Honoring a fallen Warrior

On Aug. 31, the Fairview Park community was shook by tragedy.

Fairview senior Zuhair Jallad was killed in a car crash.

A week later, the Warriors paid homage to their fallen teammate, affixing decals reading “Z 23” to their helmets prior to Fairview’s game against Bay.

The decals, which will remain on the helmets for the duration of the season, were a way for the Warriors to honor Jallad, Warriors coach Dave Latkovic said.

“Everything happened so quickly,” Latkovic said. “He died on a Friday and not all of the kids had a chance to pay their respects. This was a way we could honor him and make sure that he was with us at all times.”

While Jallad had opted not to play football this year — Latkovic said he was a busy student who was taking college classes in addition to his high school workload — he was no less a part of the team than in years he had played. Latkovic said the senior was a regular in the weight room while the Warriors were there.

“He may not have been playing for us this year, but he was always around,” Latkovic said. “He meant a lot to us and to the school as a whole.”

As such, Latkovic said the outpouring of support did not surprise him. The decals were spearheaded by Athletic Director Joe Dianetti and they were placed on the helmets by students at Fairview High School who wanted to help out.

“It was a total team effort,” Latkovic said. “It’s a special thing, there’s not doubt about that.”

“He meant a lot to us and to the school as a whole.”

— Fairview coach Dave Latkovic, on Zuhair Jallad

Additionally, the Fairview student section wore purple in Jallad’s honor and a bake sale was held during the game to help raise money for the family.

“This community is fantastic,” Latkovic said. “They go out of their way to help each other. It was on full display Friday.”

Additionally, there was a spattering of purple to be seen in the Bay student section as well, something Latkovic said was a great gesture.

“They didn’t have to do that, so it was great,” Latkovic said. “It was one of those things that made you remember there is more to life than football.”