FOOTBALL24
2024 MARKS BREAKOUT YEAR
Mildred , Kerens had remarkable seasons
By any measure , the 2024 football season was memorable throughout the Golden Circle and and in many ways remarkable for the teams at Mildred and Kerens , which both drove to the third round of the playoffs .
Those two programs produced Tri-Golden Circle Coaches of the Year and Co-Del Thrash Award winners and highlighted a season that saw Rice have a breakout year and Blooming Grove bounce right back after just missing the playoffs in 2023 while Dawson , and tri- Coach of the Year Brian Kelley battled and found a way back to the postseason after losing more talent than any team in the Golden Circle and beyond .
Mildred ’ s 2024 football team not only produced a 12-0 regular season record before losing in the third round of the 2A DI playoffs , but Coach Jeff Callahan ’ s Eagles turned the program around with the best season in more than a decade — the best since the Nik Shimonek Eagles of 2012 and 2013 .
The Eagles won with a deep team of players who were as talented and as versatile as any team in the Golden Circle in years . Ashton Frye led the way for the Swiss Army Knife Eagles who had brilliant moments on both sides of the line from a team that was just as versatile as it was talented .
Frye played wide receiver , running back , defensive back and linebacker and was also a dangerous return man . He finished the season with 1,742 yards of offense and 19 touchdowns and made 63 tackles , forced three fumbles . made five fumble recoveries , and five interceptions on defense . He also had 242 yards of returns and blocked a field goal on defense and was the epitome of Mildred football — a leader on and off the field and a testament to Mildred ’ s no-quit determination on a team loaded with versatility .
He shared the Del Thrash Award ( the Golden Circle ’ s Heisman ) with Kerens ’ superstar Muziq Gunnell , who was named by his father , a preacher who loved music so much he named his children Muziq , Lyrik and Cadence . Lyrik is a sophomore who is an All-District and All-Golden Circle basketball star who led the LadyCats to their best season in years this winter . Mildred had five Eagles earn GC Superlatives . Jason Ovalle , a senior who played at wide receiver and was amazing at the linebacker position , was named the district ’ s Defensive MVP . Ovalle made 124 tackles , including six sacks , had two interceptions , blocked two punts and recovered a fumble on defense and produced 385 yards and seven touchdowns on offense .
Trenton Harris , a sophomore who had a breakout season at running back and linebacker , was named the GC Offensive Newcomer of the Year . Harris had 1,814 yards and 25 touchdowns on offense and made 66 tackles , forced two fumbles , picked off two interceptions and scored three defensive touchdowns .
Brennan Moore , a junior tight end / defensive lineman , was named the GC Co-Defensive lineman of the Year . He made 87 tackles , including six sacks , forced three fumbles , recovered two fumbles and scored a defensive touchdown . He also produced 204 yards and scored three touchdowns as a tight end .
Esau Berrum , a sophomore kicker , was named the Golden Circle Co-Special Teams Player of the Year award along with Rice ’ s Caleb Diaz . Berrum made 43 PATs , four field goals , including a season-long 38-yarder , had nine touchbacks and scored 70 points . Diaz , a sophomore had the most powerful foot in the Golden Circle and proved it when he nailed a 54-yard field goal .
While Frye was lifting Mildred to its best season in more than a decade Kerens Coach Brent Watkins was rewriting history in his first season with the Bobcats ,
By Mike Phillips
10 Explore Corsicana | Spring 2025