Midlothian Heritage wins football opener as regular season starts during pandemic
High school football enthusiasts are happy the sport is being played - even during the coronavirus pandemic.
To some, the 2020 opener seemed to be in jeopardy all summer long, but with a few modifications, Midlothian Heritage was able to kick off against Wichita Falls Hirschi on Friday night at Midlothian ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium.
Schools in UIL 4A and below got to start on time while 5A, 6A and TAPPS won’t play games until late September.
Despite a topsy-turvy offseason plagued by COVID-19, Heritage started the season with a win, 42-14, behind the play from new starting quarterback Daelin Rader.
“Great night and just a blessing to be able to play this game,” said Heritage coach Lee Wiginton. “So much stuff going on and it’s a blessing to have so much people working to make this happen.”
MISD Stadium allowed the statewide maximum of 50% capacity and only sold tickets online. It maxed out the home side to 2,750 tickets. Just under 1,500 home fans showed up and a total of 1,700 tickets were sold.
Seats were taped off and families sat apart to practice social distancing.
People wore masks while walking in and out of the stadium, and around the concourse, but a large number of people took off their masks while watching the game from their seat.
Band members and cheerleaders sat in the stands and were more than six feet apart, and wore masks throughout the night. The game was also streamed live, which was allowed by the UIL for the first time.
“We love our crowd, we love our fans, but I didn’t really notice [how less crowded it was],” Wiginton said. “This is the first year the game can be televised live so we have our fans who can’t come to the game, watching, so it felt like we were still playing in front of 100,000.”
The Jaguars (1-0), who are No. 12 in Dave Campbell’s 4A Division 1 state rankings, opened the game with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Rader to Haydon Wiginton - capping off a 6-play 40-yard drive.
Carter Wilkerson returned the kickoff 62 yards to help set up Heritage.
Two Hirschi (0-1) miscues helped the Jaguars extend the lead to 28-6 with 4:08 left in the second quarter. Derwin Sneed blocked a Huskies’ punt and Rader scored on a 2-yard run that made it 14-0.
Rader connected with Wilkerson on a 69-yard TD pass to push Heritage to a 21-6 advantage and Cullen Stone scored from the 1 following a Hirschi fumble.
“Instead of driving 80 yards, we can go 20 yards or five yards,” Rader said. “It makes it easier for the offense and we can just go on and win the game.”
One of the lone bright spots in Hirschi’s night came from sophomore running back A’Marion Peterson, who paced the Huskies in the first half with two rushing TDs.
Peterson scored from 58 and 25 yards to cut the Heritage lead to 28-14 just before halftime.
Stone scored from the 1 midway through the third quarter for a 35-14 lead as Heritage gained 440 yards of total offense and held the Huskies to 269 yards.
Rader threw for 219 yards on 17 of 25 passing and accounted for four TDs. He added a 7-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars, who host Lindale on Sept. 4, rushed for 225 yards. Stone led the way with 121 yards. Wiginton made 10 catches for 106 yards.
“We worked hard throughout the whole offseason, not just me, but the whole team,” Rader said. “I put up some good numbers and I still need to fix some things, but overall it was a great day.”
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 10:42 PM.
