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EDMOND — Maddox Wilkerson moved through the post-game handshake line with tears streaming down his cheeks.
These weren’t tears of happiness after Carl Albert High School won yet another state championship. They weren’t tears of joy shed in the moments after the final game of his senior season either.
No, these were tears of abject sadness, painful and hot and stinging.
Saturday, Wilkerson won a state title.
Friday, he lost his dad, Jimmy, the former OU standout who was an assistant coach at Carl Albert.
On a night Carl Albert shellacked Guthrie 30-6, the storylines were plentiful. Carl Albert not only won its third consecutive Class 5A crown but also claimed the program’s 19th overall. It tied Ada for the most titles in Oklahoma high school football history.
But this title was all about Coach Wilk and Maddox.
“Proud of all of our guys,” Carl Albert coach Mike Dunn said, tears in his eyes, too, after the game. “Different circumstances today. … I don’t know that we’ve ever dealt with adversity like that.”
More: Carl Albert High School is about more than football. How it has become a multi-sport power
Carl Albert’s Maddox Wilkerson (45) is honored by his team following the Class 5A state championship football game between Guthrie and Carl Albert at the Chad Richison Stadium in Edmond, Okla., Saturday, Dec., 14, 2024.
Friday morning, a few hours before the Titans were scheduled to have their final practice and walk through before Saturday’s title game, Jimmy was at home when a call went out to 911. By the time paramedics got there, he had no pulse.
He’d had a heart attack.
He was only 43.
His death left everyone at Carl Albert reeling. The coaches who had become like brothers. The players who had become like sons. But of course, it hit Maddox like no one else.
“You were the best dad and also my best friend…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/carl-albert-honors-assistant-coach-114501874.html
Author : The Oklahoman
Publish date : 2024-12-15 11:45:00
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