A Potomac, Maryland, high school football team mourning the death of their head football coach shined in their first home game since he passed, trouncing the opposing team.
Afterward, coach Ray Butler’s players talked about the lasting impact he had on them.
“It means everything to us. We grind so hard for this, we work so hard for this for coach Ray. We love coach Ray. We honor him. And I think the scoreboard says it all,” one Bullis High School football player told WTOP.
That scoreboard showed Bullis won 41 to 0 against Bishop O’Connell High School.
During the game, the Bullis team offered a tribute to their beloved coach who was suddenly hospitalized in late August and died earlier this month.
“Ray was everything for us. He was a rock in our life. When we were going through something outside of football, he was always there for us — always with the same energy. He was a mentor more than a coach to us,” said another player.
Skyler Springs, who worked under Butler, is now coaching the team and is using lessons he learned from his predecessor. Springs said the Bullis team has shown textbook toughness.
“So coach Ray always said: Every day you wake up, you have a chance and a choice. They chose resilience and I was really proud of those guys, and they really showed up to this big game,” Springs said.
Springs, 25, described Butler as “a best friend, a mentor, and someone who was always generous in giving to others.”
WTOP’s Juan Herrera contributed to this report from Potomac, Maryland.
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