Friday, Jun. 27, 2008

Last Season’s Best and Brightest

The Lonnquist Notes

Here is something startling: We’re less than six weeks away from the beginning of the 2008-2009 high school athletic season.

Volleyball and football teams may start preparing for the upcoming season on Aug. 4.

However, the 2007-2008 season deserves a tribute. As always, much was accomplished by teams and by individuals. The purpose of this piece is not to point out every thing that happened; the amount of space devoted to the topic would turn it into a laundry list rather than a column. Plus, it would also be unfair if someone was inadvertently omitted.

With that, we will press on with the moments that I found most interesting.

You can’t talk about high school athletics without talking about Carroll football. Usually, you talk about what the Dragons did. This time, it’s about what they didn’t do.

The Dragons lost in the Region I semifinals to Abilene. A mishandled snap in the final seconds denied Carroll a chance of converting a chip-shot field goal.

While Carroll fans and followers were left in disbelief more than sorrow, the game should have given them a sense of appreciation for what the program accomplished with four state championships in its first five years as a Class 5A program. Eras like that rarely come around, so they are to be acknowledged.

Marcus football experienced a renaissance under first-year coach Bryan Erwin. After years of toiling in mediocrity, the Marauders won nine games and a playoff match with a team that had not experienced much winning.

One of the best sporting events I attended was the Class 5A Region I quarterfinal volleyball playoff match between Marcus and Arlington High at Colleyville Heritage. This is a match that will be discussed for years, especially by those who attended it.

It went five games. No lead was greater than three points on either side. And when it was over, the Lady Colts emerged victorious. The rallies were incredible. The effort was unsurpassed. The determination was extraordinary. You couldn’t blame the Marcus players for crying bitterly after the game.

Probably the best coaching performances of the season went to two people. Flower Mound softball coach Wendy Massey and Carroll baseball coach Larry Hughes.

Massey, who would leave the coaching job after the season to remain a teacher, guided the Lady Jaguars to their best run in school history as they played in the Class 5A Region I semifinals. Massey found a way to to get the most out of her team. By winning 26 games and defeating great programs in Keller and Colleyville Heritage, Massey’s program earned a lot of respect from coaches around the state.

For Hughes, he had to navigate the team through a potential minefield when an ineligible player cost the Dragons 11 wins early in the season. Not only did Carroll rebound, the Dragons played for the 5A state championship.

Give a runner-up nod to new Colleyville Heritage football coach Mike Fuller. Fuller showed up last May and inherited a pretty solid team. However, he really couldn’t implement much of his system with the program and had to ride out the season. But the Panthers found a way to go 8-3.

Maybe the best boys athlete to come through the area was Marcus senior Jared Jacobs, who played football, basketball and soccer. He was the starting quarterback, a quality backup guard and a very good goalkeeper. The common denominator? Those Marcus teams each went to the playoffs, and the soccer team repeated as 5A state champions.

Perhaps the best girls athlete was Flower Mound softball player Taylor Hoagland, who led all area 5A schools with 11 home runs and had 36 RBIs.

This is only a thumbnail sketch. The great thing about high school athletics is that you get to see young people driven to succeed because of determination and passion.

You can’t get any more pure than that.