It’s no secret that Hagerty High School wasn’t the favorite when they went up against an undefeated Edgewater team last week.

“We’ve always been the underdog and that’s just Hagerty High School,” Senior Ian Watts explained.

That identity, plus the willingness of Watts to step up, set the Huskies up to pull off a massive upset this time around.

“He contributes everything at all times,” Hagerty Head Coach Phil Ziglar said. “It doesn’t make a difference if he returns punts, returns kickoffs –you name it, he does it.”

And against the Eagles in week 10, Watts was asked to play a new position, running back. The 6’2, 176-pound tackled the task, finding the end zone and running in a 6-yard score off the sweep.

“I’m just trying to execute what I’ve been told all week long. That’s just to follow my reads, and do what I have to do to get yards,” Watts said.

That night he played on both sides of the ball. He picked off the Eagles in the first half for an interception, which fueled the team the rest of the way.

Hagerty locked up a playoff berth in the victory and won the Class 7A-District 4 outright. Watts was the shining example.

“I feel like most of the team if they see that going on how much hard work I am putting in –they’ll put the same amount work in,” Watts said of being a leader.

“You can’t ask for anything better than that from a young man in high school than that,” Ziglar said of his starting free-safety.