APPLE SPRINGS, Texas (KTRE) – Thirteen kids are on the Apple Springs football team.
While that sounds like hardly enough to make a team, Superintendent Cody Moree is impressed considering the high school has an enrollment of 49 total students. Moree is happy to have his team back on the field. Not just his team in terms as the district’s top administrator, but his team as head coach.
“A year without football is like a year without Christmas,” Moree said.
When you are a district as small as Apple Springs is, everyone carries multiple responsibilities. 2020 was a tough year for the Eagles. They only played one game before the tough decision was made to cancel the season with barley enough kids to field all 6 positions needed in Texas’ smallest high school classification.
“Between COVID and injuries we got to the point where we didn’t have enough kids and worried about their safety.”
Junior Kameron Spencer is the lone player to brings over a year of experience to the team.
“It is good this year,” Spencer said. “It gives us enough to go against each other and get better. It was better than having only nine or eight players last year.”
Some of the athletes have never played a down in a real game. A few were able to play in the lone 2020 game.
”It was devastating because we put in all that work and we couldn’t play,” quarterback Dakota Campbell said. “It sounded like the team needed me so I decided to play.”
Apple Springs has put some talented teams together in the past. It will be a process to get this group to that level.
“They didn’t get to play junior high football so this is there first time to be on the field,” Moree said. “They are underclassman, we can build on that. They will have something to look forward too.”
Apple Springs will open their season on the road Thursday night against Tyler HEAT.
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