Last Eagle Stadium game hits home for family of senior athlete
Varsity senior Dylan Harrison, No. 20 in the center, helps lead his team into Eagle Stadium. Harrison will be playing in the last game at Eagle Stadium, starting at 7 p.m. Friday when Prosper takes on Plano West. His father, Jeff Harrison, played in the first. “It’s bitter-sweet,” Mr. Harrison said of he and his son’s relationship to the venue. “It’s pretty cool because I played the first game on that field, and he’s playing the last game on it.”
For the Harrison family, specifically Jeff Harrison and his senior son Dylan, Friday night will be memorable.
Since the brand-new stadium is opening next year, Friday will mark the last varsity football game at Eagle Stadium. From before the 2008 state-championship team to the current 2018 squad, Eagle Stadium has seen memorable chapters and moments. But for the Harrison’s, it’s more than a matter of history. It’s a matter of heritage.
“It’s kind of emotional because it’s senior year,” varsity football player Dylan said. “My dad was on the first varsity team to play there. We are going to be the last one. It’s pretty cool.”
Dylan and his 2018 teammates, under the direction of head coach Brandon Schmidt, will be featured in the final home game at the Eagle Stadium. Dylan’s father, a member of the 1989-1993 football teams, played the first game at the same Eagle Stadium.
“It’s bittersweet,” Mr. Harrison said of he and his son’s relationship to Eagle Stadium. “I played the first game on that field, and he’s playing the last game on it, so it’s kind of a cool deal.”
Dylan started his football career in middle school, and never looked back. But, Harrison said his passion for the game increased when he arrived in high school.
“I started playing in seventh grade, and I really loved it,” Dylan said. “Freshman year, whenever I got to the high school experience, that’s when it kicked it over the edge for me.”
Although Dylan has been playing for six years, his father said he wasn’t aware that Dylan would be playing the last home game at Eagle Stadium until a short time ago. The varsity Eagle football team will take the field against Plano West at 7 p.m. to finalize its place in this season’s UIL 6A football play-off bracket.
“I actually didn’t realize it until the end of last season,” Mr. Harrison said. “When I first heard they were building the new stadium, that’s when I started thinking about it.”
Mr. Harrison said he understands why some fans are showing a mixture of emotions as old venues and landmarks of the town are being replaced. He also said he will miss some historic Prosper places that are being forced to make room for newer, larger venues.
“You see Allen has their big stadium, and McKinney has their new one now. So, it’s pretty cool to see Prosper getting up-in-the-ranks with them,” Mr. Harrison said. “I’ve been in Prosper since ’84, so I’ve seen a lot of change. It gets kind of sad to see some of the old stuff going away.”
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Aaron • Oct 26, 2018 at 9:24 am
That is pretty cool that Sr. opened the stadium and Jr. is closing it out. Talk about a stadium that had seen a full life cycle.