I want to share with you what the Raiders has done for this small community. Appomattox is a place that everyone knows everyone around them or they know the family of another within the county. It’s a pretty tight knit place to live. Im not mentioning names in this post out of respect for families.
June 2015, we had a student take his own life due to school bullying. They closed down the school because kids were spreading rumors about this student said he was going to come shoot up the school. Parents and students antagonized him on social media (he shot himself that night).
When school began this year, we had another student take his own life over relationship issues and family tension. We had another teen that graduated last year pass away due to a car accident the prior week. A weekend later, we had a student pass away due to the driver being drunk and swerved off the road. The student that died was the only one in the car wearing a seatbelt (ironic).
A week later we had a man in the community shoot his wife and then committed suicide himself (both 28 years old, they had 2 kids together). A week after that we had a teen shoot his grandpa in the chest four times and evaded police on a 5 hour manhunt. Somewhere in between all them tragedies, there were 2 young men born and raised in Appomattox (28, and 35) that chose to take their life as well (one with a gunshot and one hung himself). This all happened within a 3 month span. This has NEVER been something Appomattox has been through in such a small window of time.
Some of the teenagers I mentioned had played alongside our Raiders in football and other sports. This community started hashtags on social media #AppomattoxStrong and they also have drawn strength from the #PO1 #PowerOf1 motto of the Raiders (Coach Smith has a different motto every season). This community was aching and many are still hurting from these tragedies. Every week, they would draw strength in this small county town’s football team. This team had helped this community heal.
This is the first time in Raider history that a team has advanced to the Quarter Finals. This Raider team has never had an undefeated season since 1966 (49 years). Im writing this dialogue to inform you guys that football is much more than a game. This team has proved that with the season they had. When a community is hurting, it can draw strength in other ways. Im not saying that healing is not found in God, but this Appomattox Raiders team of 2015 is something this community needed. Win or Lose on Saturday, this Raider team has served it’s purpose already. What they have accomplished is much more than that. THEY ARE A WINNER REGARDLESS OF WINNING A STATE TITLE!!!
June 2015, we had a student take his own life due to school bullying. They closed down the school because kids were spreading rumors about this student said he was going to come shoot up the school. Parents and students antagonized him on social media (he shot himself that night).
When school began this year, we had another student take his own life over relationship issues and family tension. We had another teen that graduated last year pass away due to a car accident the prior week. A weekend later, we had a student pass away due to the driver being drunk and swerved off the road. The student that died was the only one in the car wearing a seatbelt (ironic).
A week later we had a man in the community shoot his wife and then committed suicide himself (both 28 years old, they had 2 kids together). A week after that we had a teen shoot his grandpa in the chest four times and evaded police on a 5 hour manhunt. Somewhere in between all them tragedies, there were 2 young men born and raised in Appomattox (28, and 35) that chose to take their life as well (one with a gunshot and one hung himself). This all happened within a 3 month span. This has NEVER been something Appomattox has been through in such a small window of time.
Some of the teenagers I mentioned had played alongside our Raiders in football and other sports. This community started hashtags on social media #AppomattoxStrong and they also have drawn strength from the #PO1 #PowerOf1 motto of the Raiders (Coach Smith has a different motto every season). This community was aching and many are still hurting from these tragedies. Every week, they would draw strength in this small county town’s football team. This team had helped this community heal.
This is the first time in Raider history that a team has advanced to the Quarter Finals. This Raider team has never had an undefeated season since 1966 (49 years). Im writing this dialogue to inform you guys that football is much more than a game. This team has proved that with the season they had. When a community is hurting, it can draw strength in other ways. Im not saying that healing is not found in God, but this Appomattox Raiders team of 2015 is something this community needed. Win or Lose on Saturday, this Raider team has served it’s purpose already. What they have accomplished is much more than that. THEY ARE A WINNER REGARDLESS OF WINNING A STATE TITLE!!!
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