2022 RECORD OVERALL RECORD : 4-6 DISTRICT RECORD : 2-4
Palestine WILDCATS
JUWAN LEE Sports Editor sports @ palestineherald . com
Palestine Wildcats head coach Lance Angel became the first coach in program history to lead a team to four consecutive playoff berths this past season . The Wildcats finished fourth in District 9-4A Division I , which is undoubtedly one of the toughest divisions in the state . Lindale and Kilgore were both regional finalists , while Chapel Hill was a game away from a state championship appearance . Palestine ’ s playoff journey came to an end in the bi-district round against sixth-ranked Lumberton , who lost to Chapel Hill in the next round . Still , they landed 11 players on the All-District first team and 19 in total . Five members of Palestine ’ s offense were named to the first team in Taj ’ Shawn Wilson , Baylynn Williams Elijah Walker , Ty Stedman and Jon Denman . Walker finished as Palestine ’ s leading rusher on the season with 1,044 yards and 14 touchdowns on 151 carries . He eclipsed 100 yards rushing in each of their final four games , twice going over 200 yards against Jacksonville and Henderson . Walker is now up to 1,597 yards in his career , which is just outside the Top-10 rushers in school history . Wilson was second on the team in rushing with 461 yards and four touchdowns on 83 carries . He had a 100-yard rushing performance against Jacksonville where he went for 180 yards and four touchdowns . Wilson also finished with 321 yards receiving and a touchdown on 20 receptions . Denman received first-team honors as a utility player for the Wildcats . He rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns . Williams made it as an offensive lineman and Stedman made it as tight end . Reese Hargers , Jordan Walker , Perry Cole , Ti Crawford and Shedrick Dudley were named to the All- District first-team defense .
PHOTO BY JUWAN LEE Reese Hargers was a key disruptor for the Wildcats with 79 tackles , three tackles for loss and nine pass breakups . Walker finished with 55 tackles and 10 pass breakups while often being paired against the opposing team ’ s best receiver .
Hargers was a key disruptor for the Wildcats with 79 tackles , three tackles for loss and nine pass breakups . Walker finished with 55 tackles and 10 pass breakups while often being paired against the opposing team ’ s best receiver . Cole had 29 tackles and two sacks . Dudley was one of the team ’ s leading tacklers with 51 stops , two sacks and three tackles for loss . Crawford was second on the team in tackles with 72 . He led the Wildcats in sacks with seventysix and also had seven tackles for loss . Cole also received first-team praise at punter , while K ’ Mari Gibson was named first-team punt returner .
10 WINTER EDITION 2023