High School Football Players Honor Fallen Teammate With Moving Display

Trenton Brady was a 16-year-old member of the Newton Cardinals High School football team in Newton, Iowa. Brady played the left tackle position, the offensive lineman whose primary duty is to protect the quarterback’s blindside during gameplay. It is an important position on the football field, but since June of this year, the team has been without their blindside protector.

Brady passed away in a car crash near Kellogg, IA, just three months before his 17th birthday. In their last home game of the season, the team decided they could not play unless they honored their protector one last time.

“It’s really hard that he’s not here, but he’s still with us,” senior Caden Manning told WHOTV.

On Senior Night, which signified the last game the team would play on home turf, the team brought out Brady’s jersey and, along with the other team captains, carried it out to center field to meet with the opposing team, with the P.A. announcer proclaiming “Trenton Brady was a man of faith, family, and football.”

“It kind of feels like he’s right there with you and his spirit and all that, telling you to go harder,” said Manning. Brady’s jersey and number have been retired, but a replica hangs over his locker, with the real one buried with the fallen player.

“He would have been a captain so it’s just a way for our kids to know he’s still with us and to honor the way he carried himself,” said Head Coach Ed Ergenbright.

The community rallied around the memory of Brady, signing a tribute wall at the game. A $1,500 scholarship in Brady’s name will also be awarded to one of the 2017 graduates at the end of the school year.