Quarterback’s big night propels Colleyville Heritage past Midlothian in district battle

The Colleyville Heritage Panthers remained unbeaten in the gauntlet known as District 4-5A Division 1 and improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2012 as they handily defeated the previously unbeaten Midlothian Panthers, 45-21, Friday night at Mustang-Panther Stadium.

Heritage quarterback A.J. Smith-Shawver riddled the Midlothian secondary for 406 yards and five touchdown passes. He completed 19 of 27 attempts, helping Heritage (2-0 in district) pile up 468 yards of total offense.

“He’s the best kept secret in Texas,” said Heritage coach Kirk Martin. “He can play anywhere in the country and I truly mean that. I’ve coached a lot of great quarterbacks and somebody’s going to get a great one if they’ll just pay attention.”

Midlothian (3-1, 1-1) nearly took up half the time in the first quarter when it drove the opening kickoff 79 yards in 12 plays. Run-heavy Midlo went to the air for the score when quarterback Nicholas De Los Santos hit Will Blevins from 22 yards out for a 7-0 lead at the 5:38 mark.

That would be the only lead Midlothian would have as Smith-Shawver struck twice in just over a minute.

Heritage’s first snap from scrimmage looked like it might be an interception by Midlothian. But Smith-Shawver threaded the needle to Leon Covington who managed to catch the ball, despite a defender being on his hip, and spin around before he sprinted to the end zone.

An interception by CH’s Dylahn McKinney on Midlothian’s next series set Heritage up at its own 41. It took only two plays this time before Smith-Shawver hit Mason Murdock with a 31-yard scoring pass and Heritage led 14-7 with 4:14 left in the opening quarter.

“We saw how their corners played all week on film and we got great protection up front,” said Smith-Shawver. “Our receivers went out and made plays and I think that we just executed our game plan really well and it worked out for us.”

After Smith-Shawver pushed the lead to 21-7 with a 10-yard TD pass to Isaac Shabay with 9:28 left in the second quarter, Midlothian answered. A 37-yard run by Midlo’s Laine Martin set up a 14-yard scoring rush by Ethan Hill that cut the lead to 21-14, but that’s as close as Midlothian would get.

Braxton Ash darted in from 3 yards out late in the half to give Heritage a 28-14 lead at the intermission.

Midlothian’s offense could never solve the Heritage defense and three lost fumbles and an interception didn’t help. CH gave up some yards, 250 yards on the ground and 351 total, but Midlothian could never capitalize.

Midlo lost the ball on downs three times after long drives in the second half while Smith-Shawver continued his onslaught.

He hit Murdock again with a 62-yard scoring pass and connected with Covington a second time from 57 yards out, the latter giving Heritage a 42-21 lead with 2:43 left in the third quarter.

“When they stack the box you’ve got to throw it,” said Martin, whose team had 34 yards rushing on 14 carries. “They were taking away the run really well so we had to throw it. A.J. did a really good job, escaped some pressure at times, and kept his eyes down field and delivered some strikes.”

The receiving duo had tremendous nights with Covington picking up 173 yards on four receptions and Murdock adding 147 more on five catches.

“This win puts us in the driver’s seat in our district,” said Smith-Shawver. “We’re going to hold on to this one for 24 hours and then we have to work on Red Oak for next week.”

De Los Santos had a tough night against the Heritage defense with 20 carries for 30 yards and 8 of 17 passing for 101.

“This win was huge,” said Martin. “That’s a really good football team and any time you’re playing the triple option you have to be disciplined defensively. They’re big and physical and very well coached, but our kids were up for the challenge and I’m really proud of them.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 12:23 AM.