The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
No. 2: Comets support Christian Velez, family
The Morning Journal is preparing for the start of high school football by ranking the 20 best stories throughout the coverage area to come out of the 2016 season.
Amherst entered Week 4 with the heaviest of hearts as sophomore Christian Velez was mourning the loss of his father, State Highway Patrol Trooper Kenneth Velez, who was killed on Interstate 90 while conducting traffic enforcement. The struggling Comets entered the game at 0-3 and had lost their last 14 games going back to 2014, but banded together to beat Berea-Midpark, 54-14, on what was an emotional night for the Amherst community.
While the game itself was important as the Comets desperately needed to get back in the win column, the resilience and brotherhood displayed on and off the field that day was extraordinary. The team showed a poise beyond what any high school student should ever have to, and on a day when one of its own was hurting beyond measure, did
what it could in that moment to ease some of the pain, and even bring a little joy to Christian and his family.
THEY SAID IT » “All of them have been here for me. They’ve picked me up, they’ve talked to me, they’ve brought me stuff. They’ve all been here for me. We’ve been brothers all season ... and I just love my teammates. They’re all brothers to me.” — Christian Velez
“It brings tears just thinking about it. It’s unreal. From the moment I found out and we told the team, it’s just been unwavering support, and not just the team, the whole community. We got calls, emails, texts all day asking, ‘What can we do to help?’ and it was just amazing. I can’t speak enough about it.” — Amherst coach Bill Fishleigh
“We’re a brotherhood, and it’s just so unreal right now. (Christian) deserved all of this. He got named starter earlier this week and then this tragedy happened. His dad couldn’t even see his first game as a starter. Just playing for him was awesome, it was all for him.” — Amherst senior Johnny Matakovich
“I know my dad was here and we were able to get the win. I’m really just proud of my whole family. It’s crazy —14 losses and then this? I know my dad is proud.” — Velez
THE AFTERMATH » In times such as this, the aftermath is not necessarily measured in success on the field, but more so in the strengthened brotherhood of a team. After the win and after facing a terrible tragedy together, the Comets were a stronger team — bonded by their love and support for each other. In this case, though, there was some added success on the field as the Comets’ three wins in 2016 were the most in years.