Filed under: High School SportsReggie Garrett was going places.
The senior quarterback from West Orange, Texas, already had a scholarship offer from Iowa State and was attracting attention from other schools as well -- Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Missouri, and Houston among them. All of those colleges were paying attention to the fleet-footed 6-foot-2,175-pound, dual threat quarterback who had dreams of leading his team to a state title.
But first Gilbert's team, West Orange-Stark, had to play its rival, Jasper, beneath the Friday night lights of Texas.
All summer, Garrett had worked to improve his passing accuracy, for moments just like these, rivalry games in East Texas.
Against arch-rival Jasper, the work paid off. Garrett dropped back to pass and in the words of his head coach Dan Hooks, a 72-year-old East Texas coaching legend with over 250 career wins, "just threw a perfect post-corner route for a touchdown. It was a beautiful pass."
The crowd of 6,500 exulted. Garrett's second touchdown pass of the game, midway through the second quarter, put his team up 21-0. Hooks remembers locking eyes with his quarterback as Garrett ran off the field. "He was smiling, the biggest smile you'd ever seen, just happy at what he'd done," Hooks told FanHouse on Saturday
As Coach Hooks, a 48-year coaching veteran who has been head coach at West Orange-Stark for the past 30 years, turned to ensure that his special teams were ready to attempt the extra point, Garrett collapsed on the sideline.
"It happened so quick none of us knew what to think," Hooks said.
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