Keshawn Hollis was hanging out in his room at home on the morning of Feb. 22 when his whole world turned upside down.
The Argo senior lineman was living in the Candlewood apartment complex in Justice.
“My sister called me, said, ‘It’s a fire, it’s a fire,'” Hollis told Southwest Regional during a break in football practice last week. “I didn’t see (a) fire at first, (then) I heard the alarm.”
Hollis went outside, but then asked a police officer if he could go back into the apartment to retrieve his pet.
“I love my dog,” Hollis said. “That dog, it means something to me and my mom.”
Like the building’s other residents, Hollis and his family escaped without injury. But the four-alarm fire destroyed most of their belongings and left the building uninhabitable.
After living with a relative in the immediate aftermath of the fire, Hollis and his family have been rebuilding their lives in a new apartment. Every step of the way, the Argo community has been in his corner.
“I lost most of my clothes,” Hollis said. “They helped me a lot. They gave my mama some money, they helped me get some more clothes.
“And this community — I love it so much. They tapped in for me. And all my boys, they gave me rides, they gave me some of their clothes. I love this community.”
Even though his material possessions were replaced and he suffered no physical injuries, Hollis still had to deal with the trauma of losing his home.
“When that happened, I was in track,” he said. “I quit track because I didn’t feel up to it (anymore). I felt depressed. …
“I don’t want that feeling ever again.”
That’s when Argo football coach Phillip Rossberg stepped in.
“Rossberg pulled me to the side and said, ‘I believe in you,'” Hollis said. “I’m like, ‘Thank you, coach.’
“And he’s just been on me to do my best and that’s why I got back into track. I remember my mama said, ‘Don’t give up.'”
Hollis didn’t, and now he’s back at preseason football practice for an Argo team aiming to continue building on the longest stretch of success in program history.
Rossberg is in his 12th year at the school and entering his fourth season as head coach. Before he took over, the Argonauts had three total postseason berths. On his watch, they’ve made the Class 7A playoffs three years in a row.
This year’s team will have a new look. Seventeen starters graduated from a 5-5 club, leaving two-way linemen Hollis and Jack Gaines, plus defensive lineman Eli Ramirez as the only holdovers.
While Rossberg is glad to have Hollis back from the football perspective, he’s even more happy to have one of the program’s best people around.
“All his brothers on the team here, the coaches were all (providing) food, clothes, shoes, anything he needed,” Rossberg said. “And he’s not one to ask for anything. … He’s such a kind-hearted young man, and you hate seeing that kind of stuff happen to anybody. (But) especially somebody like him who’s always dancing, doing his thing.
“But we’re blessed to be able to coach him and have him on this team, for sure.”
I’m so sorry for what has happened to you and your family, as a senior from Argo im filled with