Hometown Heroes: Normangee Panthers

NORMANGEE, Texas (KBTX) -- The Normangee Panthers lost four of five non-district games, then won four out of five in 9-2A Division I. “Our last five games, we hit on all cylinders offensively,” Keith Sitton said. “We went into the playoffs and continued to be explosive offensively, averaging 552 yards of offense. I thought we matured as a team in the playoffs, beating Hawkins after trailing by two TDs in the third quarter and going toe to toe with semifinalist San Augustine for three full quarters.”

Senior quarterback Mason Hardy is a three-year starter at quarterback for the Panthers. He completed 107 of 182 passes for 1,628 yards with 18 TDs and five interceptions. Hardy also rushed for 565 yards and 7 TDs.

He has an explosive teammate in Izaha Jones. The 6-3 junior ran for 508 yards and 9 scosres and caught 19 passe for 428, with 5 TDs. SE Garrette Douga caught 29 passes for 340 yards, scoring four times.

Denton Young is the Panthers’ defensive stopper, “instinctive and always around the ball,” said Keith Sitton. Young is a sideline-to-sideline defender. Fellow LB Logan Luna starts for the second season.

Experience and comfort level should make him a better player in the middle of that defense. Julius Plotts is a top returning player in the defensive line. While he moved positions often last season, he’ll be Normangee’s anchor at defensive end. He’ll also be the leader on the offensive front. “Our senior class has played a lot of varsity football games,” Sitton said. “With that experience, I hope we have a core of leaders rather than just one so that the team takes ownership over themselves.”

Normangee is scheduled to open the season August 28th on the road against Bremond.

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