While Sam Carroll’s senior season on the gridiron may have ended sooner then expected, the Patriot still finished his career as one of the best around.

It was a helmet-to-arm hit against Glenwood that sidelined Carroll with two broken bones in his left arm after grabbing an interception in a 34-20 victory that clinched a playoff berth back in October.

And even though that hit took out the senior tight end for the final four and half games of the season, Carroll was still thought highly enough of to be recognized and selected to the AISA All-State team.

“I was more surprised to hear I was selected than anything,” Carroll said.

“I had the injury that ended my season short plus there were some really good football players on this team that didn’t make it on the list. It was definitely a great honor, but one that I was not expecting.”

In his final season with the Patriots, Carroll finished with 15 receptions for 327 yards, a 21.8 yards per catch average, and four touchdowns.

“I thought Sam had a tremendous season for us this year,” PLAS head coach Steven Kilcrease said. “And he only played in seven and a half games.

“It seemed like every game, each coach would tell me how good they thought Sam was and how much he brought to the offense. Even though he missed the last couple games of the season, he was still elected to the All-State team which says an awful lot about his senior season and his work ethic.”

As far as how the injury is coming along for Carroll, the senior said everything is fine and he will be ready for baseball season, which in a way began Tuesday afternoon as players began running.

“I was pretty down about the whole injury when it happened,” Carroll said. “I wanted to be out there with my teammates, especially during my senior season.

“But everything is coming along now and I will be ready for the baseball season.”