Time to check back in this Thanksgiving week with HS programs struck by adversity, tragedy | Opinion
Nov. 22—Thanksgiving gatherings have problems enough with arguing.
So this holiday week, a better approach would be to pause the rhetoric — while knowing well it will return amid high school sports soon enough.
Over the years in this space, the focus has been primarily on topics affecting area schools and student-athletes.
Every so often, though, I've felt it important to share with you stories taking place beyond our vicinity.
It may be schools with whom familiarity is minimal at best, but you have empathy when they face adversity that puts them in a national spotlight.
Communities ravaged by weather, or devastated by tragedy.
Each in their own way, they show us a path forward with a dignity we watch from afar with respect.
In alphabetical order, here are five of those high school sports programs that have faced those moments, and how they're doing now in a competitive sense after the public glare has faded a bit:
Aransas Pass football
In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc on this community, just outside Corpus Christi on the southeast coast of Texas.
Significant damage was inflicted on Aransas Pass' stadium infrastructure, including necessitating the practice field being leveled, according to a 2018 story in the Caller Times. In addition, its season was suspended into September 2017 as the cleanup ensued.
In 2018, the Panthers managed a 5-6 campaign. Two 3-7 seasons followed in 2019 and 2020.
This fall, Aransas Pass snapped a 12-game losing skid with a 40-34 road win at Skidmore-Tynan, its lone victory of the season.
Aransas Pass trailed, 20-6, after the opening quarter before rallying. Senior running back George Acosta rushed for 303 yards and six touchdowns on 35 carries, including the go-ahead score midway through the fourth.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas swimming and diving
In February 2018, one of the 17 lives lost on that tragic day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Fla., was Nicholas Dworet, a standout swimmer and one of the premier sprint freestylers in the state.
As a senior, with swimming and diving being a fall sport in Florida, Dworet recorded the best state performance of his career, a fifth in Class 4A 100-yard freestyle, along with an 11th in 50 free. He was committed to continue his swim career in college for Indianapolis.
Less than a day after the tragedy, Dworet's teammate Connor Dietrich was interviewed live on CNN.
"People I see every single day of my life, I am never going to see again," Dietrich said.
"Nick was our swim team captain. He was a friend to everyone on our team. It didn't matter how well you knew him. He was there for you. He was cheering you on. He was making sure you had everything you needed at your meet. He just cared so much about everyone on our team. It's awful that this happened, and he didn't deserve it."
Since 2018, the Stoneman Douglas swimming and diving program has had 11 individual-event and two relay qualifiers for the Class 4A state meet in Florida.
This past winter, Carolyn Levy-Powell took 10th in 100 backstroke, the school's first top-10 in a swim event at the state meet since Dworet.
Dietrich, months after speaking on national television about the unspeakable and doing so with a conviction beyond his years, took ninth in 2018 boys 4A diving with a score of 381.10.
On a personal note, one of the most touching letters I've received in my career followed my Dworet tribute column, when his father, Mitch, unexpectedly and kindly six months to the day of Nicholas' death, wrote an email to say thank you. Sometimes you forget how much of a small world it is, but Mitch Dworet reminded me in that moment.
Paying tribute to swimmer and Florida high school shooting victim Nicholas Dworet — Opinion
Mayfield (Ky.) football
It's been nearly a year now since Mayfield, on the southwesternmost tip of Kentucky, was decimated by a deadly tornado, stated by experts to perhaps be the most powerful to touch down in the state.
A few weeks removed from a state final four run, Mayfield standout running back Kylan Galbreath was huddled with his family and dog waiting out the storm, later telling the New York Times, "Half the city is just gone."
Their longtime 2A rival from northern Kentucky, Beechwood, organized a relief drive, taking supplies to Mayfield to aid a return to normalcy.
In Class 2A in 2022, Mayfield is back at it with its powerhouse program. Following a 10-0 regular season, it has made a return to the final four with three impressive playoff victories by a combined score of 120-36.
The Cardinals, in pursuit of their first football state championship since 2015, will take on Lexington Christian in a state semifinal Nov. 25. The winner advances to the Class 2A state title game Dec. 2 — and guess who's still playing on the other side of the bracket? Beechwood, which takes on Lloyd Memorial.
Outpouring for Kentucky football power by rival uplifts during holiday season — Opinion
Newtown football
In 2019, Newtown won the Class LL state championship in Connecticut, seven years to the day after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School that took 26 lives within its city limits.
That state crown, the program's first since 1992, was won on a walkoff touchdown pass from Jack Street to Riley Ward.
"I couldn't have asked for anything more," Ward told the Hartford Courant after the game. "I love this town. I love everybody. I'm at a loss for words."
After losing the 2020 season statewide to the pandemic, Newtown went 6-4 a year ago and is now 8-1, awaiting Masuk in its regular-season finale this week. The Nighthawks are seeking to seal up a Class L home playoff game with a win.
Newtown's football miracle uplifts during holidays — Opinion
Uvalde football
Following the senseless tragedy in May at Robb Elementary School that took 19 children and two teachers, Uvalde's high school football team returned to action.
The Coyotes were 2-8 a year ago and showed marked improvement in 2022 at 5-6. That's more wins than the last two seasons combined.
Uvalde started 3-1, featuring back-to-back tight wins over Carrizo Springs (21-13) and Eagle Pass Winn (34-28) to open the season.
The victory over Winn was Uvalde's first home game of 2022 and 600th win in program history.
"Right now, with the weight of the world on our shoulders, what you came out here and did tonight, I love you like you're my own children," Coyotes coach Wade Miller told his team postgame.
Perhaps within all of those five programs, we can learn a lesson about strength this Thanksgiving week — a resolve that knows no bounds.
As we know locally with Chardon, national tragedy like Uvalde leaves lasting mark on a community — Opinion
