Cayde Winters, West Texas High football, Sr.
On the field: Behind one of arguably the best single game performances in Texas Panhandle high school football history by quarterback Cayde Winters, West Texas High was able to outlast Panhandle in a District 1-2A Division I game between state-ranked teams that lived up to the hype. The Comanches pulled off a thrilling 50-49 win with Winters blistering the Panthers defense all four quarter. What Winters did was phenomenal. Behind his massive offensive line and his no quit attitude, Winters was unstoppable chewing up the Panhandle defense for 369 yards on an incredible 41 carries with seven touchdowns. He also scored every two-point conversion in the victory.
On the season, Winters has shown just how valuable he has been to this program rushing for 1,297 yards with 25 touchdowns, and throwing for another 783 yards with 13 more TDs.
Head coach Jeff Smith: “I haven’t seen many performances like what Cayde did in my coaching career. It was special. What I love about Cayde and what he did Friday was raise the level of everyone around him because of how he plays. The team knows how much of a competitor he is and they want to step up around him because he gives every ounce of his energy and that’s contagious. He played so great and so did our offense line giving holes, but even when he didn’t have holes he made guys miss and never went down. He is probably the strongest guy in the program and he’ll punish you when he runs.”
Winters: “Getting a win like that did a lot for us as a team. We stayed unbeaten first off and it gave us a chance at a district title. That’s something that hasn’t been done around here very often. It also gave us a lot of confidence going forward. Everyone played well. I know I got the stats, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without any of the guys on the field doing what they were suppose to. It was a complete team win.”
About Winters
Favorite band or musician: Hudson Westbrook
Favorite social media platform: Instagram
Favorite athlete: Jaxson Dart
Bet you didn’t know: He loves going to concerts.
Parents: Stephen and Sharra Winters.