Colleyville Heritage falls short against Argyle in district clash

Quarterback Bodey Weaver threw for 377 yards and accounted for all five touchdowns — four passing and one rushing — but it was not nearly enough as the Colleyville Heritage Panthers were overwhelmed by the Argyle Eagles, 58-35, in a District 3-5A Division II clash Friday at Mustang-Panther Stadium.

“We just could not get a stop defensively,” said Colleyville Heritage head coach Jerry Edwards. “Give credit to Argyle. They are a great team and they played a great game.”

With Argyle’s offense in high gear, that necessitated Heritage going for it on fourth down six times -- including four in the first half -- converting three of those, two of which led to TDs in the opening half.

“I felt we needed to do that just to try and keep pace,” said Edwards.

Weaver was a gunslinger throughout the contest, completing 38 of 51 passes but suffered a pair of second-half interceptions. In the opening half, Weaver was 25 of 30 for 257 yards and three scores.

“Bodey did a tremendous job trying to keep us in the game,” added Edwards. “But Argyle was just too much for us tonight.”

Both offenses were explosive in the first half.

A pair of one-yard TD runs by Argyle quarterback Maguire Gasperson and running back Logan Rexcoat staked the Eagles to an early 14-0 lead.

The remainder of the first half, Weaver (a UTEP pledge) connected on TD tosses of 30 yards to Gabriel Bess, 17 yards to Lucas Sunwall and a two-yarder to Blake Wendler.

Meanwhile, Argyle got a TD runs of 19 and four-yard by Nathaniel Bruce, and a 30-yard Carter Stebbins field goal, as Heritage trailed, 31-21, at intermission.

And the margin could have been even closer.

The Panthers managed to force Argyle to punt, for the first time in the opening half, and regained possession at its own 39 with 1:29 left before the break.

With six ticks left and facing a third-and-one at the Argyle 21, the Panthers opted to take another shot. Weaver found Trevi Preische down the middle, but he was stopped at the three-yard line. With no timeouts left, Heritage quickly tried to lineup, but the whistle blew before it could get off another play.

It seemed Heritage established momentum coming out of halftime when Weaver capped a nine-play 62-yard drive with a nine-yard TD pass to Connor Souphankhaisy that narrowed the deficit to 31-28.

That would be as close as the Panthers would come the rest of the way. Argyle resumed control on its next offensive series as Gasperson tossed a nine-yard TD pass to junior Julian Caldwell that culminated a six-play 56-yard march taking just 1:37 off the clock.

The next three possessions -- two by Heritage and one by Argyle -- ended in punts.

On the first play of the final period, Bruce rambled in for a four-yard TD for the Eagles.

Heritage did not quit. Weaver needed just 42 seconds to march 42 yards in three plays, scoring on a 30-yard keeper that left Heritage trailing 45-35 with 11:05 left.

Again, Argyle answered. The Gasperson-to-Caldwell combo struck again on a 50-yard TD pass. However, with the missed PAT, that left the margin at a two score contest.

On the ensuing Heritage series, Bruce -- one of the best two-way players in the state -- sealed the Panthers fate with a 59-yard TD interception return, preventing any hopes of a Heritage rally.

Weaver also led Heritage in rushing, accumulating 71 yards on 16 carries. Eight different Panthers hauled in receptions for the Panthers. Souphankhaisy had a game-high 112 yards on nine catches, Sunwall 88 yards on seven grabs, and Preische 68 yards on six receptions.

Heritage was seeking to bounce back from a heartbreaking 43-42 loss to Mansfield Timberview a week ago, a game in which Weaver accounted for all six Heritage touchdowns -- three passing and three rushing.

Colleyville Heritage was district runner-up to Argyle last season, with its lone league setback the loss to the Eagles. Weaver accounted for three TDs in that game -- two passing and one rushing in racking up 270 yards total offense.

Argyle was coming off a bye week and was led by Gasperson, who totaled 230 passing yards (13 of 20 and two TDs with no interceptions) and ran for another score.

Bruce recorded 95 rushing yards on just eight carries and three TDs, plus another score on the interception return.

Logan Rexroat registered a game-high 156 rushing yards on 18 carries, as Argyle amassed 292 yards on the ground.

Caldwell, the No. 26 state prospect in the 2027 class by 247Sports, had 71 receiving yards on four grabs and the two TDs. Teammate Micah De Leon had a team-leading 107 receiving yards on six catches.

Argyle earned its 27th straight district win, dating back to a 21-0 loss to Melissa on Oct. 1, 2021, which snapped a 61-game regular-season win streak from 2015 to 2021.

Colleyville Heritage (2-3, 1-2) enters its bye week before visiting district opponent Everman Friday Oct. 10th with kickoff slated for 7 pm.

“We will use this bye week to clean some things up,” said coach Edwards. “There is still a lot of football left to be played and we will get ready.”

Each district win is crucial in a highly-competitive 4-5A. Colleyville Heritage, Mansfield Summit, Mansfield Timberview and Arlington Seguin are four very good teams vying for the other three post-season berths.

Currently, Argyle, Summit, and Seguin are unbeaten in district play. Timberview has one league loss, while Heritage has two district setbacks.

Last season, a three-way tiebreaker was used to determine the final two district playoff spots, with Summit coming out on the short-end and missing the post-season.

Argyle (3-1, 2-0) will host district foe Everman Friday Oct. 3 with a 7 p.m. scheduled kickoff.