The Willis Wildkats are enjoying their best season in 61 years.
The Wildkats won their first two playoff games by an average of 24.5 points to advance to the regional semifinals for the first time since 1994 while improving to 12-0 for the first time in program history.
DJ Lagway has been the key to a magical season for Willis. He connected with Jermaine Bishop for five touchdowns in a 42-21 area round win over Tomball Memorial. Second-year Willis coach Trent Miller said the feat was something the town had been waiting for a long time.
“I couldn’t be more proud of not only our offense and our defense, but our special teams. I think we won all three phases of the game,” Miller said. “Hats off to coach (Sam) Parker. He does a tremendous job, working with him for so long at Spring, and being on different sides of the field is always bittersweet, but couldn’t be more happy for our kids.”
There’s still a lot of football left to play, though. To keep its season alive, No. 14 state-ranked Willis will need to put together another complete game against No. 2 DeSoto in a Region II-6A Division II semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday at the Alamodome.
“We know we got a monster ahead of us with DeSoto but I truly believe if we come out and we’re firing on all cylinders offensively, defensively, special teams wise, I think the sky’s the limit for this team,” Miller said. “We can’t focus on who we’re playing. We got to focus on us, keep the main thing the main thing, and keep our head down and keep going to work.”
Willis (12-0) and DeSoto (11-0) will face off in a battle of unbeatens. The Eagles are coming off a 42-20 victory over Wylie East and opened the playoffs with a 50-10 win over Harker Heights. The Wildkats are three wins away from reaching the state tournament.
“It’s our main goal and it’s a big focus for us and the kids will get a taste of what that might feel like playing in the Alamodome,” Miller said. “If we can get past DeSoto this round three matchup I think we got a chance to go all the way and do something special.”
Lagway and Bishop are performing at a high level and following in their dads’ footsteps.
Lagway, in particular, is delivering a record-setting senior season. The Florida commit went 26-of-41 for 462 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions against Tomball Memorial and rushed for 27 yards on six carries with one more score for a total of 71 touchdowns (56 passing and 15 rushing).
“The last time Willis was here was when my dad was playing, so it’s all like a full circle. Jermaine Bishop’s dad played, too,” Lagway said. “So, we’re going to go out there and compete and get it done.”
With the five touchdown passes, Lagway is one touchdown away from breaking the Class 6A record for touchdown passes in a single season, which is held by Garland’s Cergio Perez with 57 in 2021. The record, regardless of classification, is Levelland’s Nic Gerber with 77 in 2016.
Lagway is also seven touchdowns away from tying Kyler Murray’s all-time 6A/5A record of 78 combined touchdowns by one player.
“That’s a God-gifted man right there,” Bishop said of Lagway. “Honestly, DJ is a brother to all of us, especially to me. He has helped me throughout this whole journey that I’ve been on so far.”
When the season started, Miller envisioned what Lagway could accomplish.
“For him to be one touchdown pass away from tying the 6A record is a testament to not only him but his teammates that he has around him. He’s not a one-man show,” Miller said. “We’ve got five receivers out there, they get open. We got five offensive linemen that block their tails off. We got a defense that forces turnovers and gets the ball back to him and we have a special teams unit that gives us short fields.
“It’s a total team effort, not to discredit anything from him. He’s a special player and for him to be in that conversation as a 6A record holder is definitely deserving of his talent level.”
Bishop finished with nine catches for 294 yards and five touchdowns. He caught TD passes of 16, 9, 65, 76 and 34 yards.
“It’s a great gift,” Bishop said. “People watching our parents and people watching us now, some even try to debate who’s better, but honestly, we just try to fight every day.”
Anytime Bishop touches the field, Miller said there’s a chance for him to have a special night.
“He’s getting better every single week and so I would be shocked if he didn’t have at least three touchdowns on a Friday night, five is obviously a special feat for him. But that’s becoming the norm for our program,” Miller said. “He’s just a special player that finds a way to get open, finds a way to make people miss in space. I’m glad he plays for us and not somebody else.”
Defensively, the Wildkats are allowing 27.5 points per game. They held a 28-0 lead over Tomball Memorial heading into the fourth quarter before the Wildcats scored a trio of touchdowns.
“Defense played amazing,” Lagway said. “I’m just so thankful for them and proud of them. They’ve been battling this whole year, the critics saying that defense is our weak spot. The defense came out and played hard.”
Willis has never advanced past the regional semifinal round. The only other team to make it three rounds deep was the 1990 squad.
“It’s a blessing,” Lagway said about playing over Thanksgiving. “We’re going to take it one week at a time, watch film on our opponent, see what they’re doing and stuff like that, and just find the weaknesses.”
