Liberty Christian running back/defensive back JonAaron Howell was named the TAPPS Division I all-district team.
Other superlative winners include: TCA’s Nashon Ellerbe (Offensive Player of the Year); Dunne’s Nick Watkins (Defensive Player of the Year); TCA’s Brock Thomas (Special Teams Player of the Year); Prestonwood’s Chris Cunningham (Coach of the Year); TCA’s Parker Continue reading
Prestonwood entered last week’s championship averaging 216.9 rushing yards per game, but the Nolan defense limited the Lions to 85 yards on 19 attempts (4.5 avg.).
More impressive is this: In the game’s final three quarters, Prestonwood had nine carries for (-8) yards.
Four of Prestonwood runs netted 90 yards. The other 15 runs accounted for (-5) yards.
Linebackers Brennan Murnane, Miles Murray and Dane Hucklebridge were a big part of the success. Their athletic ability and speed allowed them to play the run or drop back into coverage — important skills in today’s spread offense-dominated world.
Defensive linemen Max Walker, Charlie Compagnone, Trey Foster, Jon King, and Brad Petrando must be credited with helping hold a unit that entered the championship averaging 46.5 points per game to just 21 points.
The Vikings were impressive against the run in the playoffs — allowing just an average of 86.3 rushing yards in the four games. How Nolan fared against the run this season:
| OPPONENT | RUSH YARDS | OPPONENT | RUSH YARDS | |
| Arlington Seguin | 300 | Prestonwood | 137 | |
| Argyle | 113 | Argyle Liberty Christian | 259 | |
| Everman | 177 | Bishop Dunne | 59 | |
| Dallas Spruce | 100 | San Antonio St. Anthony | 25 | |
| John Paul II | (-25) | Houston St. Thomas | 162 | |
| TCA-Addison | 293 | Argyle Liberty Christian | 73 | |
| Bishop Lynch | 15 | Prestonwood | 85 | |
| TOTALS | 1,773 |
Prestonwood’s offense entered Tuesday’s state championship game averaging 270.6 yards passing per game. And the Lions threw for 229 yards against the Vikings in a 36-34 Prestonwood victory on Oct. 25
Prestonwood showed plenty of 4- and 5-receiver sets. But Nolan’s pass defense limited Prestonwood to just 8 completions and 140 yards. It was a big part of the reason Nolan won.
The backfield of Frank Colin, Silas Keys, Andrew Tittor, Stephen Jolissaint, Andrew Marquardt and Kevin Choate was particularly strong after Prestonwood moved out to a 14-0 lead. Prestonwood, which had a pair of 1,000-yard receivers coming into the game, was 3-of-10 passing for 54 yards in the second half.
Linebacker Brennan Murnane had a pass defensed near the line of scrimmage on Prestonwood’s final drive. Linebacker Miles Murray, Jolissaint and Tittor also had passes defensed in the second half.
The defensive line provided good pressure. End Max Walker recovered a fumble in the third quarter, and had at least three pressures and a partial sack in the first half. Interior defensive linemen Jon King, Trey Foster and Brad Petrando had steady pushes up the middle, several times forcing scrambles by the quarterback.
Murray, linebacker Dane Hucklebridge and end Charles Compagnone also flushed out the quarterbacks on several occasions forcing runs on what appeared to be pass plays.
For the season, the Vikings allowed 2,532 yards passing — 180.9 yards a game. In the playoffs, Nolan held San Antonio St. Anthony to 136, Houston St. Thomas to 142, Argyle Liberty to 228 and Prestonwood to 140.
Nolan passing yards allowed this season:
| OPPONENT | PASS YARDS | OPPONENT | PASS YARDS | |
| Arlington Seguin | 141 | Prestonwood | 229 | |
| Argyle | 179 | Argyle Liberty Christian | 139 | |
| Everman | 80 | Bishop Dunne | 108 | |
| Spruce | 143 | San Antonio St. Anthony | 136 | |
| John Paul II | 337 | Houston St. Thomas | 142 | |
| TCA-Addison | 252 | Argyle Liberty Christian | 228 | |
| Bishop Lynch | 278 | Prestonwood | 140 | |
| TOTALS | 2,532 |
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