Consistent Colleyville Heritage football aims for longer playoff run

For nearly 20 years, Colleyville Heritage has been in the Texas high school football playoffs.

Last season the Panthers went 8-3, the runner-up in District 3-5A Division II, and lost their playoff opener in to an Anna squad that won a state title the year before.

The Panthers enter their third season under coach Jerry Edwards and will look to continue their winning ways.

With 13 starters back, including eight on offense, could this be the year Colleyville Heritage makes another deep run in the postseason?

The Panthers have made the playoffs 19 straight years and 21 times since 2000. The playoff streak started in 2006, with a run to the quarterfinals. Since then, Heritage has made it that far four other times (2016, 2019, 2021 and 2023).

The Panthers went 7-1 in district last season, losing only to league champion Argyle.

“Historically, Colleyville is one of the more tradition-rich football programs around here that probably kind of gets overlooked every now and then,” Edwards said. “I think our name does come up when you talk about Region 1 contenders, but you know, we want to be at the top of the list and not toward the bottom of that list.

“But Region 1 is stacked. When you think about just our district [3-5A Division II], you have the two Mansfield [schools, Summit and Timberview], Argyle and us — we are probably perceived as the top four teams. Then you look at the first round and you either get Melissa, Lovejoy, Emerson, Walnut Grove or Anna. The regional winner will come out of the first-round matchups. There’s no question. If you can get past round one, you’ve got a chance to play for a while.”

The offense will be led by UTEP pledge Bodey Weaver, who threw for 1,790 yards — completing 57% of his throws — for 19 touchdowns last season. Weaver, the Star-Telegram’s No. 5 quarterback to watch, had six rushing touchdowns and has the potential to be a strong dual threat QB.

“He’s elevated to a new level and had a tremendous offseason,” Edwards said. “He looked really good spinning the football.”

Weaver will have some key pieces back to distribute the ball to.

Tight end Blake Wendler, running back Jerrod Wiley Jr. and wide receiver Sameer Johnson were all first- or second-team all-district picks last season. Wendler, who had 10 catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns last year, is expected to be a hybrid tight end-fullback.

Wiley ran for a team-high 647 yards last year and five touchdowns. His best game was a 12-carry, 102-yard effort in the 42-35 loss to Argyle.

Johnson, a sophomore, is the team’s top returning receiver in terms of catches (21), yards (302) and touchdowns (four) from 2024. He got a bigger role in the offense last year when receiver Braden Blueitt, now at Northwestern, got hurt in Week 4.

Despite playing only four games, Blueitt tied for the team lead with four touchdown catches and was second in yards with 420.

“We weren’t as explosive last year without [Blueitt],” Edwards said. “This year, we got four or five guys we feel that give us a good opportunity to spread the ball around.”

Some of those guys will be seniors Connor Souphankhaisy and Kash McMahan, and also sophomore receiver Dez Bryant Jr.

Before taking his first varsity start, the son of the former Cowboys star has offers from Texas A&M and Sacramento State.

“We have a good mix of everything,” Edwards said. “We got speedier guys, and we got slot-type guys.”

Perhaps the biggest question will be the offensive line. Three players graduated and another transferred. The only player back is senior Wes Dallao-Kubik, another UTEP pledge. Junior Chandler Sampson got some playing time late last year and will fill one of the four vacancies on the line, Edwards said.

This summer, the Panthers qualified for the 7-on-7 tournament in College Station and made it to the round of 16 in Division I before losing to Katy Jordan.

The tournament provided a good learning experience for a defense that lost six starters, including four who were all-district last year.

Senior defensive end De’Marius Logan had 62 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 6 1/2 sacks, 37 QB hurries, three forced fumbles, two blocked field goals and an interception last year. Senior linebacker Dax Hebeisen had 77 tackles, tops among the returning players, and added two interceptions.

On the back end of the defense, senior all-district cornerback Hayden West, a UTSA commit, returns after making a team-high five interceptions in only nine games, with 29 tackles.

Senior defensive tackle Nehemiah Olayiwola (29 tackles, two sacks), junior defensive back Chase Gibson (22 tackles, 10 pass breakups), senior linebacker Joey Nisbet (12 tackles, one interception) and sophomore defensive lineman Isaiah Omar (11 tackles) will have larger roles this fall.

“I think going into your third year, I think the kids kind of know the routine,” Edwards said. “They’ve been part of the program. They’ve gone through a couple of offseasons. You know, it gives you an opportunity to solidify your staff and make sure that all the right pieces are in place to be successful long-term.”

Colleyville Heritage starts its season Aug. 29 at Red Oak.