Football has come to an end after finishing a season that’ll leave an impact lasting for years. Not only did the Hornets have an exceptional season, but starting running back senior Hagen Hughes achieved the stat of fifth most rushing yards in 5A Division 1— a statewide accolade. Hughes attributes his success to the support of his teammates, coaches, family and friends.

“Hagen is one of the toughest young men I have ever coached,” running back coach Jason Vines said. “One of the most impressive things about Hagen is that he’s never missed a practice in 4 years. I am so proud of his performance, his efforts and his love for the game.”

When asked about Hughes, friends and teammates said how he’s fueled their fire on the field.

“I’ve known him forever and he’s done a lot better over the years,” senior Garret Bailey said. “He’s very emotional and that can get to some people, it gets to me. It kind of gives a better energy to people.”

Vines said that not only is Hagen impacting his teammates but they inspire each other through their hard work and dedication.

“He earned it by putting in the work, believing in his teammates, and his coaches,” Vines said. “There are really two reasons he was able to do this: his talents and the unbelievable offensive line that paved the way for him. Without those guys in front of him, he wouldn’t have achieved any kind of record.”

Multiple varsity players have said that even though it was a good year, they faced many challenges with it.

“I know we had lost to Aledo, but just how big Denton Ryan’s players were and how fast they are–you’re a little overwhelmed and you don’t really know what to do,” senior Cash Moore said. “And with that, we just went into a mindset of we had nothing to lose that week. We weren’t expecting to win, so we had to play our hearts out and hope for the best.”

Hagen mentioned that he also faced many difficulties during his season, specifically his other running backs being out for injury.

“It’s taken a toll on me,” Hughes said. “It’s just me having to stay in the game a lot longer. I’m not getting as many breaks. I’m not getting the time I need to be able to rest to be able to perform to the highest ability I can, and for my friends. I mean, I hate it. It sucks to lose friends from stuff like that.”

In the eyes of the athletics director Michael Sain, Hughes’ accomplishments will only mean more athletes will follow in his footsteps.

“Something is impossible until it is not,” Sain said. “Once someone does something, it becomes that much more feasible for someone else to aspire to replicate that outcome and then move beyond that. Our future running backs now know that what he did is possible, giving them something to aspire to.”