Daily Light announces Ellis County football team
Players of the Year will be announced during awards presentation show June 17


The Waxahachie Daily Light is proud to announce its third annual Ellis County High School Sports Awards football team as part of its countywide celebration of high school sports all-stars.
These student-athletes are featured in an all-color graphic on Pages A12 and B3 of this weekend’s paper.
The Daily Light staff began what is now called the Ellis County High School Sports Awards program in 2019. These include awards for individual players and coaches of the year. This year, other awards have been added which are open for voting by the public, including nominations for favorite high school team, the I Am Sport Award honoring those who excel on and off the field, and favorite marching band.
Finalists for superlative awards for football are being announced today; the winners will be announced during the 2021 Ellis County High School Sports Awards presentation show. This star-studded, on-demand broadcast, featuring the biggest names in professional sports and the top student athletes from Ellis County, will premiere Thursday, June 17, at 6 p.m. and will honor the top athletes from 14 high schools within the county.
This year’s Ellis County High School Sports Awards teams will have a slightly different format. Instead of first and second teams, all honorees will be presented equally as members of the Ellis County High School Sports Awards team, and honorable mentions will be listed separately. Also, instead of coach of the year awards for each sport, we will be compiling a list of finalists for overall Coach of the Year awards in the spring that will encompass all sports.
The All-Ellis County football team was chosen based on a combination of criteria: season statistics, team advancement in the playoffs, postseason honors achieved, previous All-Ellis County selections, recommendations from head coaches, and direct observation of players by the Daily Light staff.
Members of the Ellis County High School Sports Awards 2020-2021 Football Team are, listed alphabetically:
Offense
Player of the Year finalists
Collin Drake, Sr., Ennis
Raymond Gay, Sr., Red Oak
Brandon Hawkins, Sr., Waxahachie
Team members
Nate Aguinaga, Sr., Ferris
Riley Angel, Sr., Midlothian
Devion Beasley, Jr., Ennis
Brock Cavender, Jr., Midlothian
Ka’Charo Cook, Jr., Milford
Kain Cooper, Sr., Red Oak
Esteban de Leon, Soph., Ovilla Christian
Collin Drake, Sr., Ennis
Joshua Ervin, Sr., Red Oak
Raymond Gay, Sr., Red Oak
Brandon Hawkins, Sr., Waxahachie
Marshall Hodges, Sr., Midlothian
Coby James, Sr., Mid. Heritage
Clayton Jenkins, Sr., Ennis
Aaron Jett, Jr., Maypearl
La’Kelsey Johnson, Jr., Red Oak
Bralen Lopez, Soph., Palmer
Clyde Melick, Sr., Waxahachie
Zach Sanders, Sr., Red Oak
Jayden Saxon, Jr., Italy
Laylon Spencer, Sr., Ennis
Dorian Strawn, Sr., Ennis
Carson Walker, Sr., Mid. Heritage
Haydon Wiginton, Sr., Mid. Heritage
Honorable mention
Nick Arenare, Sr., Midlothian
Jhonny Arreola, Sr., Palmer
Jaiden Barr, Jr., Italy
De’ago Benson, Soph., Midlothian
Shawn Cherry, Sr., Waxahachie
Nick de los Santos, Sr., Midlothian
Triston Edwards, Jr., Red Oak
Jaxson Emerton, Sr., Maypearl
Bryan Faber, Sr., Avalon
Darius Fuller, Sr., Life Waxahachie
Chris Gillespie, Sr., Life Waxahachie
Damian Gonzalez, Sr., Palmer
Ethan Hill, Sr., Midlothian
De’Ivian Johnson, Jr., Ennis
Jace Martin, Sr., Midlothian
Aidan Matthews, Sr., Maypearl
Latray Miller, Sr., Mid. Heritage
Tanner Nelson, Sr., Maypearl
Tommorrio Pace, Sr., Ennis
Drew Pierce, Sr., Ennis
Daelin Rader, Sr., Mid. Heritage
Nathan Stephens, Sr., Mid. Heritage
Robert Stillman, Sr., Ferris
Dylan Vencill, Sr., Waxahachie
Julian Villasenor, Sr., Palmer
Carter Wilkerson, Sr., Mid. Heritage
Rylan Winingham, Sr., Maypearl
Brendon Winsor, Sr., Ferris
Quinton Wright, Sr., Maypearl
Iverson Young, Soph., Red Oak
Defense
Player of the Year finalists
Jackson Bailey, Sr., Red Oak
Payton Chapman, Sr., Ennis
DeAngelo Freeman, Sr., Mid. Heritage
Team members
Xzavier Augustus, Sr., Red Oak
Jackson Bailey, Sr., Red Oak
Payton Chapman, Sr., Ennis
Shar’Juan Daniels, Sr., Life Waxahachie
Scott Ellis, Sr., Mid. Heritage
DeAngelo Freeman, Sr., Mid. Heritage
Eric Gonzalez, Jr., Ennis
Noah Gray, Sr., Mid. Heritage
Jh’Marques Head, Sr., Waxahachie
Preston Hodge, Sr., Waxahachie
Kort Holley, Sr., Italy
Caden Hubbard, Sr., Ennis
Darius Jackson, Sr., Red Oak
Greg Johnson, Jr., Mid. Heritage
Quincy Johnson, Sr., Waxahachie
Carter Lincoln, Sr., Red Oak
Jacob Lindley, Sr., Midlothian
John Mathis, Sr., Red Oak
Demarcus Rankin, Sr., Ferris
Jace Robinson, Sr., Waxahachie
Heath Roesler, Jr., Maypearl
DeRyous Stokes, Sr., Ennis
Kaleb Tompkins, Sr., Midlothian
Jarveon Williams, Jr., Ennis
Honorable mention
DeMarcus Becks, Jr., Waxahachie
Jaylyn Bennett, Sr., Red Oak
Kaden Brown, Soph., Mid. Heritage
Cody Connell, Sr., Ferris
Gaige Corey, Sr., Palmer
Amarion Craddock, Sr., Red Oak
Ben Eskins, Jr., Mid. Heritage
Jordan Essary, Soph., Milford
Reese Francis, Sr., Ferris
Kanon Gajdica, Jr., Ferris
Alan Garcia, Sr., Ferris
Arturo Gonzalez, Sr., Palmer
Timmy Gracey, Jr., Maypearl
Cameron Green, Sr., Red Oak
Damon Herrera, Sr., Palmer
Xavionte Jackson, Soph., Midlothian
Antonio Lopez, Sr., Ferris
Michael Markgraf, Sr., Ennis
Chase Moffitt, Jr., Ferris
Jack Shackelford, Sr., Ovilla Christian
Tristan Smith, Sr., Avalon
Derwin Sneed, Sr., Mid. Heritage
Devin Steen, Sr., Red Oak
Dacoby Sterling, Sr., Ennis
Cullen Stone, Sr., Mid. Heritage
Brock Stukas, Sr., Ovilla Christian
Stephon Townsend, Sr., Ennis
Jamal Whitman, Sr., Life Waxahachie