Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Player Of The Year
CARSON RAY
SCHOOL Booneville
CLASS Senior
HEIGHT 5-7
WEIGHT 201
THE SCOOP Powered the Bearcats to an unbeaten season (15-0) and the Class 3A state championship. … Rushed for 1,750 yards and scored 33 touchdowns despite sitting out the second half of most games. … Rushed for 165 yards in the 35-0 title game against Osceola, despite missing time in the game after a blow to the helmet. … Rushed for more than 100 yards in nine of Booneville’s 15 games. … Had fewer than 10 carries in four games. … Rushed for a season-high 176 yards against Lamar. … Scored four touchdowns in the 34-31 semifinal win against Prescott. … Also started at linebacker on defense and recorded 54 tackles, 4.0 tackles-for-loss and three interceptions. … He is the son of former Booneville star running back Alan (Gator) Ray, who was an all-state fullback for the Bearcats. Collectively, father and son scored more than 100 touchdowns.
DID YOU KNOW? Ray plans to enroll in a technical college and study to be a licensed electrician. He is a student in a robotics class through the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.
QUOTABLE “I never hear the end of it. ‘Are you Gator’s boy?’ I give him a lot of crap about missing
a PAT that was important to get them in the state championship game. I can tell him now, ‘Hey,
I got a ring,’ because he did not get one.”