Panthers Roll to TAPPS Title Game Again
Under the circumstances, Parish Episcopal might have been looking forward to a potential rematch against Argyle Liberty in the TAPPS Division I title game.
But the five-time defending champions proved that they were fully focused on the task at hand during a 42-7 shellacking of Frisco Legacy in the state semifinals on Saturday at Snyder Stadium.
The Panthers indeed set up a showdown for the ages against the Warriors on Dec. 7 in Waco with its dynasty on the line.
“You’ve got to just take it one day at a time. If you start looking ahead, you’ll drive yourself crazy,” said Parish head coach Daniel Novakov. “A lot of these guys are going to their fourth straight state championship. They know what to do.”
The Panthers (9-4) were dominant against Legacy, reaching the end zone on four consecutive drives in the first half to take a commanding lead. The Parish defense took care of the rest.
Sawyer Anderson threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns, and Nick Wheeler ran for three scores. Marcus Hanish added a game-high 117 yards on the ground.
The first Parish touchdown came after a bizarre sequence that began with a penalty negating a would-be long touchdown run by the Eagles (8-5). The next snap sailed over the head of the quarterback, recovered by Parish’s Hurley Wiker at the Legacy 38-yard line. One play later, Anderson connected with Bryson Fields for a score.
The next possession covered 87 yards, 70 of which came via Hanish, who scored on a 40-yard scamper that included a nifty spin move.
Wheeler capped both of the next two drives with 2-yard touchdown runs as the Panthers sprinted to a 28-0 advantage at the break. Meanwhile, Legacy was limited to just 76 total yards and struggled to sustain drives.
The Panthers continued the onslaught in the third quarter with a 42-yard scoring strike from Anderson to Carson Darby. Moments later, following a Jaylen Pile interception, Wheeler sprinted 84 yards untouched up the middle for a touchdown to make it 42-0.
Fields finished with five catches for 89 yards, becoming the third Parish receiver to surpass 1,000 yards this season, alongside Darby and Pile.
The Panthers powered past the Eagles for the second time this season, following a 56-27 win during the regular season against the Division I newcomers.
After already avenging a district defeat against Plano Prestonwood a week ago, Parish now turns its attention to league champion Liberty, to which it fell 35-27 on Oct. 18. In the five games since that loss, the Panthers have averaged 55.4 points.
