Daily Light announces Ellis County football team

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