TEMPLE, Texas — The year 2023 has been full of milestone sports moments that Central Texas and the entire country will never forget and it all started with a historical College Football Playoff for the TCU Horned Frogs.
Temple High School's Jared Wiley and Quentin Johnston took their talents to Los Angeles to put on a show in the National Championship, with Johnston's parents right there in the front row.
"You have these dreams and thoughts of what you expect. You want him to do well," Quentin's mom Kerry Johnston said. "And then all of the sudden he's in college and he's doing well. Now it went from yeah, he can do it and I want him to do it, to now, it almost seems unbelievable."
Just three months later, Kim Mulkey won her first National Championship with the LSU Tigers, taking down Iowa in dominant fashion in Dallas, Texas.
A special moment for the former Baylor women's basketball coach.
"I don't know if it's the mere fact that we're doing this in my second year back home. I don't know if it was the fact that I am home. I don't know if it was looking across there at my daughter and my grandchildren. I don't know if it was looking across at LSU," Mulkey said. "I don't know what it was, but I lost it. So, that should tell you what I think about it."
Then, it was time for baseball season. The Abbott Panthers took home their second state title after beating Fayetville at the Dell Diamond.
A game Kyle Crawford will never forget, after his dad and head football coach, Terry Crawford, gave him that chance to be a coach.
"He bought me back 9 years ago and took a chance on a head coach who happened to be his son. These memories we've made, words can't describe what that's been like," Kyle Crawford said. "I'm not super emotional, but this one hit me a little bit."
It looks like 2023 was the year of the Cougar. After battling in a 12-inning thriller, China Spring baseball brought home the shiny hardware just five months after the football team won state in Arlington.
Some players got to live it not once, but twice in just one year.
"It's like a movie. You can never get the feeling right," Senior Baseball and Football Linebacker Ryder Reeves said. "I started tearing up. Jase is my best friend. He's always been there for me. We got to share the moment twice and that's crazy."
"It's just something that everybody dreams of. To get to do it not only once, not twice, but three times. It's just crazy," Class of 2023 Football Defensive Back, Baseball Player Jace Garrett said.
Once August hit, all eyes were on football.
Baylor hoping for a bounce-back season after last year, China Spring looking for that three-peat in Arlington, and the Abbott Panthers hoping to end Terry Crawford's 25 years as head coach on a high note.
"There's a championship mindset here. These kids know how to work and be dedicated," Abbott Head Football Coach Terry Crawford said. "We got a group of kids that knows what it takes to be a championship quality program. It's business as normal for us."
While teams were battling on the gridiron, MLB fans were witnessing a Rangers-Astros showdown for the record books.
The boys in blue took down Houston, punching their ticket to the World Series to face the Diamondbacks, just four wins away from making history.
In game five, the Rangers took home the title and were crowned World Series champions for the first time in franchise history.
While the Rangers were winning on the diamond, the Midway Panthers were following in their footsteps on the gridiron.
After winning just three games over the past two years, the Midway High School football team was searching for new life in 2023.
Little did the Panthers know, an 0-4 start was just the beginning to overcoming adversity.
After previous head coach Shane Anderson resigned from his position mid-way through the season, Assistant Esrom Martinez had a job to fill and a team to lead, all the way to a district title.
While the Panthers were riding a win streak, the Baylor Bears were struggling to find their identity, ending the season 3-9 overall, snagging only one win at home all year.
Over in College Station, the Aggies finished a 7-5 season with a bowl game in December, but it took a head coaching change to get there.
After spending six seasons at A&M. Jimbo Fisher was fired the Sunday morning after a blowout win over Mississippi State, with more than $76 million remaining on his contract.
Elijah Robinson stepped in as interim head coach, leading the Aggies to finish the season 1-1. Just two weeks later, the Mike Elko era began in Aggieland as the former Duke head coach and A&M defensive coordinator returned to the 12th man.
"I'm back where I belong. This was home for four amazing years," Elko said. "This is a special time to be the head coach of this program. This program and job comes with a lot of high expectations and I'm ready for them. I'm ready to take this program where it wants to go. I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and go to work."
For the Bears, no bowl game was in sight and all eyes were now on the off-season, but that came with significant coaching changes.
After serving on the staff for three seasons, Jeff Grimes was fired as the offensive coordinator, later taking the same position with the Kansas Jayhawks.
A bright spot was ahead for these Bears, as former Cal Offensive Coordinator and Texas State Head Coach Jake Spavital arrived in Waco with one goal: Bring the Bear-raid offense back to McLane.
"You've got to understand what personnel you have and you have to adapt to what they do. You may not be the most talented person, but you can have a lot of success in this system," Spavital said.
In his only season at Cal, the Golden Bears became bowl eligible for the first time in four seasons, offensively ranking 40th in the nation, compared to 96th in 2022.
Head coach Dave Aranda says that's the kind of progression he sees possible at Baylor, with Spavital running the offense.
Once November rolls around, every high school football player's dream is to play on Thanksgiving, but what's even better? Playing in December.
After taking down Richland Springs in Dublin, the Oglesby Tigers punched their ticket to Arlington for the first time in school history.
In an all Central Texas state semi-final matchup, Mart's own Armando Chavez kicked his 351st PAT breaking the national record right here in Belton.
"It just felt great because they're my brothers. I grew up with mostly all of them and it's just family man," Armando Chavez, Mart senior kicker and current national record holder, "I'm just glad that they pushed me through and all that. All week it was just 'Are you ready for that record?' And then I was like 'Yeah. I'm ready for it.' But I never thought it would happen."
Then, it was time to put on a show on Texas high school football's biggest stage.
Day one in Arlington started with Oglesby falling in a tough one to Benjamin
Then, a day-two doubleheader. The Mart Panthers made the trip to state six out of the past seven years, looking for revenge over the reigning state champ Albany Lions, a squad they saw right here in Jerry World last year.
Mart fell short in a tough one to the Lions, marking the third state title loss in the past four years, a feeling that never gets easier.
"The message was the same last year. Take these silver medals and take that second place trophy. We'll put that trophy in the case with the others. I told these kids to take these medals, put it with the others in their bedroom where they'll see it every day and use it as motivation," Mart Head Football Coach Kevin Hoffman said. "We have a target on our back every year. So, I'm just going to make the target bigger. We're going to be back here next year."
Franklin is another team used to state title runs, searching for that three-peat that soon ended in heartbreak after Malakoff took down the Lions in a close one, snapping their streak at AT&T Stadium.
However, four state championship appearances and two state titles is pretty impressive for these seniors.
"We have a lot of talented guys in our grade. On top of that, we have one of the best if not the best coaching staff in the state of Texas," Braden Smith, Franklin tight end, said. "When you put the two things together like that, that's just a recipe for success."
"It's been amazing. It's been part of the best memories I'll have in my life and I'll talk about it forever," Cort Lowry, Franklin quarterback, said. "Now that it's all ended you're gonna look back and you're gonna look at yourself and how you interacted with your teammates. That's what matters the most. The brotherhood and the bond we have in that locker room, it means more than any game you can lose. That's what I'll cherish forever."
It's definitely been a year for the record books, and 6 Sports is excited for more state titles, upsets and big-time battles in the years to come.