CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage senior football players Luke Gall, Micah Lindsey and Hudson Moore were recognized on Thursday for signing their national letters of intent to continue their academic and athletic careers with the Air Force Academy (Gall), Pittsburg State (Lindsey) and Independence Community College (Moore).
Gall, Lindsey, Moore and their classmates played for a program that finished a combined 42-6 overall during their four years of high school.
Air Force, Gall both have need for speed
Gall, an outstanding football player both offensively at running back and defensively at linebacker during his prep career, rushed for 2,000 yards and 40 touchdowns on 246 carries and made 106 total tackles during his senior campaign, playing a major role in Carthage advancing to the Class 5 state semifinals.
Gall rushed for 1,902 yards and 29 touchdowns on 166 carries and recorded 88 tackles and six quarterback sacks during his junior season.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Gall, clocked at 4.65 seconds in the 40-yard dash, said that he will be a running back in college.
“I’m feeling excited,” Gall said on Thursday. “I’m feeling anxious. I’m going to miss playing (football) with my friends, but I’m excited to go make new friends, new experiences … and compete at the high level in the Mountain West (Conference).”
Air Force (located in Colorado Springs) finished 10-3 overall this past season and the Falcons concluded their season on a high note with a 30-15 win against Baylor in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
“They’re a good football team,” Gall said. “The last five-six years, they’ve been really good. Their past four years, I might be wrong, but they’ve had 10-plus win seasons. They’re contending to be Mountain West champions every year. With this new 12-team playoff, they could have made the playoffs because they could win the Mountain West.”
The Falcons, under the direction of head coach Troy Calhoun, went 10-3 overall in 2021 with a 31-28 win against Louisville in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl and 11-2 overall in 2019 with a 31-21 win against Washington State in the Cheez-It Bowl.
“It was a combination of that (their football program) and going into the Air Force and I am trying to be a pilot for them,” Gall said. “It will pay for pilots’ school, then hopefully if it all works out, I’m going to fly fighter jets. Do something cool.
“The Air Force Academy is prestige. You have to have good grades to get in there. The value of their education is $400,000. It’s a great school, it’s competing with Princeton and Harvard. You have to focus on academics, and that’s something I want to get better at and further my education as well as my time as a football player.
“To be a pilot, you have to stay in for 10 years. Some people would say 10 years is definitely a career. Then, after that, I could stay in for 20 years and get full retirement, or I could drop out and fly. A lot of guys I heard fly commercially for American Airlines or something and make real good money doing that.”
Coincidentally or not, Gall made his commitment to the Air Force two weeks after he watched Top Gun: Maverick at the movies this past summer.
Lindsey joins stout Pittsburg State defense
Lindsey wreaked havoc for the Tigers during his senior season with 94 total tackles, including 19 for loss, six quarterback sacks, four forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery, not to mention three blocked kicks in special teams.
The 6-foot, 240-pound defensive lineman, who runs a 4.9 in the 40-yard dash, joins a Pitt State program under the direction of head coach Brian Wright coming off a 12-1 season with a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) title and an appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs, where the Gorillas lost 17-14 against eventual national champion Ferris State (Mich).
Pitt State allowed a season-high 28 points in Week 2 against Nebraska-Kearney and the Gorillas outscored their opponents 417-183 with a defense surrendering 14.08 points a game.
“The coaching staff is great,” Lindsey said. “Through whole process, I was talking with them every day, getting messages and just reinforcement from them. Also, it’s a different culture there from anywhere else I’ve ever been. I can’t wait to be a part of it.
“It’s a good place to be, for sure. Only 45 minutes away from my house, so on the weekends or any off day I get to go see my family. That’s always great to have, and the school there, it’s top tier for academics. … It’s the winningest Division II football program in the country and I hope to make them better. I love the culture there. Everybody wants to be there, everybody supports their team, and it’s a great experience.”
Lindsey summed up the feeling surely every student-athlete has when they sign.
“I’ve played (football) with all these kids since third grade, so I’m going to miss playing with them but I’ve got more brothers to make,” Lindsey said.
Moore takes first chance to ink with Indy CC
Moore, a 6-foot-6, 180-pound receiver with a 4.7 40-yard dash time and a 34-inch vertical, signed with an Independence Pirate team coming off a 4-5 season in 2022.
“I’m excited,” Moore said. “All these people came here today just to come watch my friends and I (sign). It means a lot, and the town of Carthage has always been so supportive ever since I’ve been here. Just having the chance to go play at the next level with two of my closest friends on the football team and off the field, too, it’s just great and I want to see each of us do our best.”
Moore said that his decision to go to Independence had nothing to do with the Pirates football program being featured on the Netflix documentary series Last Chance U.
“I watched that a while ago, but I wasn’t thinking about that,” Moore said. “Just what they have to offer. My whole goal ever since I was a little kid was to play D1 football at the next level for a college somewhere. Indy can bring that opportunity to life. JUCO is the best route for me.”
Moore recalled the 34-28 win over Joplin his senior season when he blocked Joplin’s field goal attempt and fellow senior Mason Frisinger returned it 83 yards for a touchdown and the block-off victory.
“Just how crazy the atmosphere gets on Friday nights,” Moore said. “It’s just high school football, but so many people they fill the stands up all the way. Had a big touchdown this year against Joplin and the crowd just exploded. It doesn’t sound that loud when you’re listening in your helmet, but on the video, it sounds so loud, it’s just crazy.”
