WHAT’S CAUSING ALL THIS? / By MITCH LUCAS | Introducing Kayson Brooks

Imagine this.

You’re 15 again.

You’re Kayson Brooks, in the 10th grade. You’re in Randall Reed Stadium near Houston, on Thanksgiving week.

You’ve played a handful of plays all year on a football team that’s won 11 straight games. You’re on the sidelines at one of the newest stadiums in the state in front of almost 7,000 people, with a ton of your community behind you and your team.

You’ve worked hard all year, you know the offense, and your offensive line – they’re a machine, man. Crank them up, and the running backs behind them, and get out of the way. You’ve got Division-I wide receivers to throw to (that double as defensive backs). It’s fun to watch ‘em, and your friend, senior Derrick Williams, is driving that machine.

And then…

Things change.

A lot.

Williams led the team inside Needville’s 10-yard-line, and on a run, he comes off the field, and he looks to be hurt.

People always say, “You get the call.” No, you don’t get any freaking call. There’s no “call” to get. You grab your helmet and you go to coach, and you go in.

And right after you go in, your teammate, Sage Orange, goes in with you. And Sage, he’s faster than the babysitter’s boyfriend when the car pulls up.

Before you know it, behind that big offensive line – Rashaud Brown, Braydon Nelson, Braquan Moye, Emmanuel Young, and Parker Allums – they blow Needville off the ball and Sage is standing in the end zone. He only had about 9 yards to go, anyway.

Leo Yzaguirre gets the extra point – no doubt on that, he’s Leo – and that ties it up at 7-all.

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Just a glimpse into what might have been going through Brooks’ mind on Friday afternoon, as the young man had all kinds of pressure on him for his first real playing time of Kilgore’s 2023 season.

Ask Derrick Williams: when you’re the starting quarterback at Kilgore High School – or an ATHLETE at Kilgore High – there’s pressure from all sides: the pressure to win, peer pressure, pressure you have of knowing kids are looking up to you, pressure of knowing – like in the University of Texas song – that eyes are upon you, all the time.

Eyes were on Brooks yesterday when he came in to the game to replace Williams, when he was cold as ice. And I’m sure he had nerves popping HUGE inside, adrenaline pumping when he was in there, leading the offense.

But you could not tell it.

Did he make a fantastic play? You better believe it! He had an outstanding throw to P.J. Wiley, a 13-yard touchdown pass to Wiley that was just as good as it would have been had Brooks been the starter all season. Wiley hauled it in and gave the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead (with Leo’s point after).

Did Brooks make a mistake? Sure he did! Trying to make a play, he threw an interception, a pass right to Needville’s Brady Dostal. Brooks made the tackle himself, the only one who really had a shot to do so, pulling him down inside Kilgore’s 40-yard-line with about 1:50 left in the first half. And it looked like Needville would break a 14-all tie and go in front before halftime.

And Brooks did something on the sidelines that he might not know that people saw him do: he pounded his fist on the turf, clearly upset with himself.

He had to be settled down, obviously beating himself up.

But that’s what sports is about sometimes. Teammates lifting you up.

And Brooks – who was a GREAT teammate Friday – has some GREAT teammates around him.

How did they respond to his interception?

Well… THEY LIFTED HIM UP.

Because that’s what we do here.

When people falter, when people need it, when they need help, we lift them up.

We put out a hand, and we lift them up.

Brooks did it for Willilams.

Then the defense did it for Brooks.

The Bulldogs’ defense, probably the best in the state at maybe any classification (giving up about 16 points a game, is all), stood tall for Brooks. They were there for him.

Jackson Tucker Phillips got a hold of Needville quarterback Keilan Sweeny’s ankle and simply would not let go, forcing the Blue Jays into a third-and-long that they could not convert. Even on Kilgore’s side of the field, the Blue Jays were just about helpless.

They were helpless in the second half. They could not score. Let me say that again: They. Could. Not. Score.

And their passing game was of no use all day.

Passing on Kilgore’s secondary was a no-win scenario for Needville, just impossible. I’m pretty sure Sweeny completed one pass to a receiver all day. Just ridiculous.

There were so many stories, so many reasons, Kilgore was able to win on Friday:

• The Bulldogs’ offensive line owned the line of scrimmage. Owned it.
• Kilgore’s speed everywhere was overwhelming.
• The Ragin’ Red defense would not allow the Blue Jays to throw the ball at all, and wouldn’t allow much of anything in the second half – Needville only had one first down in the second half!
• Brooks being ice-cold coming in for Williams.
• The Bulldogs’ coaching staff having the players prepared.
• Five different players scored for Kilgore: one passing touchdown (Brooks to Wiley) and four rushing touchdowns (Orange, Isaiah Watters, Rayshaun Williams, Matthew Hardy)
• Yzaguirre hitting all five of his extra points. Do NOT underrate that, underestimate that.

All of this being said, Kilgore has a rematch coming Friday. That’s a game, a column, for another day. And we’ll talk about that this week in another ‘What’s Causing All This,’ and a preview of the game later this week.

But Kayson Brooks, for what it’s worth, much respect, my man: 7-of-8, 108 yards, did throw the pick, but also the 13-yard touchdown to Wiley, had to come in on the fly. You’re the ETBlitz.com Player of the Week.