Reggie 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.
Last season, his first year on the varsity, Reggie Garrett passed for 11 touchdowns and rushed for 13 more. Twenty-four touchdowns weren't good enough for Garrett; he needed to improve on his passing accuracy.
Last season he'd only completed 48.3 percent of his passes and that failure gnawed at Garrett, whose high school teammates of last year Trey Franks and James Haynes now are at Oklahoma, and drove him to practice throughout a stifling Texas summer. He would do better, improve, lead his team into the Texas state playoffs and better last year's disappointing finish.
He'd do his best to match his father, who'd played at the same high school for the same old coach. Daddy had been a linebacker who'd been a part of Coach Hooks' two state titles. Now, his son wanted to be a quarterback on the latest state title team from West Orange-Stark.
On Friday, that dream came to an unsettling end.
Paramedics rushed to the senior quarterback's aid and at first everyone on the sideline assumed all would be fine.
"It's hard to believe," a shaken Hooks said the next morning. "We've had injuries before, but nothing like this."
Garrett was placed in an ambulance and rushed to the local hospital as the game continued. By the fourth quarter rumors began to circulate throughout the stadium and filter to the sidelines. Reggie Garrett, the quarterback whose final pass was a touchdown, had died at the hospital.
"None of us could believe it," Hooks said, "none of us."
Suddenly the 72-year-old man who'd thought he'd seen everything in 34 years as a head coach, who had been on the sideline for every game in West Orange-Stark since 1981, long enough to coach this boy's father, addressed a decimated football team that should have been elated by a 27-6 victory over a rival. "The boys were quiet," Hooks said, "so awful quiet."
"I still don't know what you can say. We just don't know what to do. None of us do."
- Coach Dan Hooks After the game, Coach Hooks made one of the most difficult drives of his coaching career, from the high school field to Memorial Hermann Baptist hospital. As he drove he thought of what might have been, about coaching the sons of former players, of boys growing into men, of some boys that would never grow into men.
"He wasn't but 17, you know, 17," the old coach said. "He was a good kid, had his academics in order, he'd improved so much since last year. Every time he played a game he got better."
Arriving at the hospital, Hooks found Garrett's mother, still in a state of complete shock. She'd begun her night in the stands to watch her son play a football game and before that game was even over her son was gone.
"I didn't know what to say," Hooks said. "I still don't know what you can say. We just don't know what to do. None of us do."
Coach Hooks paused for a time on a Saturday morning in Texas, the dawn of a day he never thought he'd face, and sighed.
"I've been doing this for 48 years," he said, "and nothing has even been close to this."
The old coach was quiet for a time. "I just keep thinking about him smiling after that pass," he said, "that's what I keep thinking about."
September 18 2010 Last updated at 12:43 PM ET
Texas Community Mourns Quarterback Whose Last Pass Was a Touchdown
By Clay Travis
Writer/Columnist
Read More: High School Sports Dan+Hooks, Reggie+Garrett
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Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Heartfelt prayers are going out from Jasper to the family, friends and to the community of this wonderful young athlete. We are so sorry for your loss. God Bless you all!
laidianlo---
YOU ARE SICK!!! YOUR POSTS ARE TIRESOME AND ANNOYING ALL OVER THE WEB. YOU PLUG YOUR DAMN WEBSITE IN THE COMMENT SECTION OF 100S OF ARTICLES. YOU ARE REPEATEDLY REPORTED YET SOMEHOW LIKE A MAGGOT YOU REFUSE TO GO AWAY...BUT THIS TIME YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR!
I AM SICKENED THAT YOU WILL USE THE OPPORTUNITY OF A YOUNG MAN'S DEATH TO PLUG YOUR DAMN WEBSITE AGAIN! AOL NEEDS TO SHUT YOU DOWN ONCE AND FOR ALL. YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE NO CONSCIENCE OR RESPECT FOR NOT ONLY OTHER READERS BUT NOW FOR THIS YOUNG MAN WHO TRAGICALLY DIED AND HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS! YOU HAVE ANNOYED & IRRITATED ME FOR MONTHS; YOUR CURRENT ANTICS MAKE ME VOMIT!
AOL EXPEL THIS LEACH ONCE & FOR ALL!laid in a lowly place or whoever you call yourself today--shame on you & your nasty pedophile boyfriend
sad story but a poorly written article
You said all that needed to be said honore.
My deepest sympathy to the family, friends, and teammates of this young man. I will keep you in my prayers.
I read the story about Garret.As I kept on reading the article, tears started flowing non-stop. Garret will be in my prayers tonight and every night.
What a terrible tragedy. My heart and prayers go out to his mom, family and teammates. I too am from the East Texas area, so even though I didn't know Reggie, I am a mom of an athlete. So just try to remember him with that smile!
May God Bless you all.
How unbelievably tragic - my sincere condolences to his family and friends. You will be in my prayers and may God help you in this most difficult time.
I keep on missing the appropriate question concerning this young man's unfortunate death - Does not anyone in the city of West Orange know how to perform Basic CPR and call 911 to get Emergency Medical Technicians to the scene when someone has an arrest?? Are people in West Orange really that ignorant? This young man could very probably have been saved. Use your brains, people, and do what you should be expected to do!!
Wow Robert, you certainly are making a strong statement. I suppose you were there. I suppose you know the cause of death. Where have you seen or heard that no one attempted to use CPR or administer other life saving techniques? Did you see it??? Or are you, perhaps making a gross-generalization? Let's not call anyone ignorant.
I am a mom of a Texas HIgh School Football player -- Just down the road a bit. We DO have an ambulance on site, with emergency personnel - it is standard procedure.
Could there not have been one on-hand when this occurred? perhaps, although I have not seen that reported.My advice to Robert and others who may be jumping to conclusions - Just because an article does not immediately address a topic that your are thinking does NOT imply that there has been a gross negligence in reporting the information. It also does not mean you are the ONLY person that has thought about the same topic.
Please do not allow your sadness and anger in this tragedy drive you to call an entire community ignorant or that people don't use their brains. Ask, ask and ask - see waht is reported. gather the facts from another source if you feel so compelled... but dont assume that because it's not in a report that it must not have occurred.
You are an idiot. I was at the game. Of course, all of the appropriate care was given. Have you ever been to an atheletic event at a public school? Think before you speak.
What is the point of pointing fingers at others...This is tragic and there was nothing else that could be done.
You know there is a time and a place for everything and if you could read you would see that you are the ignorant one. If you recall there were paramedics on scene as there are for every Texas football game. As they were rushing him to the hospital they were doing everything they could for him but it was too late. The hospital is less than 2 miles from the stadium that he was playing at so he recieved immediate care and they worked on him for over an hour after he had arrived there. When someone is in mourning please think about what you are going to post before you just go off half cocked and start calling people ignorant. Think about it, if you were Reggie and your mom were gonna read this, what do you think her reaction would be?
How dare you make a comment such as this. Many people have undiagnosed physical conditions. There are times when NO medical treatment can save your life.
Just because they live in Texas does not mean they are ignorant. You are the ignorant one for blaming this students death on other people. You should apologize to all on this site!!!
Robert, you may have missed the report that there was a medically trained woman in the stands who immediately ran down to the sidelines to treat that sweet young man.
Defibrilators which are easy to use by anyone are available at a reasonable cost of $1500.00. Every sports department at high schools and colleges should have at least one for emergency use at every sporting event for use in emergency situations. Because autopsy reports are not yet available and can be inconclusive as to cause of death, this equipment may not have helped. Nevertheless, they should be required equipment.
He is now in our Heavenly Father's loving embrace and will be reunited with his family and friends some day. I prayed to our Lord that there are football teams in Heaven, so that this promising young man will be able to continue to play the game he so enjoyed.
read the article better it said when he fell medics were on the side lines an rushed him to the hospitial...
Robert, Shut up.
yeah since the medics were IMMEDIATELY CALLED after he collapsed... maybe you should re-read the article...and if you are ever in a situation like that.. you would knwo that people panic and with is being a stadium, there were over 6,500 people there (again re-read the atricle) so even if there had been someone who knew cpr or anyhting, then maybe they couldnt get to him in time with all the hustle and bustle.. thank you for being such a jerk.... have a good day.!
the article states, "Paramedics rushed to the senior quarterback's aid and at first everyone on the sideline assumed all would be fine."
Robert, when paramedics rush to someone, do you not think that they would attempt CPR on them?
Robert, who is the ignorant one? look in the mirror.
I am sure they couyld do all they could do. But when someone has this kind of heart attack at this young age its just about impossible to stop. My girlfriends 20 year old son, bursting with health, played a game of la crosse on afternoon at college came in for a nap and died in his sleep just before dinner. She never got over it.He had had a tiny deformity in his heart that went undiscovered. and it was proabbly the same thing with this boy. Poor parents. Hope they find peace.