Teammates discuss the loss of a friend
CONNELLSVILLE — Though their eyes were red and weary with grief, three Connellsville Falcon football players smiled Friday afternoon as they talked about a good friend and teammate they suddenly lost Thursday night.
“Just thinking of him makes me laugh,” said 17-year-old Austin Brooks, a senior at Connellsville Area High School. Brooks played alongside standout wide receiver Darrell Ross.
“I looked forward to hearing his funny stories at lunch,” said another teammate, Kevin Koontz, 17. “He always had a funny story to tell.”
“Every day,” added Dylan Knopsnider, 16, as the three sat down to talk in the field house adjacent to the stadium after practice.
Ross, who just a few weeks ago celebrated his 17th birthday, was found with a single gunshot wound to his head in a home on Murray Avenue in Uniontown. He was taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., where he later died.
Police have the suspected shooter, Hasani Melene Simpkins, 18, of Philadelphia, in custody. Simpkins reportedly admitted to the shooting under police questioning. No motive has yet been determined, according to police.
Knopsnider said Ross was visiting a cousin who lived at the home where the shooting took place and that Ross was very committed to his family. Nearly two years ago, Ross’ mother passed away, the boys said. He bore a tattoo across his chest that said, “My mother’s keeper.”
Although he could be serious when the situation called for buckling down and getting to work, all three boys painted a picture of Ross as a joker.
“He was a clown,” Knopsnider said.
Brooks said Ross, ever a prankster, sneaked up on him at school on Thursday. “He came up behind me and blew in my ear and flicked it,” said Brooks with a grin. “Then he took off running and laughing. I said, ‘I’ll get you tomorrow.'”
Brooks’ expression turned. “Then tomorrow came, and he wasn’t here.”
Koontz and Knopsnider are both juniors, just as Ross was. They, too, expressed the shock and dismay of making plans with someone — routine things that are easily taken for granted, like agreeing to meet up for a jog or to exercise — and knowing those plans would never come to fruition.
On Ross’ Facebook page, picture after picture depicts a grinning goofball of a teenager. He was open and social, and Koontz said everyone at school knew him or knew of him.
Koontz warmly recalled a bus trip back from a game. “We had a little rap battle on the bus,” Koontz said. It was a long ride home from Altoona, he said, and everyone had a good time, with Ross in the spotlight, entertaining teammates.
Knopsnider recalled first meeting Ross in ninth grade, when Ross was new to the school. The two had class together during third period that year, and when the new kid walked in for the first time, Knopsnider said he looked him over, sizing him up. Ross noticed.
“He says, ‘What are you lookin at?'” Knopsnider said. Although he felt a little defensive at the question at first, he soon realized that was part of Ross’ schtick. He wasn’t trying to start trouble, he was trying to make people laugh. “The more I got to know him, that’s just what he was like,” Knopsnider said, smiling.
“He was a good athlete,” said Koontz, “not just as a player, but as a teammate. He gave us hope that we could be good.”
“School-wise too,” Brooks said. “If someone was down, he would bring them up.”
Knopsnider said Ross stood up for people. “You could always count on him. He would have your back. He was always there.”
The boys described Friday at school as a somber day full of quiet mourning.
During morning announcements, the entire school observed a moment of silence for Ross. Brooks said hearing his friend’s name in that context caused him to break down and cry, and not for the last time that day.
Grief counselors were on hand to assist students, and the boys said the counselors encouraged classmates to recall the good times they had with Ross. Teachers showed support by allowing the kids time and space to deal with the overwhelming emotions, efforts the three teammates said they greatly appreciated. But nothing could take away the pain, the boys explained.
“A loss like this, there’s really nothing you could say,” Brooks said.
Many students were absent, including Ross’ girlfriend, Haleigh Sigwalt, the teammates said. Brooks said not a lot of people showed up for football practice Friday afternoon either. It was tough without him, Brooks said.
College recruiters had been showing up to watch Ross play on Friday nights, Brooks said.
“He had a college career ahead,” said Koontz. Ross also would have been a starting pitcher for the baseball team this season, he added. “He was a good sport on the field,” Koontz said.
“He pulled us together,” said Knopsnider.
The three boys weren’t exactly sure how to proceed, in the wake of the devastating news. Koontz said, “I plan on going home, spending time with family.”
Fellow Falcon football players plan to attend the funeral as a team, Koontz said. There was some talk of a vigil to be held for Ross in the upcoming days, but the exact time and date have not been determined.
Brooks said he’ll miss seeing Ross every day. After lunch on most days, he said he would run into Ross, usually sitting on the same bench.
“I could be down, and I’d look at him sitting on the bench, and he’d see me and make me laugh,” Brooks said. “Today I looked at the bench, and he wasn’t there.”