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Dec. 14—A devastating 55-21 loss to Celina in the 4A Div. I Regional Final marked the end of Alvarado’s historic season. As the final seconds ticked down last Friday, the realization of not completing the goal to play at AT&T Stadium in a state championship crept into the minds of players and coaches.
However, soon after the disappointment faded, the Indians relished in the severity of their accomplishments including a feeling not seen since 2011 — the Alvarado football spirit.
Head Coach Casey Walraven, former Indian quarterback in the mid-90s, recalled the excitement Alvarado football brought to the town by rallying around the team and painting the windows but once he came back in 2022, he wondered where the spirit had gone. Since then, Walraven and the Indians have progressively seen improvement, leading to an undefeated regular season, a deep playoff run in 2024 and the return of that spirit.
“We started to see all of that come back,” Walraven said. “It’s something really special for not just the football program but everybody.”
One of the main contributors to Alvarado’s season was quarterback Cardea Collier. In his final season, Collier put up 72 total touchdowns and nearly 5,000 offensive yards. Yet, for the recent Tarleton State University commit, this season almost didn’t happen.
“A lot of people don’t know but I wasn’t going to play football after freshman year,” Collier said.
Dave Campbell’s “Mr. Texas Player of the Year” finalist would’ve left the game if it wasn’t for Walraven and the new coaching staff bringing back his love for the sport.
“If it wasn’t for them, no one would’ve ever known my name or talked about Alvarado football,” Collier said. “I’ll always thank them for that.”
Offensive coordinator Daniel Spencer assisted in bringing Collier’s passion back and factored into the team’s monumental…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bringing-back-spirit-045900879.html
Author : Cleburne Times-Review, Texas
Publish date : 2024-12-15 04:59:00
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