Sports

Ennis Tennis, victors of 12 straight district championships, including a first round playoff win against bi-district competition, fell to perennial state power, Longview, 10-6, on Thursday in Corsicana.

Both Ennis varsity cross country teams, boys and girls, finished seventh in this week’s District 14-5A meet. The Lady Lions have battled for ten weeks to reach full-team status and out-pointed the Lions with 204 points, topping their 165.

No. 4 ranked Ennis (6-0, 3-0) grounded a flightless North Forney (1-5, 0-3) team, 42-13, at City Bank Stadium on Friday night to remain in a three-way tie for first with Forney and Royse City in District 8-5A.

Area Big 5 teams enter the final three weeks of the regular season with Italy nearing a district championship while No.

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.