Photo: Westbrook Christian senior Hall Boulware (center) signed a football scholarship with Troy University on Feb. 10 in Rainbow City. Pictured with Hall is dad Thomas and mom Susie. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
On February 10 in Rainbow City, Westbrook Christian senior Hall Boulware received the ultimate compliment for a high school student-athlete.
“This is what a coach’s dream looks like,” said Westbrook head football coach Drew Noles following Boulware’s signing of a football scholarship to Troy State. “Hall does things the right way, keeps his mouth closed at all times and has confidence mixed with humility. When your best players are your best people, good things happen, and Hall is a great example of that. He’s a great athlete and a great student but also a tremendous person.”
Following an academic tour of the campus this past fall, Boulware knew Troy was where he wanted to spend the next four years.
“I realized that this was where I needed to be, and God worked it out so that I could go [to Troy] and still play football,” said Boulware, who is considering studying aeronautics. “I had gotten offers from small schools in Illinois and Missouri, but it wasn’t right for me. I wanted to stay close to home, and Troy fit what I was looking for. It really is a dream come true.”
Boulware was named as a first team ASWA Class 2A All-State offensive lineman following both his junior and senior years. With Boulware and his fellow seniors on the varsity roster over the past four seasons, the Warriors have gone 30-16 with four playoff appearances and two postseason wins.
“Had you told me when I was in eighth grade that I was going to make the playoffs all four years, I would have thought you were crazy,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun to see how it all worked out. Our senior class started out with five or six guys, and we got to over 20 this year, which is a big deal. It’s just amazing to see how far we’ve come. It’s up to next year’s senior class to maintain what we’ve built and take it to the next level.”
Boulware decided prior to his junior season to put in the extra work and make the needed sacrifices in order to have the opportunity to play at the next level.
“I had a meeting with Coach Noles before the season after he’d only been here for about a month. I had started one game at that point but told him that I wanted to play college football. He told me what I needed to do, and a year and a half later, here we are.”
Noles pointed to Boulware as an excellent leader both verbally and by example.
“There’s not many kids who can do that. Hall is a strong young man physically, mentally and spiritually. He’s a great example for our younger athletes that it’s okay not only to exceed but excel in the classroom.”