Ever since becoming the Kansas City Chief's starting quarterback, Patrick Mahomes has seized the opportunity to be the NFL's next great quarterback. In just seven short years, he's won three Super Bowls and has been named the league's MVP twice. As hard as it may be to imagine, there was a time in his life when winning the championship didn't come quite as easily. Let's take a look back at his career as a Whitehouse High School Wildcat.
2011 -Sophomore Year
Young Patrick Mahomes looked good in practice. his hands looked like they had stick-um on them as he nabbed interceptions as a 6'3" 215 pound safety. But while he looked good patrolling the backfield, Mahomes's passion was on the other side of the ball. However, he wasn't going to beat out incumbent senior starter Hunter Taylor.
The season could not have started worse for Whitehouse as they gave up more than 50 points in both of their first two losses. While they lost a shootout (70-49) to Sulphur Springs in the third game of the year, there was a bright spot: Patrick Mahomes recorded the first two interceptions of his career. Surely his counterpart, Justin Owens, treasures those moments these days.
The Wildcats finally won a game two weeks after after their bye week, squeaking by Jacksonville High School 22-21 while Mahomes made a career-high five tackles. It was the beginning of a three game win streak. While Tyler High School snapped their win streak by beating them 42-14, it began the biggest rivalry of Patrick Mahomes' prep career. He was impressed with the Lion's dynamic quarterback Greg Ward Jr.'s no-look passes and introduced himself by intercepting one of the district's most electric players.
After a long, winding season, Whitehouse entered the regular season finale with an opportunity to enter the playoffs above .500. However, Patrick Mahomes could only do so much and even though he managed to record his fourth interception of the year, Kilgore still tore through Whitehouse's paltry defense to win 64-26. He recorded his fifth interception of the year two weeks later off of Sherman's Gus Daniel in a 45-24 shellacking, ending the Wildcats season.
Patrick Mahomes never saw the field as a quarterback in 2011. Instead, the young sophomore watched as the team's starter Hunter Taylor completed 53.6% of his passes for 4,110 yards and 47 touchdowns against just 14 interceptions. As he watched the veteran lead the Wildcats through a tumultuous season, Mahomes knew that he could perform even better in Whitehouse's system. Besides, the Wildcats were blown out in every game that Mahomes recorded an interception. With five interceptions to his name, Patrick Mahomes called it a career as a safety and moved to the other side of the ball the very next year.
2012- Junior Year
Patrick Mahomes' time as Whitehouse High School's starting quarterback began with a 35-18 triumph over Hallsville High School. He managed to shake off an interception (the first in his career) to Tyler Martinez and five sacks by Coby Bradford to throw for 265 yards and three touchdowns, all three of which went to senior receiver Dylan Cantrell.
He spread the ball better the following week as both Cantrell and junior receiver Jaylon Dews each had two touchdown catches. Still, Mahomes threw just three of them as he was taken out late in the game for fellow junior Ryan Cheatham who proceeded to throw a touchdown pass of his own to ice the 38-14 victory over Chapel Hill.
Mahomes had his first true test as a leader against Sulphur Springs. He managed to complete just 21 of 49 passes for 403 yards and a touchdown all the while Barry Stribling continued to haunt Whitehouse receivers and made fine work of his interception, returning he ball 53 yards. Even back then Patrick Mahomes could always be counted on to lead his team to victory in crunch time. All day, he focused on feeding little-used receiver Jake Parker. Before the night was over, Mahomes had completed eight passes to Parker for 163 yards and a touchdown.
While he wasn't zipping passes to Parker, Mahomes was busy running all over Sulphur Springs, ultimately running 12 times for 105 yards and three touchdowns. The Wildcats prevailed 38-33. Mahomes put on a clinic against Marshall the following week, completing eight passes of 14 attempts for 177 yards and five touchdowns in the 60-14 win while spreading the ball out to four different receivers in the end zone.
Mahomes was less than stellar the following week at Carthage, throwing more interceptions (two) than touchdowns. Still, he managed to do just enough for his team when it mattered most, rushing 17 times for 56 yards and two touchdowns while completing 12 of his passes to Patterson for 124 yards and his lone touchdown pass of the day to Dews as he led the Wildcats to a 29-27 squeaker of a win.
He put on a clinic the nest week against Lindale, completing 17 of 20 passes for 193 yards while spreading his five touchdowns all around to his favorite receivers. The 56-24 blowout was so decisive that even his backup Ryan Chatham threw for two touchdowns late in the game.
Patrick Mahomes faced a critical moment in his young career at Jacksonville High School. The game was a typical Texas shootout with neither team having much of defense for the night. What's more, Mahomes was off, completing just 14 of 34 passes for 251 yards and coughing up an interception. Still, he managed to throw touchdowns when needed, and spread them out to Patterson (one catch, 15 yards), Parker (four catches, 50 yards) and Cantrell (six catches, 141 yards).
Still, with all of the fireworks, Whitehouse's kicker could come through at the end of regulation, sending the two team to overtime, deadlocked at 35-all. Mahomes saved the day by completing throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Burton to give Whitehouse the decisive 42-35 victory. It was the receiver's lone reception of the day.
Mahomes' 105 passer rating suggested more from completing less than half of his 33 passes in a 52-21 win against Nacodoches. In that game, he threw for 302 yards while finding Patterson for 149 yards and two touchdowns and Cantrell for 86 yards and three touchdowns.
He made sure to give Dews and Colton Lampin their time in the spotlight on Senior Night against Corsicana. In completing 22 of 34 passes, Mahomes found Dews for 57 of his 387 passing yards while finding Cantrell for 139 more. In total, Mahomes passed for six touchdowns before the night ended while posting a sizzling 131 passer rating in the 54-28 victory.
He even found his backup for five of his completions, 57 of his yards and one of his touchdowns. In those moments, the Whitehouse coaching staff saw a real connection between the two. Knowing that they would have a thinner receiving corp the following year, the wheels in their imaginations began to whir. In the end, it was Cheatham who found Colton Lampin for the lone touchdown catch of his senior year.
Tyler I
Every great player needs to have a rivla that pushes them to be better. John Tyler High School and its star quarterback Greg Ward jr. was that rival for Patrick Mahomes. Both were undefeated in their district going into the regular season finale and both had stellar casts surrounding them. Tyler's lone loss of the season was 26-21 heartbreaker against powerful Lancaster well before district play had begun.
Not only did Tyler have a stellar dual threat quarterback at their disposal, they also had two exceptional receivers in Fred Ross and Darion Flowers who combined for over 180 yards a game and a pass rushing terror in Tyus Bowser who would end the year with 24 sacks. The Lion's only.
Whitehouse started the game hot, going up 24-0 midway through the second quarter before a stunned Tyler crowd. Then the legend of Greg Ward jr. came to life. Next thing the Wildcats knew, Ward had led the Lions to within 14 going into the half before putting on a clinic in the second.
All night long, he threw short, he threw long and he threw no-look passes that would one day make Patrick Mahomes a very rich man. Greg Ward jr. ended the night by completing 21 of 24 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns with a 167 passer rating while adding an additional 15 rushes for 147 yards and a touchdown on the ground. In short, the man was a beast.
Despite being sacked seven times (Bowser had five), Mahomes played well too, completing 28 of 57 passes for 435 yards and four touchdowns. He was leading his team on a potential game-tying drive to force overtime when Terry Ausbone intercepted him to end the game 45-38. While the Wildcats ended the regular season disappointed, Patrick Mahomes exited the game inspired. He had seen the kind of athlete that he wanted to be and from then o dedicated himself to being better than the Houston-bound Greg Ward Jr.
2013- Senior Year
Patrick Mahomes entered his senior year brimming with confidence, having finished his junior season losing in the second round of the state playoffs to Wylie East 63-56. He'd accounted for more than 550 yards of total offense in that game and had been responsible for six touchdowns while posing a sizzling 137 passer rating.
Having completed 56.7% of his passes for 3,839 yards and 46 touchdowns against just nine interceptions, Mahomes knew that he had what it took to reach the next level. With his former backup Cheatham now playing receiver full time, Mahomes had developed a strong connection with him in the offseason and looked forward to showing the state what they could do together.
Mahomes began the 2013 season by completing 24 of his 40 passes for 455 yards and four touchdowns in a 58-28 win over Hallsville. What's more, four of those completions went to Cheatham for 115 yards and a a touchdown. It was apparent to many that all of their hard work was beginning to pay off.
None of Patrick's four touchdown passes went to Cheatham the following week against Chapel Hill, but he managed to find one of his favorite receivers, Dews, for 10 receptions and 132 of his 392 yards in the 42-34 win. Whitehouse destroyed Sulphur Springs the next week as Mahomes completed 17 of his 36 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns and the team rushed for four more in the 61-22 win. Patterson was the best player on the field that day, catching eight passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns.
Marshall High School didn't stand a chance against Whitehouse the next week, losing 59-3 as Mahome's posted a 140 passer rating and threw for 331 yards and five touchdowns, finding Parker for 142 yards and two scores, Dews for 65 yards and two scores and Cheatham for 66 yards and a touchdown. The Wildcats didn't let a five-point halftime deficit intimidate them the following week and went on to outscore Carthage 43-14 in the second half of a 63-39 triumph. Mahomes threw for a career-best seven touchdown that day and added 70 yards on the ground for emphasis.
Whitehouse suffocated Lindale all night the next week and led 63-0 midway through the fourth quarter of the eventual 63-7 victory. Mahomes recorded his best overall game to date that day, passing for 355 yards and five touchdowns and running for 103 yards and another two touchdowns. Every one of his favorite receivers caught a touchdown pass that day and even his new backup, Jackson Allen, completed two of his three passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Whitehouse dominated Jacksonville the next week by scoring 28 points in both the first and third quarters while Mahomes quietly completed 14 of his 22 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns. He made up for his two interceptions by rushing nine times for 121 yards and another two touchdowns in the 70-21 pasting.
Over the next two weeks as Whitehouse cruised to wins over Nacogdoches (43-21) and Corsicana (45-14) it was clear to many in the audience that those were just tune-up games for the year's ultimate test: Tyler. Led by a quarterback who was averaging 275 yards, thrown for five touchdowns over those two weeks and had just posted a mind-boggling 150 passer rating, the Wildcats knew that this was their best chance in a long time to beat the district's best.
Tyler II
A couple of things were different about this rematch. For one, the John Tyler Lions had lost twice before district play had begun. But the most important difference? Greg Ward Jr. had graduated. Still, even without one of the most dynamic signal-callers in school history, the Lions were a terrific team. One that Patrick Mahomes had yet to beat.
The Wildcats had a tough time slowing down Ward's successor, Giovari Mccollister, who passed and ran for three touchdowns apiece before the night was done. Facing a 33-28 deficit at the half, Patrick Mahomes led his team to a thrilling finish in the second. He would finish the night by passing for 384 yards and five touchdowns while rushing 21 times for 82 yards and another two touchdowns. Seven was indeed a lucky number for Mahomes that night as the Lions failed to convert on a two-point conversion, ceding the district to the Wildcats in the 55-54 thriller.
The Playoffs
Now that his longtime rival had been vanquished, Patrick Mahomes felt much lighter going into Texas's UIL playoffs. While Sequine held him in check for much of the day through the air, Mahomes still managed to squeeze in two touchdown passes, one each to Dews and Cheatham. Still, his legs did most of the talking that day, rumbling for 213 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats won in overtime 50-44.
Whitehouse ultimately didn't need Mahomes to pull a rabbit out of his hat in the next round as their defense held Sulphur Springs to just 14 points. That was fortunate for them as Mahomes had one of the worst games of his high school career, completing just 11 of 26 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns.
Staring at an 18-point deficit in the third quarter at Allen High School against a powerful Poteet squad, Patrick Mahomes refused to go down quietly and started slinging passes around the field like his life depended on it. In that game, he channeled all that he had witnessed Greg Ward jr. do just the year before, passing short and passing long while zipping no-look passes and scampering out of snarling pass-rusher's grasps.
By late in the fourth quarter, he had the Wildcats driving for the deciding points when Malachi Cobb picked off the final pass of Patrick Mahomes' high school career. Although Whitehouse lost 65-60, Patrick Mahomes had completed 35 of 60 passes for 619 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for an additional 45 yards and two touchdowns. He had saved the best for last.
Patrick Mahomes finished his senior year having completed 58% of his passes for 4,619 yards and 50 touchdowns against just six interceptions while rushing for 940 yards and an additional 15 touchdowns. With a scholarship offer from Texas Tech in hand, he was ready for the future.
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