Derek is a real smart player and a smart person, period. He can step up and do the job.

The young guys did a great job. I also think we threw a lot of looks and disguises at them. Their quarterback held the ball a few times because he didn't want to make a mistake. When he did, we made him pay for it.

Grant is a very smart and vocal player, and I expect him to step up and be the leader of that group. Bolstad has been on varsity a couple years now and he is a terrific player, and Brickl is on the rise towards that as well.

Of the Phoenix kids, the one Derek got along best with was Daniel. In him, Daniel had found a good sparring partner. And a plotting partner, too. Derek wasn’t just the biggest and strongest in our group. He was also the smartest. Scary, off-the-charts smart. That intimidated Daniel a little at first—he’s bright, but he needs to work for his grades. But Derek wasn’t a show-off or a know-it-all, so they got past that and we would hang out together, the two guys, Chloe, and I planning and plotting our future, bouncing ideas off one another.

I told him that I was praying for him and that I'm behind him 100 percent. He's down; he's in disbelief. But I'm sure he'll make it through.

I was just in shock. Absolute shock. I couldn't believe it.