Legacy dominates Crowley in first game after top player’s season-ending injury
Life after Jalen Catalon won’t be easy for Mansfield Legacy.
The 4-star safety is a once-in-a-lifetime type of player.
Catalon injured his left knee in Week 1 against Jenks, Okla., and finished the game on the sideline with crutches. He announced he was going to miss the rest of his senior season on Wednesday.
But the Broncos will “endure this,” according to head coach Chris Melson.
Legacy (1-1) looked like the team that made the state semifinals last year following a 39-7 victory over Crowley in its home opener on Thursday night at Newsom Stadium.
Catalon’s successor, 6-foot senior Cam Clark, threw a 72-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the game to Ife Adeyi. He finished with 167 yards passing.
Clark played last year and accounted for 400 yards and seven touchdowns.
“I think Jalen is arguably the best player in the state,” Melson said before Thursday’s game. “Our team is going to come out fighting and get better each week.”
Catalon wasn’t at the game. He had surgery Thursday morning.
“It’s a big blow to have him miss the rest of the season,”Melson said.
Running back Kaleb King had a big night on the ground with 24 carries for 202 yards and three touchdowns. He scored on runs of 1, 9 and 34 yards.
“We’re going to have to step up,” Melson said.
King scored from the 1 on Legacy’s third drive. The touchdown was set up on a 41-yard pass from Clark to Adeyi, who finished with five catches, 148 yards and one TD.
Adeyi added field goals of 28 and 30 yards to put the Broncos up 19-0 at the half.
King scored his second and third TDs in the third quarter,and back-up QB Andrew Smith ran in a 10-yard TD to make it 39-0 in the fourth.
“We have a lot of kids that have put in the time and commitment toward this season,” Melson said.
Crowley (1-1) scored with 3:48 left on Jordyn Carden’s 40-yard TD run, but the Eagles finished with 175 yards of total offense. They were 2-of-15 on third down and punted 11 times.
“It’s just the beginning. Our goal is to get better each week, get in the playoffs and win one game at a time,” Melson said.
Catalon was district MVP in 2017, and 5A all-state defensive player of the year in 2016.
He made 276 tackles the past two years with 13 for loss, 10 pass deflections, four forced fumbles, five recoveries and 12 interceptions. He accounted for 2,234 yards and 28 TDs last season for the Broncos, who had their deepest playoff run ever, to the state semifinals.
“He played both ways for us and took us to the semifinals last year and was ready to do it again this season,” Melson said. “He made a huge impact on our program as a person and player. It affected all of us and made us better every day.
“Jalen will be an encourager for his teammates. He’s going to come out and support them, give them confidence and love them, and that’s going to help us out a lot.”
Catalon holds 23 offers from TCU, Texas, Oklahoma, Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama, Arkansas and more. He’s projected to commit with Texas, per 247Sports.
He’s ranked as the No. 12 safety in the nation and No. 25 overall prospect in the state.