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texas high school football playoffs

KILLEEN, Tex. -- The scene here at Leo Buckley Stadium late Friday night was reminiscent of most high school football venues across the country, as the Shoemaker Grey Wolves dealt with the reality their season was over.Tears were shed, hugs were exchanged between players, coaches and players, coaches and coaches. Then the coaches thanked the seniors for great effort.But this was no ordinary season-finale ritual for the Grey Wolves. Just over 24 hours earlier, many of them weren't sure if their parents or loved ones were injured -- or worse, killed -- in the deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, the nation's largest military base.

Shoemaker High School, which is just a stone's throw away from Fort Hood, is heavily populated with kids whose families either live on base or are serving in the military. With wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, these young people have become accustomed to dealing with death.But that didn't make news of Thursday's deadly rampage any easier for many of them to take. Twelve soldiers and one civilian were killed, and 30 others were wounded. If there was any solace, it was that none of the Grey Wolves' parents or immediate family members were affected by the shooting"It was tough for us, knowing some of our players' moms and dads were probably hurt or injured," said Shoemaker sophomore quarterback Jammie Blount, whose family is awaiting orders to deplored to Korea soon. "We just sat there and put our heads together and wished for the best and hoped it was none of our relatives. Luckily it wasn't."But we came out here to play for them, too, the people from Fort Hood.""It was really hard for us to come and play this game knowing what went on and that families some of us know were affected," said Shoemaker senior lineman Jaime Bennett, who shed tears when the game was finished. "It was really really tough to get through. But we prayed and then we moved on."Shoemaker head coach Ken Gray braced for the worst as news spread around Killeen that a shooter was on the loose on base. Around Shoemaker, much more so than the other high schools in the community, helping young kids deal with tragedy is just something teachers, coaches and administrators do."We are in a unique situation in that our kids' parents are fighting the war in Iraq and they are fighting the war in Afghanistan and Kuwait and places," Gray said. "So there have been events like this in their lives. "What we try to do as coaches is we try to keep things as normal as we can and as consistent as we can with our kids. This tragedy from (Thursday) kind of wears on the kids, whether it's their dad or not. Whenever they hear of a soldier passing or getting killed we send up a prayer because you never know when it's one of their parents or relatives."