Sophomore year

Dallas made the varsity as a sophomore. That season he was ready to show everyone what he could do. However, his life changed when his aunt passed away that year.

“She didn’t get to witness any of my years on varsity here,” Dallas said. “But I knew that she would always be looking down on me and that this sport is what my family would want me to do, what my family would want me to work hard in, so I just did.”

Rickey says he’s proud of Dallas turning to football as his way to work through the loss of his aunt.

“You have to use something as a distraction,” Dudley said. “A motivation to keep her memory alive and at the same time continue with your life.”

That season Dallas recorded 46 catches for 665 yards and 4 touchdowns. His first ever touchdown on varsity was in the 2019 Battle of the Axe. That matchup lived up to the intense rivalry as points were scored left and right. Dallas stood on the sidelines as the game was tied up by a Lewisville field goal, making the score 42-42.

On the next drive, Dallas saw quarterback Garrett Nussmeier start running to his right. He jumped up to catch the ball and immediately saw one defender whizz right past him. Another defender dove at his legs, but Dallas stayed in bounds and ran into that endzone.

He saw the entire sideline full of players and coaches rushed onto the field to celebrate with him: the young sophomore who helped win the game.

Dallas says that moment was something he’ll remember forever.

“I knew that’s a once in a lifetime thing, maybe a couple times for some people,” Dallas said. “But it was real good to get a team win overall, just seeing my teammates happy and the fans happy is a feeling like no other.”

That wasn’t the only big play from Dallas that season. As in the first team’s first playoff game against Lake Highlands, Dallas caught a ball right above a defender’s helmet while running down the sideline, setting the team up for their 36-27 win. That play won the DFW Inside High School Sports “Play of the Year.” Thousands of people voted for Dallas’ helmet catch including former NFL players such as Tim Brown, Simeon Rice, Desmond Howard and Eddie George, who all voiced their support on Twitter.

Rickey said it was a remarkable play.

“I still don’t understand how he caught that,” Rickey said. “He’s got a couple of catches that [made me go] ‘that was impressive.’”