L. D. Bell High School (Hurst, Texas)

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Lawrence Dale Bell High School, more commonly known as L.D. Bell High School, is a high school based in Hurst, Texas, as part of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD. The school is named for the founder of nearby Bell Helicopter Textron. L.D. Bell High School only teaches grades 10-12.

The feeder schools for L.D. Bell are Bedford Junior High school , Central Junior High School, and Hurst Junior High School.[1].


Contents

[edit] Background

Lawrence Dale Bell High School was opened at its current location in 1965, at a site donated to the school district by the late Larry Bell, Founder and President of Bell Helicopter Textron in Hurst. Before 1965, Bell was located where a currently operating junior high, Central Junior High, now stands. The school was forced to move to its current location because of the large influx of new residents into the H-E-B area. Ironically enough, many of Hurst's new residents had moved in to work at Bell Helicopter. Trinity High School, a crosstown rival school, was also built to try and curb this same population boom.

The school's motto is, "We do not imitate but are a model for others."

[edit] International Baccalaureate

L. D. Bell offers the International Baccalaureate and Pre-IB diploma programs to incoming sophmores, as part of a campaign for higher education success. This program is ran by Jon Henson, Senor Herrera and the z-christ. They own class of 07 IB.

[edit] Famous Alumni

Tommy Maddox: Former NFL Quarterback and NFL Comeback Player of the Year

Willie Leiss: Business Tycoon and multimillionaire, owner of 3 franchise chains throughout the greater south west

Zach Rattan : For eating the wild bills 2 pound burger in the fastest time recorded in school history

[edit] Football Schedule History

2005
Date School District Record Final Record Area Ranking State Ranking Final Area Ranking Final State Ranking Venue Result
09/02/05 Arlington Bowie 7-5A 0-1 2-8 - - - - UTA's Maverick Stadium W 48-41
09/09/05 North Mesquite 12-5A 0-1 4-6 19 - - - Pennington Field L 7-29
09/15/05 Flower Mound 8-5A 2-0 7-3 10 - 20 - Jaguar Stadium L 14-27
09/23/05 Irving MacArthur 6-5A 3-0 9-2 3 10 5 18 Pennington Field L 17-21
09/29/05 Irving 6-5A 4-0 4-6 3 10 - - Irving Schools Stadium W 18-15
10/07/05 South Grand Prairie 6-5A 5-0 10-2 3 13 4 10 Pennington Field L 7-42
10/14/05 Trinity 6-5A 6-0 14-1 2 2 2 2 Pennington Field L 0-42
10/21/05 Coppell 6-5A 4-3 6-4 10 - 13 - Pennington Field L 16-35
10/28/05 Irving Nimitz 6-5A 4-4 6-4 19 - 17 - Irving Schools Stadium L 7-17
11/04/05 Grand Prairie 6-5A 0-9 0-10 - - - - Pennington Field W 25-14
2004 Junior Varsity
Date School District Record Final Record Venue Result
09/02/04 Arlington Bowie 7-5A 0-1 1-9 Bowie High School L 12-27
09/09/04 North Mesquite 12-5A 1-0 8-2 Pennington Field L 7-19
09/15/04 Flower Mound 8-5A 0-2 2-8 Jaguar Stadium L 7-13
09/22/04 Irving MacArthur 6-5A 3-0 8-2 Pennington Field W 22-8
09/30/04 Irving 6-5A 0-4 0-10 Irving High School W 49-0
10/07/04 South Grand Prairie 6-5A 5-0 10-0 Pennington Field L 14-25
10/14/04 Trinity 6-5A 4-2 5-3-1 Pennington Field T 27-27
10/21/04 Coppell 6-5A 5-2 8-2 Pennington Field L 14-28
10/28/04 Irving Nimitz 6-5A 2-6 3-7 Nimitz High School W 38-21
11/04/04 Grand Prairie 6-5A 2-7 2-8 Pennington Field W 28-0

[edit] 2005 Football Season

September 2, 2005 at UTA's Maverick Stadium
Team 1 2 3 4 F
L.D. Bell 20 7 7 14 48
Arlington Bowie 6 14 7 14 41

Texas-bound Sherrod Harris single handedly kept Bowie in the game but an interception by K.P. Tatum with under 2 minutes to go sealed the victory for Bell. Each time Bell looked like they were going to pull away, Harris would make a play to make the game close again.

September 9, 2005 at Pennington Field
Team 1 2 3 4 F
North Mesquite 20 0 6 3 29
L.D. Bell 0 0 0 7 7

North Mesquite converted 6 Bell turnovers for 29 points as they won easily at Pennington Field despite being outgained in total yardage by Bell. North Mesquite ran only one play the whole game - A toss to the strong side 44 times. It was a gameplan that worked.

September 16, 2005 at Jaguar Stadium
Team 1 2 3 4 F
L.D. Bell 7 0 0 7 14
Flower Mound 0 6 21 0 27

L.D. Bell went into halftime ahead 7-6 but Flower Mound scored 21 points in a span of 20 seconds to win 27-14. Three Bell turnovers, two interceptions and a fumbled kickoff- set up Flower Mound's scoring spree.

September 23, 2005 at Pennington Field
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Irving MacArthur 14 0 7 0 21
L.D. Bell 0 7 7 3 17

Irving MacArthur scored 14 points quickly but could not pull away from Bell as Bell fought hard against one of the state's best teams. Bell had a chance to win it in the end, with a 1st and Goal on the 3 yard line and time running out. But the MacArthur defense made a stand and ultimately sacked Bell QB Joe Mauro on 4th and Goal as time expired for the close win.

September 29, 2005 at Irving Schools Stadium
Team 1 2 3 4 F
L.D. Bell 3 7 0 8 18
Irving 7 0 8 0 15

Irving was undefeated and ranked 3rd in the area and 10th in the state heading into the game. Though Bell led 10-7 at halftime, Irving took control in the 2nd half and shut down Bell's offense. Even when Bell did something good, such as blocking an extra point, Adron Tennell of Irving picked up the blocked kick and ran it in for two points. After several failed possessions and about 3 minutes left in the game and Bell QB Joe Mauro injured on the sideline, reserve sophomore QB Tate Holbert converted a 3rd and 17, keeping Bell alive. Mauro came back in the game and led Bell downfield and scored, with a 2 point conversion making it 18-15. Irving had a chance to storm downfield and win it but on 4th down Bell linebacker Daniel Longo jumped over the Irving offensive line and sacked the Irving QB. Bell was named team of the week on 5atexasfootball.com and Bell's coach Gary Olivo was named coach of the week.

October 7, 2005 at Pennington Field
Team 1 2 3 4 F
South Grand Prairie 35 7 0 0 42
L.D. Bell 0 0 0 7 7

Coming of a huge win against Irving, Bell thought they had a chance. South Grand Prairie's defense said otherwise, holding Bell to only one first down until midway through the 4th quarter and using their ballhawking defense to get 35 first quarter points and coast for the win. Bell's starting QB and Tailback were both injured on the 3rd play of the game(an interception returned for a TD by South Grand Prairie's Malcom Williams), and did not return.

October 14, 2005 at Pennington Field
Team 1 2 3 4 F
L.D. Bell 0 0 0 0 0
Trinity 14 14 14 0 42

Trinity continued to establish its dominance in the H-E-B rivalry with a 42-0 win against Bell. Starting QB Joe Mauro was hurt for the game and did not play, seriously hurting Bell from the start. Reserve Sophomore QB Tate Holbert filled in, and did quite well for his first start but in the end was overwhelmed by Trinity's size. Bell's defense held its own on 1st and 2nd downs, but Trinity was the 3rd down machine this game. 24 of Trinity's 26 first downs came on 3rd down, allowing for good clock manangement. Bell shut down Trinity QB Trevor Vittatoe but the duo of the Trinity backfield carried the load.

October 21, 2005 at Pennington Field
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Coppell 0 21 7 7 35
L.D. Bell 3 0 13 0 16

Bell controlled the game early before Coppell and USC bound Emmanuel Moody got 21 2nd quarter points, though two of the touchdowns, both on 3rd down, were disputed. Bell came back down 28-3 and made it 28-16 at the end of the 3rd quarter, but dropped a sure recovered onside kick and the momentum went away. Bell had the ball down 28-16 early in the 4th quarter but threw an interception on the first play of the drive and their hopes for the win were dashed. Bell went 1 for 6 in the red zone.

October 28, 2005 at Irving Schools Stadium
Team 1 2 3 4 F
L.D. Bell 0 0 7 0 7
Irving Nimitz 0 0 0 17 17

Bell controlled the game for 40 of the 48 minutes of the game. What hurt them was their red zone conversions - they were 1 for 8 in the red zone, capped off by two 4th and inches QB sneaks that Nimitz stopped. Unable to punch the ball in, they finally scored in the 3rd quarter. But Nimitz scored two touchdowns late in the 4th quarter on a punt return and fumble recovery, then capped the game with a field goal with under 2 minutes remaining. Bell controlled the game most of the way but lost in heartbreaking fashion.

November 4, 2005 at Pennington Field
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Grand Prairie 0 14 0 0 14
L.D. Bell 3 0 15 7 25

In the last game of the season, Bell had nothing to play for or motivate them in the finale against winless Grand Prairie. The lack of motivation hurt Bell in the 1st half as two gimmick trick plays helped Grand Prairie score two touchdowns. Not wanting to end their high school football careers like this, the Bell seniors rallied around eachother and scored 22 2nd half points - highlighted by a Daniel Longo blocked punt - and easily won their final game, 25-14.

[edit] Football History

In the 2004 season, the Junior Varsity squad went 4-5-1, but was best known for their game "The 2 minute miracle" against cross-town rival Euless Trinity. With 1:58 to go in the game, L.D. Bell was down 27-13 and Trinity had the ball. L.D. Bell proceeded to strip the ball as Trinity attempted to run out the clock. L.D. Bell then scored on a desperation 4th down hail mary into the end zone, caught by Kevon Bradford. L.D. Bell had their extra point blocked. On the ensuing onside kick, L.D. Bell recovered, thanks to an outstanding play by Willie Leiss, who knocked the ball loose from Trinity player Mike Smith. On another 4th and long from midfield, Quarterback Joseph Paramore once again threw a hail mary into the end zone, this time caught by L.D. Bell wing back Michael Ballantyne. Down 27-25 with roughly 10 seconds left, Ballantyne took a sweep handoff and ran for the 2 point conversion to tie the game at 27. The game ended in a tie, but the Trinity players were so disappointed and shocked that they refused to shake the hands of L.D. Bell, who celebrated on the field as if they had won.

The 2005 varsity season was a disappointment. L.D. Bell finished with a 3-7 record, though L.D. Bell did play in the toughest district in the state, according to 5ATexasFootball.com. It was also new coach Gary Olivo's first season, so quick adjustments had to be made and L.D. Bell didn't quite get to the levels they wanted to be at with the new coaching styles. Even though the season was a disappointment, L.D. Bell did heat up a cold Thursday night in Irving on September 29, 2006, in the game known as "Tiger Turnpike". L.D. Bell, with a 1-3 record, came into Irving Schools Stadium to face undefeated Irving at 4-0, and also ranked #10 in the state as well as #3 in the area according to the Dallas Morning News poll. The odds were stacked against L.D. Bell, but they led 10-7 at halftime. In the 3rd quarter, Irving Wide Reciever(now Oklahoma Wide Reciever) Adron Tennell scored a touchdown to make it 13-10. On the PAT, L.D. Bell blocked the kick, but Adron Tennell picked up the ball at around the 35 yard line and ran in for the 2 points. The score stayed that way until there were about 3 minutes to go in the game, and Irving Kicker Reed Ambrose had just missed a field goal. L.D. Bell took over at the 17 yard line, but QB Joe Mauro was injured. L.D. Bell had to put in sophomore Tate Holbert, who had never taken a meaningful snap in a varsity game in his high school career. However, on 3rd and 10, Holbert completed a 17 yard pass to Andre Lampkin to keep the drive alive. The drive was kept alive by two consecutive first downs on 3rd down draw plays by running back Terrance Lavine. L.D. Bell capped off the drive with a touchdown run by running back DeAndre English and a 2 point conversion reception by Wide Reciever Ryan Stankus. Irving had one more chance to tie or win the game, but on 4th down and the clock ticking to zero, L.D. Bell linebacker Daniel Longo jumped over the Irving offensive line and sacked Irving Quarterback Scott Reagan. Irving was unable to get a play off, and L.D. Bell pulled off the huge upset.

The blue raiders saw a much better season in 2006, managing to return to the playoffs for the first time in several years. It was Gary Olivos second year to be head coach, and in two years he brought them from being 3-7 to returning to the playoffs. Many of the standout players this season will be returning to play another season such as defensive back Jayah Kaisamba, runningback Deante Piper, wide receivers Grant Milton and Atem Bol, and Quarterback Tate Holbert who was out this season to be replaced by senior Sam Baker.

[edit] Awards and Recognitions

The school has received multiple awards for academics and fine arts performance, including the 2000 and 2004 Texas UIL Marching Band State Championship. The band has also appeared at the Bands of America Grand Nationals competition with second place recent finishes. Their current director is Jeremy Earnhart. (placeholder)

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.hebisd.edu