Members of the Ernest Manning Griffins took to the field with passion and somewhat heavy hearts in an important game on Thursday evening.
The boys marched onto the field arm in arm and carrying a jersey with the number of Ryan Doedel — a close friend and teammate who was killed in a single-vehicle crash on a rural road near Springbank last week.
Doedel was one of two occupants of a vehicle that left the road on Township Road 242, just west of Calgary, last Thursday night. The 17-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
His friend and passenger in the car, 16-year-old Dante Bravi, was taken to hospital from the scene, where he is recovering from a spinal cord injury.
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The team, wearing blue-and-yellow ribbons, tore through a banner on the field before gathering with their opponents, Crescent Heights High School, for a moment of silence in memory of their fallen teammate.
Students and family members packed the bleachers and sidelines at the field, including Doedel’s father, Peter.
“For family being here, there’s a spiritual and soulful element, particularly with me, I’ve watched a number of his games,” Peter said from the sidelines.
“From an imagery perspective, it’s going to be very important for me to imagine my son playing this game and to do the things kinds of things that were pretty typical of him during a game; prancing on and off the field, clapping hands with his buddies and hanging out on the sideline, and then obviously being a contributor to the game when he was called upon,” Peter added.
The team scored its first touchdown just minutes into the first quarter.