davila went deep to Bishop for a 45-yard TD pass, giving LHS a 49-21 advantage with 3:19 left in the first half. The Rebels weren’t finished, as Davila connected with Christopher Brazzell on an 81-yard TD pass on the offense’s final possession of the half. Legacy went into halftime with a comfortable 55-21 lead after being engaged in a first-quarter battle. The Rebels first-team offense carried its success into the second half, scoring on both of its possessions to take a 68-28 lead. Bishop sprinted away from the Tiger defense on 64-yard run, his fifth score of the game. Follow Christopher on Twitter: @chris_MRTsports LEGACY 68, WOLFFORTH FRENSHIP 28 Frenship 21 0 0 7 -- 28 Legacy 28 27 13 0 -- 68 First Quarter FRE – Chad Pharies 63 run (Jeremiah Adams kick), 10:33 LHS – Donny Bishop 44 pass from Marcos Davila (Gunner Meade kick), 9:14 FRE – Pharies 20 run (Adams kick), 5:12 LHS – Bishop 56 pass from Davila (Meade kick), 3:52 FRE – Kaden Meier 75 pass from Phaires (Adams kick), 3:40 LHS – Makhilyn Young 30 run (Meade kick), 2:49 LHS – Young 4 run (Meade kick), 0:47 Second Quarter LHS – Bishop 24 run (Meade kick), 8:20 LHS – Young 54 run (run failed), 5:49 LHS – Bishop 45 pass from Davila (Young run), 3:19 LHS – Christopher Brazzell 81 pass from Davila (run failed), 0:59 Third Quarter LHS – Addison Akbar 6 run (kick failed), 8:14 LHS – Bishop 64 run (Meade kick), 6:03 Fourth Quarter FRE – Meier 25 interception return (Adams kick), 11:14 FRE LHS First downs 13 28 Rushes-yards 32-162 43-443 Passing yards 231 305 Comp.-Att.-Int. 12-23-0 12-16-1 Punts-Avg. 6-45.0 0-0.0 Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-0 Penalties-Yards 10-137 5-55 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – Frenship, Chad Pharies 18-113, Tai’Ja Smith 11-42, Jermiah Washington 3-7.Legacy, Makhilyn Young 17-180, Donny Bishop 7-122, Marcos Davila 2-44, Mason Daehling 6-42, Aidan Acosta 6-23, Faustino Salazar 3-23, Addison Akbar 1-6, Logan Kinne 1-3. PASSING – Frenship, Pharies 11-21-0—216, Gage Cobb 1-2-0—15. Legacy, Davila 11-14-0—300, Daehling 1-2-1—5. RECEIVING – Frenship, Andrew Braddock 3-78, Kaden Meier 1-75, Sterling Inman 1-30, Gavin Phillips 3-20, Smith 1-15, Brooks Roberson 1-8, Landon Hutcheson 2-5. Legacy, Bishop 4-175, Christopher Brazzell 2-85, Addison Akbar 2-21, Young 2-11, Nate Suttle 1-8, Deonta Sonnier 1-5. INTERCEPTIONS – Frenship, Meier 1-25. Photo of Christopher Hadorn Written By Christopher Hadorn Reach Christopher on Sports reporter for the Midland Reporter-Telegram....

LEGACY WINS EPIC FIVE-SETTER An epic comeback from two games down put Legacy High School in control of the District 2-6A volleyball race. Legacy (26-10 overall) improved to 8-0 in district play and its 27-29, 16-25, 25-21, 25-21, 16-14 victory over Frenship gave the Lady Rebels a two-game lead over Frenship with four games to play. Considering that Legacy has swept Frenship, and Legacy might as well have a three-game lead for all intents and purposes. The Legacy defense came through with five players recording double-digit digs, including 39 from Sydney Leavitt. Marisa Calzada added 20. Christallynn Tate led Legacy with 10 kills, Loredana Fouonji added nine blocks, and Kendall Harrington and Yani Flores combined for 43 assists. "This team is relentless," Legacy coach Rachel Anglin said. "They knew what it required to come back from a 2-0 deficit, and they proved that tonight. Each and every person on this team did their part to win this game tonight. I am beyond proud of the grit they showed." Frenship falls to 20-16 and 6-2. LEGACY DEF. FRENSHIP, 27-29, 16-25, 25-21, 25-21, 16-14 Kills: Tate 10, Harrington 9, Fouonji 8, Tarter 7, McCright 5, Riley 4, Calzada 2, Flores 1, Robinson 1 Digs: Leavitt 39, Calzada 20, Harrington 17, Flores 16, Robinson 15, McCright 7, Fouonji 4, Tarter 3, Riley 3, Tate 1 Blocks: Fouonji 9, Tate 7, McCright 3, Riley 3, Harrington 1 Assists: Harrington 22, Flores 21, Leavitt 2, Calzada 1 Aces: Robinson 1 MHS WINS THRILLER OVER CENTRAL SAN ANGELO -- Midland High sits comfortably in third place in District 2-6A after a five-set victory over San Angelo Central on Friday night. The Lady Bulldogs won 25-17, 25-15, 14-25, 24-26, 15-3 to improve to 5-3 in district and 17-14 overall. Central falls to 3-5 and 13-18. Leading the way for Midland High was Aiyah Clinton with 12 kills and 16 digs. Imani Parker recorded 20 assists and Madison Wade added 15 more. Samantha Bustillos had 25 digs for the Lady Bulldogs. MHS DEF. CENTRAL, 25-17, 25-15, 14-25, 24-26, 15-3 Kills – Clinton 12, Harris 9, Boehler 6, Swisher 5, Day 5, Utter 4, Brittain 2, Johnson 1 Blocks – Boehler 5, Clinton 3, Harris 3, Day 3 Aces – Clinton 3, Wade 1, Bustos 1 Digs – Bustos 25, Clinton 16, Zamora 8, Parker 5, Wade 5, Swisher 3, Harris 2, Boehler 1, Utter 1 Assists – Parker 20, Wade 15, Clinton 3, Bustos 1 DISTRICT 2-6A VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS District Overall W L W L Legacy 8 0 26 10 Frenship 6 2 20 16 Midland 5 3 17 14 SA Central 3 5 13 18 Permian 2 4 25 12 Abilene 2 5 17 17 Odessa 0 7 6 15 Friday’s results Legacy def. Franship, 27-29, 16-25, 25-21, 25-21, 16-14; Midland High def. San Angelo Central, 25-17, 25-15, 14-25, 24-26, 15-3; Odessa High vs. Odessa Permian, late; Abilene High was open Tuesday’s matches Frenship at Midland High; Legacy at Odessa Permian; Abilene High at San Angelo Central; all matches at 6 p.m.; Odessa High is open Photo of Midland Reporter-Telegram Written By Midland Reporter-Telegram Staff reporter for the Midland Reporter-Telegram...