Mineral Wells Area News

By DAVID MAY

Special to Mineral Wells Area News

IRVING – A young Community Christian School Warriors team grew up a lot this season, making their way into the Texas Christian Athletic Fellowship six man football playoffs.

Unfortunately, that is where their season ended.

CCS traveled to play a first-round playoff game against a more experienced and talented Faustina Academy Falcons. Not much went the Warriors’ way as they fell, 52-6.

The Warriors finish the season with a 6-4 record. Faustina improved to 9-1.

It was a successful rebuilding year for CCS and Head Coach Gary Rushing, who throughout the season noted that this year’s team was young. The team had just two starting seniors and one junior.

It was also a season in which the Warriors did not have a true home game. The summer heat and drought rendered their home field unplayable.

After opening the year with a loss, CCS reeled off four straight wins. CCS went 2-2 in district, and had to win their last regular season game to make the post-season. They did so in dramatic fashion, downing Grace Academy, 59-56, in a shootout.

A key piece CCS will have to replace in 2024 is quarterback Price Horton. The senior averaged 168.4 total yards per game going into the playoff match. He completed 50 percent of his pass attempts, throwing for more than 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns in nine regular season games. He also ran for 271 yards and five scores.

Also a starting cornerback, Horton played with grit and toughness. His leadership will be hard to match next year.

Another senior who played his last football game for the Warriors is Braden Maness. In nine regular season games, 6-foot-3, 225-pound Maness had 15 catches for 238 yards and three touchdowns. He also recorded 32 total tackles.

Two other seniors, Jeremiah McGirr and Que Crawford, also finished out their CCS football playing days.

CCS played a lot of underclassmen – mostly sophomores and freshmen – this year. That experience will pay off going forward for the Warriors.

The only junior this season was Jace Little, who had a big year for the Warriors. The Albany transfer led the team in receiving yards with 546 in nine games and in touchdown receptions with seven. He also led the team in total tackles with 75, of which 70 were solo stops.

Sophomore Hayden Yelverton also had a big year for CCS. He led the team in rushing yards with 765 in the first nine games and 16 ground scores, also first on the team. He had 22 receptions for 228 yards and one score. Overall he accounted for 1,011 total yards of offense during the regular season. Defensively, Yelverton was second on the team in tackles with 62 total, including 56 solo take downs.

A promising freshman is Kade Etier. He ran for 119 yards in the regular season with two rushing touchdowns. He hauled in 12 passes for 217 yards and another two touchdowns. He was fourth on the team in total tackles with 43, 38 of those of the solo variety, and he led the team with six picks.

The Warriors will look forward to 2024 and the experience gained by the young squad, hoping it pays off next season.