No Sidelines for Him
from the Houston Chronicle
Before Justin Duke put on his pads, tied up his cleats and pulled the blue-and-white No. 51 jersey over his head on Oct. 2, he hadn't shed a tear. Not when he ran headlong into a wall at a junior high basketball game more than three years ago, not when an MRI showed a break in his C2 vertebra and he was airlifted to Texas Children's Hospital, and not when he was told he was paralyzed from the neck down. He didn't cry when he was put in a wheelchair or had pins screwed into his skull. He shed no tears when his parents and grandparents had to feed him or when he had to ask someone to scratch his nose. The first big tear streamed down his face just before he ran, with full feeling in his legs and arms, through the tunnel at Shepherd High School's football stadium and onto the field for his senior homecoming game. For the first time since Jan. 19, 2006, Justin let himself feel everything, and he was overwhelmed. More

Carrollton Creekview RB Carrying on Family Tradition
from The Dallas Morning News HS Game Time
Like most high school teams, Carrollton Creekview doesn’t have the names of players on the back of their jerseys. But it’s always easy to find Creekview’s star. Just look for No. 4. That’s the number that was worn by Travis Wilson, and then his younger brother Corey Wilson, as they starred at Creekview and earned scholarships to Oklahoma. Now it’s the number worn by senior running back Ryan Wilson. More

Position Change Working out Well for McCallum QB Michael Sorrells
from the Austin American-Statesman
One thing people might not know about Michael Sorrells is that the McCallum junior enjoys writing. "Stories, events that happen in my life," Sorrells said. "It's a way of expressing myself and getting things off my chest without telling people my business." On the football field, Sorrells has become the story for McCallum, which is 4-2 with a 2-0 mark in District 26-4A play. The Knights face LBJ (3-2, 2-0) on Friday in a showdown that could decide the district championship. More

West Brook Football Beyond Moral Victories
from the Beaumont Enterprise
Four years ago might have been time for moral victories, admitted West Brook football coach Craig Stump earlier this season. Back then, he was the first-year head coach at a Class 5A high school that hadn't reached the playoffs in seven seasons. Stump has since coached the Bruins at least one playoff victory in each of his four seasons at the school. The result of that test, which came against two-time Class 5A Division II state champion Katy, was a 36-7 loss on Sept. 26. West Brook trailed 13-0 at halftime of that game - an achievement to be pleased about against a powerhouse program - but not quite good enough. More

Six-man Football: Where Big City and Small Town Meet
from the Houston Chronicle
Baytown Christian is in its first full season of six-man football. It's one of 15 private schools in Greater Houston (five whose six-man programs began within the last five years) playing a game traditionally reserved for schools in small West Texas towns. But an increase in private schools with small enrollments has brought this version of the state's favorite sport to a new audience. More

Cisco Running Back 'Waterbug' Far More Disciplined Than His Name May Suggest
from the Abilene Reporter News
His name has "gamble" written all over it, but he doesn’t define himself as a risk-taker. And while his smallish stature does little to inspire fear, pound-for-pound, he may be the strongest player on the Cisco football team. More

Passing Game was Path to Fame for Saul
from The Dallas Morning News HS Game Time
When settlers in the Texas Panhandle scared up a flock of wild turkeys on the banks of Turkey Creek, they went with the theme and called the place Turkey Roost, which eventually became just Turkey. Over the next 100 years, its sole claim to fame was as the home of Bob Wills, King of Western Swing. But in the fall of 1986, Kirk Saul gave Turkey another reason to crow. More

Johnson Gets Acclimated to Winning Ways
from the San Antonio Express-News
Second-year program Johnson was coming off a big win over Churchill last week, and head coach Ron Rittiman wondered how his team would respond. The Jaguars dominated Lee with their defense and special teams and stiffened up at the right times to shut out the Volunteers 41-0 at Heroes Stadium. More