New Documentary Celebrating Killeen, TX Triumph Premiering Soon

Being a native of Killeen, Texas, I know a lot of its history, both the good and the bad. There've been a lot of monumental things happen in the city, but one event that will always be something that gets the locals talking is when Killeen High School won the 5A championship in football. It wasn't just about the football. It was about a community triumphing in the face of unspeakable tragedy.

New Documentary to Show Killeen's Triumph In Wake of Tragedy

The championship came in the wake of the October 1991 shooting at Luby's in Killeen that left 23 people killed or injured before the gunman turned the weapon on himself. This town needed healing and something positive to rally behind, and the student athletes of Killeen answered the call.

Now a new documentary will teach a new generation about this unique moment in Killeen history while taking those of us old enough to remember it on an emotional journey back in time.

We recently published an article to give the community a heads-up about the doc. You can read it here.

HOW DID THIS DOCUMENTARY COME TOGETHER?

I couldn’t be more excited that my good friend Kreshawn Fleming and other amazing filmmakers, like Derwin Graham and Ashely Rudser, put this amazing project together. Now they are ready to let the city see it.

When I asked Kreshawn Fleming how 'The 91 Roos' came together, he explained to me that Darren Graham and Ashely Rudser have been planning on working together for years, and Ashely and Kreshawn had worked together on other projects. As the 30-year anniversary of the championship approached, they decided it was time to all team up for this documentary.

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IT WAS JUST TIME

Kreshawn explained how thankful he was for them to include him. The crew coming together was perfect timing. Word has it that Deonte Epps was doing research for his podcast, "The Duo: Sports and Stuff Podcast". He was also included on the team along with Dentrelll Hill, and with all of them together, they’ve been working hard for eight months.

WHY IS THIS STORY SO IMPORTANT?

I asked Kreshawn how and why is this documentary is so important to the city. He said that being from Killeen, they wanted to start telling more positive stories about our community and its history.

The filmmakers wanted to give our city the opportunity to relieve the experience of Killeen emerging from a tragedy with a new sense of hope and community, and that's one reason they're excited to premiere the movie in a public setting - the Killeen Festival coming up later this month.

These are my favorite stories to write about because there are positives about life in Killeen that don't make the headlines. In this case, these are people that some of us have grown up with, and they're looking to celebrate the rich history of our great city.

It's such a blessing that the City of Killeen has given these filmmakers such a big platform from which to share this work. Make sure you guys come out to the Killeen  Festival from April 28 through the 30th. Killeen is in the movies!