Cedar Hill Football Team Begins Spring Drills Today

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Cedar Hill football
Cedar Hill football Photo credit Cedar Hill ISD

Longhorns Play Spring Game on May 19

(CEDAR HILL, TEXAS) It’s been almost exactly six months since the Cedar Hill High School Football put on its pads and took the football field in the UIL Class 6A Division II Regional Quarterfinals.

The Longhorns will begin spring drills at 4:30 p.m. today. They’ll show fans their skills with a Spring Game on May 19 at Longhorn Stadium.

“The kids and coaches are working hard to find a way to get better and to fill the gaps,” said Cedar Hill head football coach Carlos Lynn, who is entering his sixth season as the Longhorns’ head coach.

Lynn is 88-66 overall, including 43-17 at Cedar Hill with a State Championship Game appearance and two district championships.

The Longhorns graduated 11 starters – six on defense and five on offense

Cedar Hill first-year defensive coordinator Taylor Wolfe succeeds Ray Gates, who accepted the head coach position at North Crowley, south of Fort Worth.

Cedar Hill offensive coordinator Kyle Morales has worked with Lynn for several years. Morales was an assistant coach, just a few years out of Texas A&M, when Lynn was the defensive coordinator on the 2006 Cedar Hill State Championship Game.

In fact, Morales and wide receivers coach Kevin Benjamin are the only coaches to have been part of all five trips to the State Championship Game.

“It’s always good to see guys who work their way up from the ground – he’s grown by leaps and bounds each year,” Lynn said of Morales.

Cedar Hill will have a quarterback competition this spring, between juniors Anthony Edwards and Daveon Ennis and sophomore Carter Jones, with senior Cedric Harden Jr. moving from quarterback to wide receiver.

Harden Jr., who scored 27 touchdowns last season, hopes to play wide receiver in college. He has offers from the likes of Arizona, Georgia Tech and Kansas. Harden Jr. will be joined in the receiving corps by one of his top receivers from 2021 – fellow senior Jairrus Nicholson.

Lynn hopes to have a starting quarterback selected by the end of spring drills

He said Edwards is currently in the lead because he has varsity experience. Ennis was the Junior Varsity quarterback last season, and Jones, the Freshman Team quarterback.

The starting quarterback will receive some support with senior running back Jaylen Jenkins in the backfield. Jenkins has offers from Arizona, Marshall and Toledo.

The offense also includes three returning starters on the offensive line. Center Jaden Coker anchors it. Coker started on the 2020 State Runner-Up Team as a sophomore.

‘Heart of the Defense’

Senior linebacker Kylan Salter is the “heart of the defense” who has received 10 Football Championship Series offers. Schools include: Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech.

“He makes plays and has a great work ethic,” Lynn said.

Senior Trevion Gaines will anchor the secondary, with junior Zhaiylen Scott and senior Elyjah Gilliard leading the defensive line.

“We had a really good boot camp and hope to carry it over,” Lynn said. “We hope to increase toughness and really execute at a high level. We want to develop as much talent and depth as we can.”

The Longhorns finished 8-5 last season, losing to Bridgeland (from the Houston area) in the third round.

“We’re optimistic about our approach and hopefully, we’ll play all the way until December 17, 2022,” Lynn said.

Cedar Hill has upgraded an already challenging non-district schedule to arguably the toughest one in the state. They visit Rockwall on August 26, face Arlington Martin on September 2 at home followed by a trip to Southlake Carroll on September 9.

“It’s a pretty tough start, and it will show what type of football team we’ll have,” Lynn said.