SPRING HILL, Texas — Spring Hill was entrenched in a gritty matchup against Sabine to kick off the 2022 high school football season. But lucky for them, the tougher it gets, the more quarterback Jax Stovall thrives.
"I always have the mindset that nothing is going to take me out of the game. I’ll do whatever it takes for us to get a lead. All I want to do is stay in the game," Stovall said. "I caught a couple cramps there, but I went right back in. I didn’t want to go down; I feel like I owed it to the team to stay in the game."
Stovall put together an impressive game both through the air and on the ground, compiling over 200 total yards and three touchdowns to help lead the Panthers to victory.
The Spring Hill option offense puts the ball in Stovall's hands for designed runs frequently. But no matter how many big hits he took, Stovall continued to lower the shoulder and fight for those extra yards. As one of the team leaders, he praised the entire team for their toughness, especially during the wild fourth quarter.
"Coach Joslin, our new head coach, preached all about toughness, just staying mentally locked in. I feel like the whole team stayed mentally locked in whenever we went down in the late parts of the game," Stovall said.
Next up, Stovall and the Panthers will look to ride the positive momentum from a hard-fought victory as they take on the Center Roughriders, who are coming off a big victory of their own.
But one thing remains certain: Stovall will continue to lower the shoulder and keep his warrior mentality out on the gridiron for the Panthers.