Fort Worth South Hills receiver earns rare All-America honor
Fort Worth South Hills is 9-0, tied for most wins in a season in school history, and can clinch the District 7-5A championship outright on Thursday against Wyatt.
The Scorpions will enter the 5A Division I playoffs as a No. 1 seed, so can this week get any better?
Sure did on Monday when senior receiver Tylan Wallace was presented with his Under Armour/ESPN All-American jersey at the school’s auditorium.
Wallace, an Oklahoma State commit, joins 2013 Southwest graduate Robbie Rhodes as the only players to be named All-Americans from Fort Worth ISD.
“South Hills has never had an All-American and Fort Worth ISD has only had one so you’re talking about hundreds and thousands of students over the course since they’ve been doing it,” coach J.J. Resendez said. “It’s incredible.”
The 10th annual Under Armour All-American Football Game, featuring the nation’s best senior high school football players, will be played in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 1 and broadcast live on ESPN.
“This is a real blessing for anyone to receive this award — to know you’re one of the top players in the country, it’s an honor,” Wallace said.
Resendez talked about the first time he saw Wallace, and knew off the bat that he was going to be special.
“You set a high ceiling and try to see the potential in kids and when I saw him in the sixth grade, I knew he was a special athlete,” Resendez said. “Just to be here and to be mentioned with the best in the state, it’s through hard work. He’s got God-given ability, but he works his tail off too so he’s done a great job.”
Butkus Award
Kennedale senior linebacker Baron Browning is one of 12 semifinalists for the 32nd annual Butkus Award for the best high school linebacker in the country.
Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson, who won the award at Mesquite Poteet in 2014, is a semifinalist among college athletes.
Finalists in both divisions will be announced Nov. 21, and winners will be announced on or before Dec. 6.
SPC Finals
Fort Worth Country Day and Fort Worth All Saints can win Southwest Preparatory Conference championships on Friday.
Country Day (8-1) takes on Irving Cistercian (8-2) in the 3A title game at 7 p.m. at McNair Field at All Saints School. In 4A, All Saints (7-2) plays Bellaire Episcopal (9-1) at 7 p.m. at Vandegrift High School in Austin.
The Country Day Falcons, who are 9-0 in state title games and making their return for the first time since 2010, defeated Cistercian 34-25 on Sept. 23. Quarterback Brad Chilcoat rushed for 109 yards and three touchdowns.
All Saints, which looks for its first state championship since 2013, is also in a rematch against Episcopal. All Saints won 44-34 on Oct. 21 as quarterback Shaun Taylor threw for 264 yards and a touchdown.
Playoff matchups
The final regular-season games are here, but a few area teams knew their playoff fate last week.
Mansfield (7-2, 6-0) has wrapped up the outright 4-6A title and will host a 6A Division II game, likely at Newsom Stadium, against Keller Fossil Ridge (6-3, 3-2 in 3-6A). Dates and times are to be determined.
Southlake Carroll (8-1, 6-0 5-6A) also will host a playoff game for the second consecutive year, taking on Wylie (5-4, 4-2 6-6A) at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11 at Dragon Stadium.
In Class 5A, Justin Northwest (8-1, 5-1 6-5A) is a No. 1 seed in Division I, but has to travel to Denton to take on the Broncos (8-1, 4-1 5-5A) at 7 p.m. Nov. 11.
Grapevine (8-1, 5-1 8-5A) is a No. 1 seed in Division II and will play Fort Worth Southwest (5-4, 3-3 7-5A) at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 at Pennington Field.
This story was originally published October 31, 2016 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Fort Worth South Hills receiver earns rare All-America honor."