The Virginia-Delaware game came to a brief halt at the first half two-minute timeout, for a special in-game moment for the families of Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry, the three UVA Football players who were killed in a mass shooting on Grounds in 2022.
Being 100 here, it was hard to get back to watching football for a few minutes afterward – after seeing head coach Tony Elliott, who was a rookie head coach back in 2022, and is now in his fifth year at the helm, sharing hugs, smiles, tears, with the loved ones behind 1-15-41.
ICYMI
“Today is a very special day, also a challenging day, for many folks,” Elliott told reporters after the 42-3 Virginia win, which, yes, no doubt, was important for the team, which was coming off an upset loss to West Virginia a week ago, but was more important to the program, coming on what we’re going to be calling, forever more, UVA Strong Day, the annual memorial gameday to the fallen.
“Just very, very grateful to Happy Perry and family, and Simone Davis and family, and Dalayna Chandler and family, for, you know, choosing to be a part of this day. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for them. But really, really grateful that they were here, and had an opportunity to be a part of this day,” Elliott said.
It does have to be difficult, because as much as UVA Strong Day is a celebration of the young men who were lost, it’s also a reminder of what happened, and being 100 again, UVA Athletics does the families right by giving them this day, but the families also have to remember that the University let them down with how it handled things.
The school held off for years releasing the results of the external review into the shooting, and when it finally did release the report, it was heavily redacted, hiding behind a litany of excuses that a lot of us take as trying to evade accountability.
The 1-15-41 families made it clear that they were not happy with the way UVA put the review under wraps, but that’s obviously just going to be a matter, going forward, of, it is what it is.
From the archives
- Coverage of the Nov. 13, 2022, shootings, and the aftermath: click here.
In the stadium on Saturday night, the focus was on Davis, Chandler and Perry, which came into focus when wideout Rico Flores Jr., wearing the jersey #1, which Davis had worn in his time with the program, scored on an 11-yard TD pass in the first quarter, and pointed to his jersey, and then the sky.
“I know his family was here, so the game was bigger than me, it was for three numbers that’s up top, you know, watching down for us,” said Flores, a transfer from UCLA in his first year with the UVA Football program, who had a breakout game – nine catches on 10 targets, 113 yards, two TDs.
“I wasn’t here for that, but I feel that because I’m a Virginia Cavalier, so I’m proud that I was able to put on a show for them, and we were able to put on a show for them,” Flores said.
The turnout for the game was diminished because of the loss to WVU last week – the official attendance was announced at 41,935, but that was being generous, to say the least, and the approach of the outer bands of the Nor’easter impacting weather on the East Coast this weekend sent most of whatever the number was home after halftime.
The rain, the numbers, the score, none of that mattered during the long two-minute timeout.
“I know it’s four years, coming up on four years, but really, it’s not for them,” Elliott said. “Their situation is totally different than all of ours, and I cannot imagine just how difficult every day is. But hopefully, today, this weekend, was just soothing for them, and helped them just maybe experience their sons’ presence, again, by the way that we played, or just being back in Charlottesville, Scott Stadium, the atmosphere.
“That’s my hope, and really, really proud of, you know, the football team, for showing up and doing everything that they possibly could to do their part to create just a great day for them.”
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Chris Graham
