Princeton senior running back Nick Rodriguez attempts to stretch the ball over a Plano East defender and past the goal line. Rodriguez finished last season with eight rushing touchdowns and 318 rushing yards in six games. Photo by Jerry Winfrey / C&S Media

By David Wolman

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The Princeton Panthers recently concluded their second season in Class 6A.

With it came tough competition and success.

The Princeton Herald will now take a look back at the year that was in athletics at Princeton High School, starting with cross country, football and volleyball.

Cross country

For the fourth consecutive season, senior Gabriella Trejo placed in the top 10 at the district meet and competed in the regional meet.

Trejo pushed through the pain of a busy workload in practice and also with her club soccer team to earn eighth with a 19:30 at the District 6-6A meet at Myers Park in McKinney. 

A couple of weeks later, she earned 43^rd place at the Region I-6A meet in Lubbock and came up just short of a third state qualification. 

Trejo was one of nine varsity returners for Princeton, seven on the girls’ side.

One of the top performances for the Panthers as a team came at their home meet, the Princeton Invite, held in August. 

Trejo won the girls’ race with a time of 12:56. Samantha Valdez clocked a time of 13:20, good for third place. Evelyn Escamilla placed sixth with a 13:26. Marian Valdez captured ninth with a 13:39. Jillian McCarthy took 12^th in 13:39. 

Emma Dickerson (17^th, 14:45) and Elizabeth Fontt Cox (21^st, 15:51) rounded out the efforts for the Lady Panthers.

At the district meet, Escamilla placed 26^th (20:48), McCarthy was 27^th (20:57), Marian Valdez took 37^th (21:25), Dickerson finished in 49^th(22:27), Samantha Valdez took 54^th (22:53) while Fontt Cox placed 56^th (23:04). 

Princeton had two varsity returners in the boys’ division, both seniors. Jose Sanchez had a solid showing at the Panthers’ home meet, placing second with a 10:51. Henery Martinez placed 22^nd with an 11:46.

The experience of Sanchez (25^th, 17:20) and Martinez (29^th, 17:36) showed up at the district meet where they clocked the top times for the Princeton boys. Arturo Velez (33^rd, 17:41), Ashton Long (40^th, 18:04) and Eli Fisher (46^th, 18:35) also ran for the Panthers at district.

Football

After finishing 2-8 and earning just one district win in its first season in Class 6A, Princeton head coach Ervin Chandler felt there were a lot of people outside the program who doubted the squad. 

However, an experienced and talented Panthers team was quick to prove them wrong. 

Princeton started 5-1, and although injuries to key players derailed the Panthers’ playoff hopes, they finished the season with a 28-24 come-from-behind win over McKinney Boyd to conclude with a 6-4 record for their first winning season since they went 7-4 in 2015.

Senior Jordan Mosley, despite missing the team’s last three games of the season with an injury, was tabbed the district’s Offensive Player of the Year. He led Princeton in receiving yards (937) and receiving touchdowns (12). 

Another key cog in Princeton’s passing attack, senior wide receiver Collin Fannin-White had 587 receiving yards. Junior Jayden Rogers posted 321 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Senior running back Nick Rodriguez had eight rushing touchdowns in six games. Junior Dakota Lee stepped into the No. 1 role late in the season and finished with 574 rushing yards and added four rushing touchdowns.

Senior quarterback Marcus Flowers threw for 6,497 yards and 61 touchdown passes in 24 career appearances. Two linemen who provided pass protection for him, seniors Lane Martin and Javian Smith, were named to the all-district second team.

Defensively, Princeton received timely plays from senior defensive tackle Tevin Miller (29 tackles), junior defensive tackle Kaidon Williams (51 tackles) and senior linebacker Giovanni Ayala (69 tackles) – all of whom made the all-district team.

Volleyball

This season brought change at the top as former Sherman head coach Yolanda Beasley was hired to the same position at Princeton.

Beasley’s hiring wasn’t the only position the Lady Panthers had to fill.

Beasley and her coaching staff were tasked with replacing seven starters.

Despite that high turnover, Princeton found the right pieces to the puzzle and won 10 matches with a lot of that success coming during non-district play. 

The Lady Panthers’ top team performance came at the Lady Tiger Varsity Tournament in Terrell, where Princeton went 5-1 to earn fifth place.

Following the conclusion of the season, sophomore libero Kinlee Ratliff was placed on the 6-6A first team. Junior outside hitter/middle blocker Tito Abiba landed on the second team. Senior outside hitter Grace Vrba, senior opposite hitter/setter Storie Wilson, senior setter/defensive specialist Meghan Gilbert and senior middle blocker Katelyn Crosby were named to the honorable-mention team.

Read the full story in June 4 print and online editions. Stay informed — subscribe to The Princeton Herald.