Sports

Opening the season at No. 7 in the state-recognized Dave Campbell’s Texas Football rankings, Ennis has moved up twice, to No. 6, and two weeks ago to the present No. 4 spot.

A young Ennis Cross Country team held its own during this week’s 28-team Ken Gaston Invitational in Grand Prairie. The varsity boys finished 14th in a field of Class 5A and 6A schools, led by their top two harriers.

No. 32 ranked Italy and No. 14 Blum entered October tied in District 15-2A without suffering a league loss so far. That surely changed on Friday night, Oct. 1, when the Lady Gladiators traveled 40 miles southwest to Blum.

Sailing along with 14-wins-in-15 outings, HC Kyla Menefee and No. 27 ranked Ferris ran into a volleyball buzzsaw. The Lady Jackets went down in straight sets to both No.

Senior linebacker Brayden Gardner, No. 40, is 5’7, 185 pounds. He turned in his best, big-play performance on Sept. 24 against Sulphur Springs. In fact, when he recorded a safety just minutes into the game, it set the pace for an Ennis defense that rolled up a 44-0 lead.

Clawing their way into contention, Palmer is currently on the outside-looking-in as one of three fifth place teams vying for a Top 4 finish and a spot in the post-season.

University Interscholastic League district alignments have Class 1A Avalon placed in District 15-2A, where competition can be challenging. The Lady Eagles, however, have proven themselves tough against both classes.

After opening District 14-5A play with three straight sweep-defeats, Ennis bounced back with one of their own in a 3-0 home triumph over Corsicana on Sept. 24.

Senior linebacker Brayden Gardener opened the game with a safety and added another score to start the second quarter to propel No. 4 ranked Ennis (5-0) to a 47-14 pasting of still winless Sulphur Springs (0-5).