2023 West Texas Preview: Midland Legacy Rebels
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<p><strong>Midland Legacy 2023 Preview</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Head Coach</strong>: Clint Hartman </p>
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<p><strong>Mascot</strong>: Rebels </p>
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<p><strong>Twitter</strong>: @Hartman3Clint; @RebelBooster; @marcosdavila05; @BarrientesLuca5</p>
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<p><strong>Colors</strong>: Maroon and Gray </p>
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<p><strong>2022 Record</strong>: 7-5 </p>
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<p><strong>Overview</strong>: Since 2017, Clint Hartman's second season as Rebels head coach, Midland Legacy has shared or won outright five consecutive district championships and compiled an impressive overall record of 56-17. With a Power 5 caliber quarterback, elite offensive talent around him, a stout, star-studded defense and a large number of returning starters, the winning should continue for MHS this season. But now the Rebels want to make a deep run in the 6A playoffs.</p>
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<p>In order to accomplish that goal, of course, you typically need an elite quarterback. Midland Legacy certainly has one in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='119032' first='Marcos' last='Davila']</strong>, a 6-foot-3, 225 pounder who's committed to Purdue. Davila threw for 3,052 yards and 36 TD as a junior last season. Junior <strong>Jaden Rogers</strong> is the backup. Led by Davila, the Rebels amassed over 5,500 total offensive yards in 2022. At running back, Midland Legacy must replace workhorse Ezequiel Luna, who carried the football a staggering 267 times for 1,634 yards and 18 TD last season. Who replaces him? TBD.</p>
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<p><strong>Damien Johnson</strong>, who played defensive back in 2022, will get a look along with <strong>Tommy Johnson</strong> III (46 carries for 295 yards last season) and <strong>Madden Malloy</strong> (54 carries for 275 yards last season). The Rebels return most of their top receivers from 2022, including leading pass catcher <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='593574' first='Aiden' last='Serrano']</strong> (team-high 53 receptions in 2022), who will be a junior. He played chiefly slot receiver last season but could line up both inside and outside in 2023 as a way to avoid opposing defenses from double teaming him. The talented Serrano could even play some running back as well.</p>
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<p><strong>Colin Brazzell</strong> (25 receptions for 323 yards last season; offered by FCS Austin Peay), <strong>Skylar Wilburn</strong> (22 receptions for 390 yards) and <strong>Brex Stevens</strong> (18 receptions for 444 yards) are back as well. Stevens enjoyed a tremendous spring and should again stretch opposing defenses after averaging close to 25 yards per reception in 2022. Six-foot-3, 225-pound tight end <strong>Jordan Williams</strong>, the son of former Texas great Roy Williams, will also contribute to the passing game. Williams suffered an ACL injury as a sophomore and is finally fully healthy. North Texas and Texas State have offered.</p>
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<p>Returning starters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='595871' first='Lucas' last='Barrientes']</strong> (6-3, 275) and <strong>Cade Decker</strong> (6-3, 250) anchor the offensive line. Both are D1 prospects. Barrientes holds a PWO offer from Texas Tech and scholarship offer from West Texas A&M. Decker is also a track & field standout and has a SEC offer to throw the shotput and discus. The other three OL spots will see some intense competition during preseason camp.</p>
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<p>Defensively, Midland Legacy will have elite talent all over the field. Six-foot-2, 230-pound junior <strong>Brylon Zeno</strong> emerged last season as a terrific defensive end and he should take his game to the next level in 2023. He's a D1 prospect and his recruiting should heat up over the next year. Both starting defensive tackles will be new. </p>
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<p>The linebacker corps is one of the best in West Texas with the speedy <strong>Gilbert Hernandez</strong> (44 tackles in 2022) and <strong>Trace Low</strong> (82 tackles in 2022) manning the outside linebacker spots. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='616387' first='Esus' last='Robledo']</strong> is the middle linebacker. He's an elite playmaker with 94 tackles last season.</p>
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<p>In the secondary, Brazzell has moved to cornerback and holds a D1 offer. Johnson is as good a DB as any in West Texas. But he could be moving to running back<strong>. Max Vera</strong> will hold down one of the safety spots with <strong>Atrionn Bowers</strong> alongside him. <strong>Cole Neatherlin</strong> is a promising junior and could make a push to become a starter.</p>
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<p><strong>2023 Schedule</strong>: Midland Legacy opens the season on the road at Amarillo High before hosting regional power Tascosa in Week 2. Trips to Abilene and Cibolo Steele follow. Four of the final six games are at home </p>
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<p>Aug. 25 at Amarillo</p>
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<p>Sept. 1 TASCOSA</p>
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<p>Sept. 8 at Abilene</p>
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<p>Sept. 15 at Cibolo Steele</p>
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<p>Sept. 22 CONVERSE JUDSON</p>
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<p>Sept. 29 Bye</p>
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<p>Oct. 6 FRENSHIP*</p>
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<p>Oct. 13 ODESSA PERMIAN*</p>
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<p>Oct. 20 at San Angelo Central*</p>
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<p>Oct. 27 MIDLAND*</p>
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<p>Nov. 3 at Odessa*</p>
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<p>* District Game </p>
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<p><strong>Coach's Comments</strong>: “Marcos can throw the ball a country mile and he's very accurate. He can be as good as anybody in the country, not just the state of Texas. He's special. He'll be the first three-year starter on varsity I've ever had in 15 years. He wants to be great. He likes to work. He's everything you want in a quarterback and a leader. . .Our plan is to throw it more. I've thrown it 40+ times per game before. Will we do that? I can't answer that until we start. But I foresee us throwing it a lot more and going faster and running plays faster. . .We have 18 starters back. . .I'm not sure who is going to take the No. 1 running back job. . .We have a good program with good players and good coaches and a great community that helps us. . .We like to play very good teams in our non-district schedule. That's where we need to be. . .I've proud of what we have accomplished but we want to win the state championship. We have talked about that. We're right there. We just have to push through.” – Midland Legacy head coach Clint Hartman.</p>
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Midland Legacy 2023 Preview
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