prep football preview:

Legacy looks to be competitive in tough Northwest

Sam Morris

Legacy football player Bill Purcell Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009.

Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

After winning its initial six games last year, Legacy High plummeted against tougher Northwest Division competition to lose three of their last four regular season games.

This season, Legacy hopes to avoid another late-season letdown.

“We have a lot of returners this year and hopefully we can put it together and do some damage in our division,” Legacy coach David Snyder Jr. said. “…Our returners have a good idea what they are going to face.”

One of those returners who will shoulder most of the offensive load is senior all-purpose back DeShae Edwards. Edwards, who is garnering attention from UNLV, UNR and Idaho, rushed for more than 1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.

Edwards had an 8-yard touchdown run against Bishop Gorman in the Sunset Regional quarterfinals to give Legacy a third-quarter lead in its first-ever playoff appearance. Gorman scored the game’s final 14 points for the win, but the strong effort gives the fourth year school momentum entering the new year.

After all, it had only three wins in school history before going 7-3 last fall, including four wins in the tough Northwest.

Legacy’s offense will have a new look to compliment Edwards. Devin Wiedemann, one of the area’s top returning quarterbacks, transferred from Western to give the Longhorns a boost.

Defensively, senior linebackers Billy Purcell and Rodney Gilmore return with another year of experience under their belts. Safety Evan Blanner and defensive tackle James Price will also be counted on.

Discussion: 1 comment so far…

By reagan21

8/20/09 at 9:57 a.m.

Suggest removal

Hey Brother Purcell,

I'll see you in church on Sunday, actually I'll be out of town. Next Sunday it is.

« Previous Ten Next Ten »

Area Football Teams

See bigger map

Scoring Alerts

Sign up and we'll send you updates after each quarter for every game we cover each week. We also will soon provide an e-mail newsletter every Friday and Saturday with previews and recaps from around the Valley.

All alerts »

Latest Stories

prep football:

Gorman coach doesn't let disability slow him down

Limited to a wheelchair, Adam Hutchins has earned his stripes in Gaels' program

Adam Hutchins has always had to compensate for his disability. When the other football coaches at Bishop Gorman High instruct their players by showing them the proper technique or by giving an example of how a play should look, Hutchins, a paraplegic, isn’t able to ...