CEDAR HILL, Texas — The Cedar Hill Longhorns may have lost 31-6 to the Southlake Carroll Dragons on Friday night, but one member of the home school's color guard walked away from the night with the biggest prize of all -- an unexpected hug from her father, who had been away and stationed in Kuwait, serving the U.S. Army for the past year.
As halftime in Friday's game came to a close, Sgt. 1st Class Kathan Morgan emerged from the sidelines of the football field to surprise his daughter Cassara as she and the rest of the Cedar Hill color guard were walking off the field, having just wrapped up their halftime performance.
He carried with him a bouquet of red roses, a stuffed U.S. Army teddy bear and a big smile on his face.
Cassara was, at first, visibly confused by what was happening.
"I didn't think he was coming back until, like, November," she said later.
But her confusion quickly gave way to tears of joy as she took in her father's warm embrace in the end zone. Later, she could be seen flashing a big, bright smile of her own while posing for pictures with her father and teammates on the sidelines.
From Morgan's perspective, the night was a big win. His weeks-in-the-making surprise worked out just as he'd hoped.
"It means everything," he said of the halftime reunion, which came just hours after he'd touched down back home in North Texas. "I haven't been home for almost a year... so, I wanted to surprise her and just make her day."
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