L.D. Bell edges Keller as community rallies behind Indians after fatal crash
In one aspect, Hurst L.D. Bell’s win Friday night helped them improve to 4-0 on the young season.
Grady Matcham’s 16-yard field goal with five seconds left provided the Blue Raiders with a 31-28 win over Keller in a District 4-6A contest at Pennington Field.
However, in the big picture, the three-hour game provided a bit of a respite from what was a tough week for the Keller Indians’ football family.
The team played without linebacker coach Spencer Elliott, who was seriously injured in a fatal crash on Sunday in Fort Worth that police have said they suspect was caused by an impaired driver going the wrong way. Elliott’s wife, Brytni, died in the crash. She was the nursing director at Tarrant County correctional facilities.
Elliott and his 12-year-old daughter, Allie, were injured in the head-on collision on Boat Club Road and face long recoveries, friends wrote on the GiveSendGo fundraising site. The couple’s other two children were not in the car.
On Monday night, the Keller ISD Athletic Complex became the site of a prayer vigil for the Elliott family. Spencer teaches anatomy and physiology at Keller High School and is also in the U.S. Navy Reserves.
Keller head football coach Carl Stralow had to tell the team the news.
“You just tell them; you can’t sugarcoat, things like that happen. You just tell them (the news) and you tell them we’re going to pray and rally,” he said. “But, it’s been a tough week.”
Stralow is the other linebacker coach for the Indians, who fell to 2-2 with the loss.
He said the focus this week was to use those two hours a day in practice to put the worries about the world aside, even for a small portion.
“We had a good week of practice, we just didn’t make enough plays to win,” Stralow said. “Coach (Elliott) is watching at home and he’s probably kicking something. But the thing is, take three hours to just go out and play and be a kid. Because they’ve had a lot of heavy stuff this week … things that are adult things and things you don’t ever imagine. We’re praying for that group and that family.”
There will be a community vigil at Boswell’s baseball field at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, hosted by the North Texas Knights baseball and softball program. Elliott is a 13U coach for the organization.
The loss of a coach’s wife resonates with anyone in the coaching fraternity.
Bell coach TJ Dibble took time to reflect after the late win.
“Carl Stralow and their coaching staff are one of the best in the area and not just great coaches, just unbelievable human beings,” Dibble said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them and we’ve been thinking about them a lot this week. But I cannot imagine preparing for a football game with all that they’ve had to overcome this week. We want nothing but the best for their staff and obviously the families involved.”
He added, “Football is a gift, and that, in that reality, it sometimes can give you an escape from some of the difficulties and just the tragedy that goes on. I know Coach Stralow and his coaches wanted to get their kids out there between the white lines on a Friday night and let them escape and play a game. You know, everything in their world has been turned upside down in the last week. It’s tough … I can’t imagine.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2025 at 12:02 AM.