After big win over Mansfield Summit, Todd Rodgers says Argyle’s best is still yet to come

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MANSFIELD — Argyle coach Todd Rodgers put the rest of the state on notice with the final remark of his postgame interview Friday night.

“I’m very pleased with our football team, but I will still contend that our best football is in front of us,” Rodgers said.

That’s saying a lot given where Argyle is at right now.

Argyle ran for 268 yards and dominated a battle for first place in District 3-5A Division II, beating Mansfield Summit 31-6 at R.L. Anderson Stadium. It was Argyle’s 22nd consecutive district win and its 83rd win in its last 84 district games. Argyle is 17-0 in district play since moving up to Class 5A in 2022.

“[A district title] is our first goal on the goal chart, obviously playing in December is our second goal and winning a state championship is our third goal,” Rodgers said. “We have very lofty goals in our program.”

Argyle (6-1, 5-0) gained sole possession of first place in 3-5A Division II and is one game ahead of Summit (4-3, 4-1) and Colleyville Heritage (5-2, 4-1). Argyle is ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 5A Division II, and its only loss was 24-17 in the season opener against Frisco Lone Star, the state’s second-ranked 5A Division I team.

Argyle has five wins over teams currently ranked in the top 20 in the area.

Argyle is trying to win a district title for the 15th time in the last 16 years under Rodgers, who is 250-44 in the only head coaching job of his career. Two-time state champion Argyle has won at least nine games each of the last 15 years, has posted a double-digit win total in 14 of those seasons and has reached at least the regional final in nine of the last 14 seasons.

Summit, which had its four-game winning streak end, last won a district title in 2011. Ending that drought will be tough after Friday’s loss, but Summit is well positioned to make the playoffs for the sixth straight season and for the 10th time in 12 years.

Summit drove 82 yards for a 6-0 lead on the first possession of the game, capped by a 65-yard touchdown pass from DeMarus Bird to running back Adarion Nettles. Argyle’s defense allowed just 85 yards the rest of the half while building a 21-6 lead.

“I think the game started with some very well-executed plays by Summit, but we were able to make some adjustments defensively,” Rodgers said. “Our kids brought a lot of physicality to the game.”

An interception by Nathaniel Bruce set up Argyle’s first touchdown drive and an onside kick recovery led to a 25-yard drive for the team’s second score. Nettles, a transfer from Keller Timber Creek, came in averaging 102 yards per game on the ground but was held to 53 yards on 12 carries and Summit ran for just 78 yards as a team.

Argyle ran nearly twice as many offensive plays as Summit — 78 to 44 — and controlled the game on the ground by running 52 times as Chase Bagley rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns and Watson Bell added 82 yards and a score. Bagley scored on a 5-yard run, Bell had a 3-yard touchdown run and Maguire Gasperson scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak in the first half, then Bagley added a 2-yard touchdown run to cap a 14-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half.

Argyle’s defense completed its dominant performance with a goal line stand in the fourth quarter after Summit had first-and-goal at the 2. Summit lost 7 yards over the next four plays and turned the ball over on downs with 4:27 left.

Gasperson began last season as a wide receiver before moving to quarterback midway through the year to replace an injured starter. He has been a perfect fit, and the junior has thrown for 1,621 yards and accounted for 19 touchdowns while completing 61% of his passes.

Gasperson was no stranger to his new position, as he was the backup quarterback in spring ball his freshman year and then got plenty of reps as a sophomore before taking over as the starter. In his first start at quarterback last year, he threw for 314 yards in a 41-34 win over a Frisco Emerson team that would go on to reach the state semifinals, and Argyle is 12-2 with Gasperson as the starter, including reaching the third round of the playoffs last year.

Fly, Eagles, Fly: See photos from Argyle's win over Mansfield Summit

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