Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Three White House Heritage football players signed collegiate scholarships Wednesday in a signing ceremony inside the school’s gymnasium.
Aric Lopez, Pryce Payne and Luke Warren each inked National Letters of Intent in front of their families and the Heritage student body.
Lopez and Payne signed with Division III programs John Carroll University (Cleveland, Ohio) and Aurora University (Aurora, Illinois), respectively. Warren sealed his pledge to Midway University Sprint Football (Midway, Kentucky).
“This is a very special moment for our program,” Warren said. “Two years ago we had a 1-9 season, and we were just able to bounce back from that and move on. (Our senior class) went through three different head coaches, and we were able to persevere and finish with one of the best seasons in school history.”
Lopez closed his career at Heritage as one of the most accomplished wide receivers in program history. The 6-foot, 170-pound wideout finished with 115 career receptions for 1,562 yards and 27 touchdowns.
He was twice named to the All-Robertson County football team in addition to being selected to the Tennessee Football Coaches Association All-State team as a senior.
Lopez hauled in 65 receptions for 820 yards and 16 touchdowns in his final season with the Patriots. He broke the school’s all-time receiving touchdown record on Sept. 26 with a two-TD performance in the Patriots’ 48-20 win over Sycamore.
Lopez now joins perennial Division III Top 25 contender John Carroll led by head coach Jeff Behram.
“With how basketball and football season ended, I definitely didn’t want my playing career to end there,” Lopez said. “It means a lot to continue my athletic career like my brothers (Ty and AJ). It’s like a competition between us and I’m just happy to keep it going.
“I’m thankful for my coaches and teammates for all the things we have been through together, and especially coach (Scott) Murray. He put me in position to succeed and helped change the program.”
Payne, a 6-foot, 175-pound wide receiver, thrived in his lone season playing football at Heritage. He was the tertiary receiving option for Region 6-3A Player of the Year Xavier Murray alongside Lopez and Carson-Newman University signee Dason Springer.
Payne collected 63 catches for 744 yards and four TDs. He was named All-Region 6-3A after averaging 11.8 yards per reception.
“It’s something that I always wanted to do,” Payne said of playing collegiately. “When I was young I thought it would be for basketball, but I started playing football and I knew that’s what I wanted to do.
“When I first stepped on the field it just felt natural and right for me.”
Warren, a defensive end and outside linebacker under defensive coordinator Bronson Bradley, recorded a career-high 70 tackles in his final season for the Patriots.
The All-Region 6-3A selection finished with five pass deflections, five QB hurries and two sacks. He amassed 114 tackles across his final two seasons, in addition to 13 tackles for loss.
“It was very relieving to sign today,” Warren said. “I had a lot of options that I had to go through, and try to find my home for the next four years. I’m really excited for this opportunity and am ready to get to (Midway) in August and get started.”
January 22, 2025
The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association has announced it will launch the TSSAA Student Advisory Committee with 20 students this spring. The committee will serve as a platform for student-athletes to offer input on issues…
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