Community Corner
Absegami Football Players Show Support For Mainland Brethren Following Fatal Accident
Four Mainland players died in an accident on the Garden State Parkway on Saturday, and the Braves attended a memorial for them on Sunday.
A group of Absegami High School football players attended the vigil for four Mainland players on Aug. 21 to show support for their Cape-Atlantic League peers.
Edgar Bozzi, Casey Brenner, Nick Conner and Dean Khoury were killed in an accident on the Garden State Parkway on Aug. 20, as the group
headed to a team breakfast. Four other players were hospitalized with
injuries, but released prior to the vigil.
The tragedy has caused an outpouring of support from across the country for Mainland, and the news of the accident hit Absegami
players hard.
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"That was real sad. That could have been any high school team,"
Absegami player Demond Cottman said. "That could have been us. We go out to team breakfasts and team dinners. We just send out our love and support to them."
"We went to the memorial to show our respect," Absegami's David Hood said. "We send our hearts out to them."
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The tragedy hit home to some of the players who know Absegami English teacher Denise Khoury, the mother of one of the victims.
"Mrs. Khoury is a teacher here," Braves wide out Dustin Miller said. "It's real sad."
CAL players often cross paths from a young age in different sports or
later in social circles. The Mustangs may be opponents on the
gridiron, but that's where it stops.
There is a common respect for each other, just for putting on the pads
and helmet to represent their respective schools. There is talk that
the CAL programs may pay tribute to Mainland this season, however, the Braves attended the vigil to make sure that the Mustangs know they are not alone.
"We wanted to show respect to the team," Cottman said.
Absegami coach Dennis Scuderi said he can't imagine what Mainland
coach Bob Coffey is going through. Scuderi, who lives in Somers Point,
which is in the Mainland school district, has never had to experience
anything like this before. Even as a son of a longtime coach, he couldn't remember such a tragedy.
"I live in that community and I know Coach Coffey," Scuderi said. "We
also have a teacher here whose son died in the accident so it hits
close to home."
