What he did: Taegel recorded eight tackles behind the line of scrimmage and 12 others in front of it as Colleyville Heritage came back from a 21-point deficit to beat Hurst L.D. Bell, 35-30, in a game that decided the district's top seed in the 5A Division II playoffs.
Who he is: A 5-10, 185-pound senior linebacker
The stats: 20 tackles (17 solo), seven tackles for loss, one sack
He said it: "Actually, going into halftime, I was really down. I thought I was playing pretty bad. I just didn't want to lose. In the second half, I just got a little more pumped up."
Coach said it: "[He is a real] good against-the-run kind of linebacker, just good [beating] down blocks. … When you're a linebacker, you've got to go through a lot of trash, and he goes through it well." — Mike Fuller
Did you know? Taegel is also a goalkeeper for the soccer team. …He won a competition for the starting spot in the spring.
Honorable mention