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Sports

They Came Back for More

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Mark Warde
 

Warde’s Wheelhouse

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Known as the king of beasts, the Panthera Leo typically inhabits plains, grasslands and forests, though some dwell in high altitudes. An apex or keystone predator, the lion is second in size to the tiger, but is considered the best in battle, as they fight in a pride whereas the Panthera Tigris is solitary.

The Ennis Lions have climbed up into the rarefied air where they will soon encounter the Aledo Bearcats on Friday at The Star. Hall of Fame Head Coach Sam Harrell will be making his sixth trip to the state quarterfinals, where only eight teams remain.

Taking on No. 1

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Mark Warde
Facing their tallest order of the season, upstart Ennis returns to The Star in Frisco on Friday, Dec. 6, for a quarterfinal clash with No. 1 ranked Aledo. Both teams are 12-1 and riding long winning streaks.
The teams have met a few times before, though the most recent occurred in the 2013 state semifinals in Midlothian. Both were 14-0 at the time when Aledo broke a scoreless halftime tie in what became a 29-6 win.

Update on MLB Chapman

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Starting Middle Linebacker Payton Chapman (22) was carted off the field last Friday with 8:55 to go in the game, but not before a boisterous prayer prompted his "L" hand sign and a smile from Team Chaplain, Todd Gray.
 

Big plays, blocked punt, ends Gladiators season

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Valley View (10-2) scored on a blocked punt to break open a tight game in the second quarter and went on to oust Italy, 41-20, in the area round of the Class 2A playoffs. The game was played at Rough Rider Stadium in Saginaw.

The Gladiators, who defeated Valley Mills, 47-23, in a bi-district playoff the previous week, finished at 8-4, doubling their win total from a year ago (4-6). Valley View, 21 miles north of Denton, advanced to meet Crawford (9-3) on Nov. 29 at Pennington Stadium (cap. 12,500) in Bedford. Crawford upset Honey Grove (10-2) last week, 35-18.

THE EYES HAVE IT

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Ennis (12-1) snuffed out the starry-eyed Frisco Raccoons in a 17-0 verdict at the Ford Center at The Star on Friday. They will now take on the Aledo-vs-Red Oak victor next Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2:30 p.m., also at The Star. The Class 5A playoff field of 64 teams will be reduced to just 8 after the last of eight regional games are finished on Saturday night.

Ennis hoopsters getting warmed up

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Rebuilding is seldom fun, and reloading has its share of bumbling exchanges in a bid to finding rythym. So it is in the early weeks of basketball at Ennis High School.

The Lady Lions are off to a 1-6 start, though HC David Kilpatrick is enjoying the selfless attitude of a new cast of players. Boys HC Roynal Bridgeforth has the Lions at 0-3, but is not worried as their roster remains in transition.

Hawks take to the air, soar past Braswell

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Feeling light years since their doormat days, No. 7 ranked Red Oak (11-1) continued their ascension with a 35-30 triumph over Denton Braswell (9-3). The bi-district win was played at AT&T Stadium.

The Maroon Wings, the top-ranked team in Ellis County, began the playoffs the week before with a resounding 55-24 rout of Tarrant County’s Everman.

Round 3 – A Tale of Tails

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Mark Warde

mark@ennisdailynews.com

Two rounds down, Ennis (11-1) has now reached the Sweet Sixteen in the Class 5A state playoffs. What separates them from a date with the winner between No. 1 Aledo (11-1) and No. 7 Red Oak (11-1) is an area clash with District 7 champion Frisco (11-1) on Friday at The Star in Frisco. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Originally scheduled for Memorial Stadium in Mesquite, the site was changed on Monday morning due to the impending threat of thunderstorms.

Fire Drake compares favorably over Frisco’s Green

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Mark Warde

mark@ennisdailynews.com

Friday the difference between Ennis and Centennial was likely the leadership and playmaking the Lions received from junior quarterback Collin Drake, who delivered much better than the Spartans’ Phillip Hamilton, a freshman.

This week Drake will go against Caree Green, a junior right-hander at Frisco.