While this space is usually reserved for athletic exploits, I’d like to bring your attention to something academic.
We are all quite familiar with Gunner Miller’s story—his fight with cancer and recovery—and his Cinderella appearance in the state championship game.
But his performance in the classroom supersedes everything else.
After all his trials and tribulations, when Miller picked up his diploma Friday night, he did so as an honor grad.
He posted a 4.01 grade point average and was ranked sixth in his class.
This accomplishment, my friends, means so much more than any game winning touchdown pass. This translates into the real world.
Miller will attend Texas Tech and is leaning towards studying business, but those close to him would not be surprised if he slipped off into coaching.
He’s already put it some time on the sidelines and his dad has had some modicum of success as a coach.
Obviously, with that Class 3A state football championship trophy in its possession and the obstacles Big Blue had to overcome to get it, the Class of 2018 will be forever emblazoned in this town’s memory.
The Class of 2018 is special to Coach Jeff Miller in more ways than one and his feelings have little to do with any accomplishments on any playing field.
“What’s been special about this class is I got to watch most of these kids grow up. Birthdays, T-ball, pool parties, sleep overs.
“The best part has been the last four years. The reason we were so successful was the maturity that developed over the year.
“It turned into a project and they were mature enough to handle it. They were great teammates and completely unselfish. Forget about the athleticism, they’re just good young men.
“That’s how come they will always have a special place in my heart because of the kind of people they were.”
While the football title is obviously paramount to defining this class, let’s not forget some recent hardware that has been added to the 2018 resume.
Devon Whitsel and Reyna Gonzalez became just the third and fourth tennis players to earn gold medals for Rockdale and the first since 1985.
A week later, Lyndy Laurrell reclaimed her status as the best golfer in Class 3A with another state championship that featured a dominating performance.
Add those two factors into the football mix and you’ve got a case for one of the greatest sports years in RHS history.
The Class of 2018 included one of the best basketball players to ever slip on the blue and gold in Frances King, who’s career was cut short because of a freak foot injury.
Despite the injury, the spitfire King finished third on the all-time scoring list with 1,544 points.
And despite the fact that he had officially graduated and has already kicked off his college career at Oklahoma, Jaqualyn Crawford—the most highly recruited athlete in RHS history— returned to once again join his teammates and classmates and revel in the uniqueness that is the Class of 2018.
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