The Rebels went 1-4 during the stretch of tough games, which included a 61-0 loss to No. 9-ranked Allen, a 62-45 loss to No. 25 Euless Trinity, a 41-20 defeat to No. 7 Lake Travis and a 38-6 loss to Ruston, the No. 1-ranked team in Louisiana.
LHS gave Lake Travis a tough game, trailing 21-20 at halftime, but it lost starting senior quarterback Jaden Rogers to a season-ending knee injury just before the half.
The following week sophomore quarterback JP Reyes threw for a school-record 422 yards in Legacy’s 62-42 win over Abilene High.
Last week the Rebels were plagued by early turnovers during a loss to Ruston, which has won 18 straight games and is coming off a 2023 state championship.
Legacy now turns its attention to the start of District 2-6A play as it hosts San Angelo Central (3-2) at 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at Astound Broadband Stadium.
“I feel good where we’re at,” Rebels head coach Clint Hartman said. “The teams that we played are on purpose.”
“In the long run, I think everything has happened for a reason because I could care less about the non-district,” Hartman added. “It’s all about getting prepared for district and then if you win enough games then hopefully it prepares you when you start seeing speed (in the playoffs).”
One of the in-season adjustments LHS made was switching its defense from the 4-2-5 back to the 3-4 after its loss to Trinity.
The Rebels had run the 4-2-5 defense since the start of the 2022 season but went back to the 3-4 defensive scheme they used from 2016-21 under Hartman.
“We still run the 3-4 in the middle schools for a reason,” Hartman said. “The last three years we’ve run the four-man up here, the even front and down there we ran the 3-4. People always asked, why do you do that? Just in case. We’ve always been able to go back to it. You know what you did in seventh and eighth grade? That’s what we are going to do.”
LHS spent much of non-district moving players around to get them in the right spots.
Nic Moore and Masseye Diop, two track and field standouts, were moved from receiver to cornerback before the Lake Travis game.
“The things like we’ve done like moving Nic Moore and Masseye Diop to corner to get some speed out there is going to be the best for the long run,” Hartman said. “So, a lot of those guys haven’t had a whole bunch of reps of learning stuff, so I think the open week has been really good for us to kind of slow down and we do a lot of character development, but we also can slow down and really work on just technique instead of getting ready. You’re always getting ready for a game.”
The Rebels also moved junior Oli Oladiran from cornerback to safety to pair with junior safety Trey Jefferson. Weldon Cooks is also part of the LHS cornerback mix.
“When you end up putting together the secondary, they’re going to end up being the best one we ever had here,” Hartman said. “When you put them all together.”
DJ Brock, who began the year on the Rebels’ four-man front, was moved to linebacker where he currently ranks as the team’s leading tackler (45 stops).
Even with the move of Brock, Hartman says the defensive line is deep as they have four experienced players with Brylon Zeno, Terry Ojopagogo, Drew Nisius and Jason Williams that can rotate amongst the three spots.
Hartman feels the Rebels, with the adjustments they’ve made, are ready to take on the challenge of district as they are in the hunt for a share of their seventh straight district title.
“I feel really good where we’re at,” Hartman said. “Everyone wants to talk about finding a way to win district championships, I just want to be 1-0. 1-0, and then you figure the next one out. Our whole focus around here is on San Angelo.”
REBEL YELLS
– All-time school receptions leader Aiden Serrano leads the Rebels with 25 catches, 431 receiving yards and six receiving TDs this year.
Kayden Iglesias ranks second with 13 receptions, 220 yards and two receiving TDs.
LHS head coach Clint Hartman says the staff needs to figure out to spread the ball around more as Cisco Rodriguez and Caden Ellis are two capable junior receivers who haven’t gotten enough touches.
–Hartman says senior running back Andrew Hodge, who hadn’t carried the ball since the Lake Travis game on Sept. 13 due to a shoulder injury, has returned to practice this week. Hodge has rushed 19 times for 122 yards and two TDs this season.
–Senior linebacker DJ Brock led the Rebels with 13 total tackles against Ruston. Senior safety Cole Neatherlin had a team-high three tackles for loss.
LHS MVPs
Offense
Aiden Serrano, Sr., WR
Serrano had four catches for 60 yards and had six rushing attempts for 39 yards and a TD in the Rebels’ 38-6 loss to Ruston (La.) in Arlington.
Defense
Brylon Zeno, Sr., DE
Zeno had ni... Click here to read full article
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