Click here for updates on this story
Millington, MI (WNEM) — A community of football players raised money for the family of a Shepherd teen who died in a car crash.
“When things come up like this, there’s no playbook to deal with them. And as a community and a football team, we just felt there’s gotta be something we can do,” said Lenny Dantinne, the head coach at Millington.
The Millington freshman and JV football teams hosted the Blue Jays on Wednesday and raised money during those games.
The Blue Jays lost a team member late Saturday when 16-year-old Evan Duffiney’s car went off the road just east of Mt. Pleasant.
The head coach at Millington said what happened to Evan hits close to home.
“I have my own kids, and that’s the first I thought about is how precious life is. We couldn’t sit idle. Our hearts have sunk since then in this tragedy,” Dantinne said.
Shepherd’s Head Coach Ben Brock said the past few days have been emotional and difficult.
“We’re taking it day by day. It’s not right. This kind of thing shouldn’t happen to a young man at this age,” Brock said.
Although the two schools are rivals, Millington raised money at their games on Wednesday and Thursday for Evan’s family.
Evan’s family was at Thursday’s game, along with his girlfriend Sophia Vasquez. She was blown away.
“Evan would’ve wanted something like this. He’s such a big-hearted kid. He’s jumping down in the sky probably. Tears of joy. It’d make him happy,” Vasquez said.
The kindness and generosity of a rival team is making his loved ones happy too.
Brock said Evan’s spirit will live on.
“Evan was a Blue Jay and he’s always gonna be a Blue Jay. And we’re going to continue to be Blue Jay strong here,” Brock said.
Millington’s coach said they raised about $1,300 Wednesday.
Alma High School and St. Louis High School are also raising funds for Evan’s family.
The crash prompted investigators to clarify that despite reports in other media, officers were not pursuing Duffiney’s car when it crashed.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
