This high school quarterback went from backup to starter to award nominee

Esteban Larranaga rose from a B to an A this football season for the Euless Trinity Trojans.

On the field, that is. He was already an A student in the classroom, as evidenced by his being a semifinalist among the Scholar Athlete nominees for Thursday’s sixth annual 1st Down Club of Dallas-Fort Worth Awards Banquet at the Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts. The event starts at 7 p.m.

The awards recognize the top football players, both athletically and academically, from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, south to Waco and north to Wichita Falls. They honor players with scholarships for a high level of play on the field, success in the classroom and positive community involvement.

Several from Northeast Tarrant County are up for honors that evening, including Larranaga’s coach, Trinity’s Chris Jensen, for Coach of the Year. Other area semifinalists include:

▪  Southlake Carroll senior outside linebacker Ryan Thompson, Defensive MVP.

▪  Southlake Carroll senior guard Matthew Leehan, Offensive MVP.

▪  Southlake Carroll senior outside linebacker/fullback Jacob Doddridge, Scholar Athlete.

▪  Grapevine senior quarterback Alan Bowman, a Texas Tech commit, for Offensive MVP.

▪  Colleyville Heritage senior wide receiver Jackson Anderson, Scholar Athlete.

“He started this season as our B-team quarterback and then won, what, six in a row,” Jensen said of Larranaga, who was also a B-team quarterback in previous seasons.

“He did his job. He drove the bus. Then, when Laki (Ellis) comes back, he steps aside graciously. He is the epitome of what a Trinity football player is, team first.”

As for his own honor, Jensen said, “When I saw who does the nominating, I was truly flattered, namely I’ve lost to most of them at least once.”

Jensen was an assistant at Trinity from 2000-2014 before taking over as head coach in 2015 following the retirement of Steve Lineweaver. This season he led the Trojans to an 11-3 record and a berth in the Class 6A Division I state quarterfinals.

Ryan, Leehan and Doddridge helped Carroll to a 10-4 record and a spot in the Class 6A Division II state quarterfinals. Bowman led Grapevine (9-3) to the second round of the Class 5A Division II playoffs, and Jackson and Heritage (11-2) advanced to the third round in Class 5A Division I.

Jensen also paid homage to the late former Arlington Lamar coach Eddy Peach, who passed away recently. Peach was on the selection committee for the Coach of the Year, as was former Carroll coach Bob Ledbetter.

“I didn’t know Eddy Peach personally, but we learned a lot of football from him,” Jensen said. “They eliminated us three of our first five years here at Trinity.

“I got to hear Eddy speak at his Hall of Fame induction. It was very special, especially alongside Coach Lineweaver.”

Peach and Lineweaver were named inductees in 2017 to the Texas High School Hall of Fame.

Southlake Carroll head coach Hal Wasson was on the player selection committee. In 2012, Kenny Hill of Southlake Carroll and TCU was named the 2012 in the awards’ inaugural season.

Other player nominees include Gage Campbell, Argyle; Tkai Lloyd, Allen; Brock Sturges, Allen; Jaxon Player, Waco Midway; Bumper Pool, Lovejoy; James Williams, Aledo; Tucker Horn, Graham; John Stephen Jones, Dallas Highland Park; Brady McBride, Coppell; Tanner Mordecai, Waco Midway; Spencer Sanders, Denton Ryan; Spencer Trussell, Arlington Martin; D’Montae Davis, Arlington; Dreylan Hines, Mansfield Summit; Cam Jones, Mansfield; Grant Johnson, Mansfield Legacy; and Jalen Knox, Mansfield Timberview.

Additional academic nominees include Chase Bell, Fort Worth Paschal; Lane Ferguson, Saginaw; Grayson Jarvis, Aledo; Cale Nanny, Argyle; R. Mason Ward, Keller; and Jarrett Skaggs, Mansfield.

Also up for Coach of the Year are John Abendschan, Boswell; Brady Carner, Muenster; Kenny Davidson, Graham; Jeff Miller, Rockdale; Chris Melson, Mansfield Legacy; and Greg Winder, Stephenville.

This story was originally published January 17, 2018 at 2:59 PM with the headline "This high school quarterback went from backup to starter to award nominee."