Since 1919

The Prairie News

Since 1919

The Prairie News

Since 1919

The Prairie News

Former Longhorn returns to football field in fundraiser match

Ryan Hazelwood is the engineer for the broadcasting department at WTAMU. Hazelwood assists with the WTTV Live Crew, and is the advisor for the National Broadcasting Society.

Hazelwood played middle linebacker for the Caprock Longhorns from 1990-1994. On September 25th, Hazelwood will get to suit up for the orange and white, as he participates in the first ever alumni game for Caprock. The game is against Randall at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.

“I think it’s really cool that we get the opportunity to go out there and wear that uniform again,” Hazelwood said. “What’s really great about this though is that we’re getting the chance to use this as a fundraiser for booster clubs and give back to Caprock High School.”
For some people, getting back into playing condition would be difficult. Hazelwood says that hasn’t been the case for him.

“The toughest thing has been finding time to practice four days a week for 2-3 hours at a time,” said Hazelwood. “Because of my obligations as a father and advisor on campus, it’s been difficult to put aside that amount of time during the week, but it’s been worth it.”

Along with getting to make new friendships and share stories with teammates, this experience has really given the team some unique opportunities.

“During the week of Homecoming for Caprock, we got to have our own float in the parade and wear our jerseys,” he said. “Plus, for the actual game we’re going to get to run through the orange tunnel and the big white helmet with the smoke and everything. Also, this is an opportunity for fathers to play alongside their sons and for brothers to play together as well.”

With this being an alumni game, there is a wide range of ages among the players.

“On our team we have players that are from my graduating class all the way to as recent as 2009,” he said. “The oldest person on our team is from the class of 1981 and he’s held his own pretty well.”

Some people that work with Hazelwood like NBS President Carlos Mireles are excited to see him compete in this game.

Mireles says he’s eager to see a different side of Hazelwood.

“I think it’s really cool to see him do this because I’ve never gotten to see him do anything physically before,” Mireles said. “I’m just ready to go out there and see him destroy someone.”

WTTV Live Crew Chief Michelle Pardo says she’s excited about the thought of getting to run a replay of Hazelwood on the jumbo-tron.

“It’s going to be awesome getting to see one of our own on the other side actually playing out there,” said Pardo. “We really want him to give us a great replay and bring the house down.”

Students can purchase tickets for the game by going to Hazelwood’s office located in FAC 165 or through the web site.

Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly listed the game date as Sept. 24

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