New district first look: Royse City

Leopards have history of success vs. former district foe Bulldogs

Kevin Davis, Sports Editor • April 28, 2016

Royse City

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of profiles on the school’s opponent in next year’s new UIL district, 15-5A.

Enrollment: 1,329

Mascot: Bulldogs

School Colors: Black and Gold

Distance from Lovejoy: 25.8 mi (42 minutes) 700 FM 2642, Royse City, TX 75189

Year opened: 2006

Bulldogs’ 2015-16 results (according to Maxpreps):

Football: 4-6

Volleyball: 23-10

Basketball: 6-21

Girls Basketball: 15-11

Soccer: 4-5-1

Girls Soccer: 15-8-1

Baseball: 12-11-1 (2 games remain)

Softball: 8-7-1 (1 game remains)

Famous Alumni: None

Athletes to watch:

Football – Brett Martinez, RB, class of 2017

Martinez rushed for 1,200 yards on 217 attempts and 15 touchdowns in the 2015-2016 season. Royse City’s second leading rusher was senior quarterback Courtland Vance who rushed the ball 150 times. So with Vance gone, look for Martinez to get even more touches than he did last season.

Analysis: The Royse City Bulldogs will be making a return to the Leopards’ district after a two-year hiatus. During the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years, the Leopards had the upper hand in almost all sporting events. The Leopards currently lead the football series 2-0, the basketball series 6-0, the volleyball series 4-0, the softball series 2-0, and the baseball series 3-1. Because Royse City was a fairly new school when they last were a part of the Leopards’ district, the Bulldogs did not have the most success in athletics. However, now that the Bulldogs have more experience as an athletic program, look for them to put up tougher competition in years to come.

About the Contributors

Kevin Davis, Sports Editor

Kevin Davis is returning for his fifth year is the newspaper program in middle school, and is a senior this year. He is also the sports editor of The Red Ledger for the second consecutive year. His favorite sport to cover is volleyball, because of the recent success the volleyball program has had. He plays outside linebacker for the leopard football team and wears number 22 because of ex-Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, however his favorite football player is Adrian Peterson. On the weekends, Kevin enjoys watching the Oklahoma Sooners, Dallas Cowboys, and hanging out with friends. His favorite restaurant is Buffalo Wild Wings (medium boneless buffalo dry rub). Also, cold stone is vital for a complete meal after eating at BWW. Also, music is very important to Kevin. If he could, he would have background music playing throughout his whole day. His favorite genre is rap, his favorite rapper is Kanye West, but he listens to just about everything. Although he can’t play any instruments, he can play Through the Fire and Flames on expert on guitar hero three. Other than guitar hero, he is not very interested or good at video games. Another skill that Kevin possesses is photoshop and graphic design.

Avery Degenhardt, TRL Graphic Designer

Avery joined “Intro To Photography” in eighth grade with some curiosity, and she quickly learned the basics of photography and quickly improved. She learned to love the craft, and along with her “secret” part-time photoshop in the class, she obtained skills she never imagined she would have with a computer. Applying for newspaper and deciding if she wanted that challenge or not was probably the most difficult choice of her life, but she went through with it. Avery has established her place among the staff and continues to pursue her interest in graphic art design. As a junior this year, she hopes to improve her skills in digital art and change her haircolor again.