I was shocked and saddened to learn of the recent passing of Carson Hall, who graduated from Sacred Heart Catholic School about a month ago.
I didn’t know Carson well. I knew he was a talented football and soccer player at Sacred Heart. I watched him score this amazing scorpion kick goal against Petal this past December. Afterwards, he messaged me the video, and I sent him back some photos. Two months later, Hall was a state champion.
But who really was Carson Hall?
“When he walked in the room, he made everybody smile,” Sacred Heart soccer coach Joe Falla Jr. said. “I told somebody, ‘He really took my advice’. I said to him [Hall] one day, ‘The most important thing here is to have fun’, and he really had fun. That was Carson, and it’s every day.
“Carson never had a bad day.”
On the field, Falla says Hall will be best remembered for scoring the match-winning goal against St. Patrick and sending Sacred Heart to the state championship round in last season’s playoffs. Recently retired Crusader football coach Lonny Schraeder remembers an ‘unbelievable catch’ Hall made in Sacred Heart’s upset win over Stringer to end the 2017 season.
“He was always ready for the big moments,” Schraeder said, adding that Hall was both mentally tough and a leader for his team.
“He was always out in front. You never had to wonder where Carson was because he was always in front, and he would call you out if you weren’t doing what you’re supposed to do,” Schraeder said. “He wasn’t afraid to tell you what he thought, and I think we all respected him for that. If something wasn’t right, he was gonna tell you.
“He was a great athlete, and a great kid.”
Hundreds gathered for a candlelight vigil at the Sacred Heart Athletic Complex to honor the life of Hall. Many were students and administrators from other schools in the Hattiesburg area.
“Carson touched a lot of lives, and it showed last night,” Schraeder said. “It was interesting because we cried, we mourned, and we laughed because we remembered him. You can’t help but smile when you remember Carson because that’s the kind of kid he was.”
Schraeder and Hall last talked on Hall’s final day in Schraeder’s physical education class at the end of the 2018-2019 school year. They never said goodbye because it wasn’t goodbye. Schraeder planned on making several trips to Perkinston this fall to watch Hall continue his soccer career at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Those particular plans were derailed with Hall’s unfortunate passing, but Schraeder remains adamant they will reunite one day.
“I’m gonna see him again,” Schraeder said. “There’s no doubt in my mind where he is. He’s great right now, and we will see him again.”
