The Prairiland Patriots football team is off to its best start in half of a decade sitting at 2-1. Despite quality players who graduated from the school the last two years and new faces coming into the mix, Prairiland junior quarterback Brooks Morrison is helping the team start anew.
Thus far, the Patriots have scored 97 points in three outings this year, good for an average of more than 32 points per game, which has been orchestrated well by the junior signal-caller and his cohesion with the rest of the Prairiland squad.
“We’ve really come together as a whole and are working together well as a team,” Brooks said. “We have a lot more depth and versatility, and we know that a lot of our guys can play different positions. If somebody gets hurt, we know we have someone else that can step in.”
Playing the game was always a dream of Brooks’ from a young age, and tossing the pigskin with members of his family helped his passion for football to grow.
“What really started it was going out in the front yard when I was a kid and throwing the ball with my brother and dad,” Brooks said. “I just found it to be fun and enjoyable.”
Along with football, Brooks letters in basketball and baseball, and he uses each sports season to not only perform well in the present but to prepare well and stay fit for the hardwood and the diamond. Interconnecting the physical conditioning and various mental aspects of playing sports help keep Brooks sharp the entire school year.
“Playing year-round keeps you involved and in good shape,” Brooks said. “You’re not ever waiting for a certain season to end. It keeps you going. You’re always staying competitive and keeping you doing something.”
Last year’s starting quarterback for the Pats is a source of wisdom for Brooks along with the coaching staff. Having a solid support system around him has been beneficial in Brooks growing into the quarterback position and becoming a leader for his team.
“Connor (Sessums) really helped because he has led me from my freshman year to where I’m at today,” Brooks said. “We still text each other and stay in touch, and he gives me a bunch of good tips and pointers for the position. Even all of the coaches have stepped in and helped me improve with my passing, running, and vision in the pocket.”
However, Brooks humbly admitted that an experience during practice reminded him of his need to continue to grow as a quarterback.
“We were running the triple-option and one of the assistant coaches was asking if I was running it right,” Brooks said. “Then, Coach (Heath) Blalock said, ‘He’s doing it right, he just don’t look good doing it.’”
Regardless of any mess-ups in the past, succeeding in sports began for Brooks at a young age, specifically when he was a part of a local youth league soccer dynasty.
“When I was younger, I was a three-time indoor soccer champion at the Boys and Girl’s Club,” Brooks said. “I think I was between 10 and 12 years old during the run.”
With the highs come the lows, and Brooks recalls an unfortunate time where he accidentally went off schedule during classroom hours his sophomore year. Something was not adding up for him until he solved the equation of his dilemma.
“One of my most embarrassing moments to date happened last year,” Brooks said. “It was towards the beginning of the school year, and I was walking into what I thought was my first class for the day. It turned out that I walked into the wrong class and sat in there the whole period without even knowing it was the wrong class until the last five minutes. It was geometry and I was supposed to be in algebra.”
When he encounters stressful times, Brooks likes to kick back and escape reality in a sense through country melodies of old and sports broadcasts of today.
“To get past stress, I will just sit down somewhere, put some headphones in, and start listening to music,” Brooks said. “I just try to relax and turn some TV on in the background like ESPN or something. I listen to old country artists like Brooks and Dunn and other ’90s country artists.”
Brooks and the Patriots travel to the east to face Clarksville at 7:30 p.m. tonight, and the Patriots’ fans are both appreciated and encouraged to attend the game.
“We love it,” Brooks said. “When we go out on Friday night and see the stands filled just like in basketball it really pumps us up — we just love seeing the community members come out to support us.”
