Kenny Do It Again? - 13 reasons we say YES!
Dragon Pride 2012
October 1st, 2010 – Kenny Hill, then a sophomorebrmade his first ever start for Southlake Carroll. No small feat considering thebrlineage of signal callers whose collective pictures line the halls of thebrDragons’ indoor facility.
Thrust into mid-season action under less than perfectbrcircumstances, the young boy whose prior game experience was freshman footballbrturned into a man right before our eyes. brIn the span of fifteen months Kenny Hill grew from the ranks of thirdbrstring sophomore to Texas 5A Offensive Player of the Year while leading hisbrteam to its eighth state championship in just his junior season.
In keeping with tradition, the expectations for this year'sbrteam are nothing short of success. Nowbrconsidered a wily veteran, and to our knowledge the most experienced Dragonbrquarterback in the team's 5A history, Kenny Hill is leading the Dragons to abrsecond straight and unprecedented 9th State Championship.
In this article we count down our top thirteen reasons whybr#13 can do it again:
13. He is a product of the Southlake System – starting with youthbrfootball and culminating with varsity games attended by thousands, Southlakebrkeeps its children and the entire community engaged from the very firstbrexperience. Once in the system, youngbrboys are coached through a grass roots regime all the while underlying thebrVarsity edict to “Protect the Tradition.”
12. Experience- because of the system and its tradition of excellence acrossbrthe country Southlake is notorious for a seemingly never-ending line of highbrcaliber quarterbacks. Even with abrlineage that includes NFL’ers, Heisman contenders, state champions and morebrthan a few national players of the year and - no 5A Dragon quarterback has everbrbeen a three-year starter. Nobody, that was, until Kenny Hill. Having never even suited up for a JV game, hebrentered his senior season with a 26-4 record. brThat’s 30 starts more than current NY Jet and University of Alabamabrgreat Greg McElroy had entering his senior year.
11. Coaching- no one person is bigger than the system, not even thebrforefathers of Dragon greatness- head coaches by the names of Bob Ledbetter andbrTodd Dodge formed the successful foundation now carried forth by the reigningbrNational High School Coach of the Year - Hal Wasson. With 25yearsbrof experience and a State Championship of his own The Silver Fox has plantedbrhis flag atop the mountain. Not to mention, he helped coach his own son, Chase-brthe Dragon’s first ever 5A State Champion quarterback.
10. Leadership – a more unpretentious and discreet persona, Kenny hasbrled by example both on the field and off. brDuring his tenure he has built a very strong rapport amongst hisbrteammates and coaches.
9. Head – “The game has really slowed down for Kenny,” says CoachbrWasson referring to his quarterback’s football IQ and firm grasp of thebrplaybook. With each successful start hebrhas added ever more confidence in what he and his teammates can do on thebrfield.
8. Arm – The son of Ken Hill, a Major League Baseball pitcher for 14brseasons, has a gun just like dad. In addition to the sheer power necessary forbrdeep routes and lightening quick out patters he has the ability to also finessebra ball into the hands of his receivers. His mechanics and accuracy have lead tobran impressive completion percentage of 68 percent heading into his senior year.
7. Legs – despite not being the fastest quarterback in recent memory,brKenny’s legs are still a force to be reckoned with. Opposing defenses are kept in check with hisbrtrademark up-field power-rushing. Behind returning All-District linemen CambrManning and Alec Deutsch Kenny was the team’s leading rusher in 2011 with 1,399bryards and 24 TDs.