Grad Profile Leaderboard

Davis tackles challenge of four-sport athlete

by | Dec 24, 2024 | Uncategorized

Farmersville senior Tay’shaun Davis (51) was recently named the district’s defensive lineman of the year for the second consecutive season. Photo by Victor Tapia / C&S Media

By David Wolman

[email protected]

Balancing four sports is a challenge for any high school student-athlete, but Farmersville senior Tay’shaun Davis has come up with a solution on how to equally maximize his efforts in football, cheerleading, basketball and track and field.

“I do a lot of conditioning,” he said. “I just do it somehow. In basketball, I just run up and down the court all of the time. Summer workouts really helped me because it helped me to get in shape.”

Davis added cheerleading to his list of sports after he was approached by Farmersville head cheer coach Katie Vance in the summer of his sophomore year.

“I just went to one of their open gyms,” Davis said. “I was just lifting girls in the air. I like it.”

Davis has worked hard and has a never-give-up attitude, even when things for the teams that was playing on weren’t going so well.

He recalls how frustrating it was to see the losses pile up for the Farmersville football team. He made the varsity team as their starting left tackle when he was a freshman in 2021, but the Farmers won just three games that season. As a sophomore, Davis was moved to right tackle. For as hard as he tried, the Farmers finished with a 2-8 record and missed the playoffs for the third straight year.

However, Farmersville’s luck on the gridiron took a turn for the better last year. 

Farmersville won seven games to clinch their first winning season since they went 7-4 and also made the postseason for the first time since 2018.

“What changed is that we had other teammates buying into the program and we also had some move-ins that really helped,” Davis said. “They wanted to win.”

The 2023 season came with a positional change for Davis. He continued to play on the offensive line, but the Farmers’ coaching staff felt that Davis could also shine on defense. Davis excelled in his new role as a two-way player – so much so that he was named the District 5-4A Division II defensive lineman of the year.

“I just got slimmer,” he said. “I was 260 (pounds) at first, then by my junior year, I was at 230 pounds.”

And while last year proved to be a huge step forward for a Farmersville program that had been accustomed to success, which includes winning the Class 2A Division I state title in 2007, the Farmers had to replace 23 seniors from that team who either started or received significant playing time.

Those concerns quickly turned into excitement as the Farmers started the season with a 6-1 record.

Farmersville’s playoff chances then took a hit after back-to-back losses to Van Alstyne and Krum – both by seven points – but the Farmers never panicked. Then came their final regular-season game against Sanger. All that Farmersville needed to do to make the playoffs was to defeat Sanger. All it took for the Farmers to do that was a furious rally. Farmersville scored 15 points over the game’s final 1:49 to stun Sanger, 39-38.

Davis and senior defensive lineman Jackson Latimer, the team’s only four-year varsity players, celebrated the accomplishment on the field.

“After the Sanger game, we broke down crying,” Davis said. “We had God on our side. All that you can do is thank God. We didn’t expect it, but we always had faith that we could do it.”

One week later, Farmersville pitched a shutout of Canton in a 27-0 bi-district win for the Farmers’ first playoff victory since 2016.

“It was great,” Davis said. “We almost cried at the end of the game, because we came from 3-7, 2-8. It was a nice win.”

Although Farmersville lost to Pleasant Grove in the area round, going two rounds deep in the postseason helped the Farmers take another big step forward under now third-year head coach Zac Quinlan.

Davis was recently named the district’s defensive lineman of the year for the second consecutive season. 

“I didn’t think that I would get it, but I worked my butt off,” he said.

Davis said that he plans to plan football in college. He received a second offer from Midwestern State on Nov. 28. Davis has also received offers from UT-Rio Grande Valley and Howard Payne University.

“I just want to do it for my mom, honestly,” he said. “She’s just worked very hard for us.”

On the basketball court, Davis is hoping to lead Farmersville to its first winning season since 2012-13 when the Farmers finished with a 28-5 record. The Farmers have a lot of reason for optimism after a 6-4 start to this season, which includes a second-place finish in their home tournament two weeks ago. Davis has been a force around the basket, averaging 7.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

“Playing multiple sports requires an incredible amount of time, energy, and sacrifice, and Tay’shaun has demonstrated unwavering commitment to excelling in each one,” said Hayze McGuckie, Farmersville head boys basketball coach. “Balancing the demands of these sports can take a toll on an athlete’s body, yet Tay’shaun continues to show resilience, toughness, and leadership—especially in his senior year. Despite battling through injuries in the past, this year he has played through any setbacks, refusing to let them impact his performance.”

Davis will turn his attention to track later this winter when he will look to improve on a PR of 37-10 in the shot put and 112 feet in the discus.

“I’m going work even harder this year,” he said. “I just learned how to spin.” 

Grad Profile Leaderboard

0 Comments

Grad Profile Leaderboard

Related News

Adopt an Angel this Christmas

Adopt an Angel this Christmas

 Bringing comfort and joy to individuals of all ages is simple with local programs. The Farmersville Outreach Alliance (FOA) Angel Tree Program gathered Christmas gifts for 300 local children last year, and 217 have been signed up so far this year according to...

read more
Make plans for Old Time Saturday

Make plans for Old Time Saturday

Farmersville will once again host its annual Old Time Saturday (OTS) event, a daylong celebration that pays tribute to the town’s rich heritage while raising funds for local causes. The event will take place Saturday, Oct. 5, and will feature a wide array of...

read more
House members helped by governor

House members helped by governor

Three Texas House members from Collin County apparently survived Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to punish them for supporting his impeachment. Another has been forced into a GOP primary runoff with two Paxton-backed challengers. Paxton, who was acquitted by the...

read more
Counter measures

Counter measures

If you look at what’s missing from this great land, it’s, a barstool on which to sit, good home cookin’, and a counter on which to eat it. The diners of yesterday need a revival. By John Moore For more stories about the Farmersville community see the...

read more
Early voting begins May 30 for runoff

Early voting begins May 30 for runoff

Runoff election early voting is right around the corner as voters will cast their ballots for two trustee positions on the Collin College board. The runoff election day is Saturday, June 10, with an early voting window that is set to begin Tuesday, May 30, and run...

read more
Subscribe 300x250 - Love