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Dec 3, 2008 4:58 pm US/Central
Peewee Football Team Perseveres After Coach Dies
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
An East Dallas youth football team has made it to the big time. They beat the odds and are just days away from their national championship game in Florida. But qualifying for the game and getting there are two different things.
There's even more to the story. Team members have played their hearts out for the now deceased coach who helped them for so long.
The East Dallas Desperados Junior Midget Football Team will practice Monday evening.
Less than two months ago a coach for the team died on the practice field.
Head Coach Theo Montgomery was at a team practice on October 17. Coach Montgomery gave his 12 and 13-year-old players a pep talk. He told the team that he was proud of them and wanted them to step up, be leaders, and continue to make good decisions on and off the football field.
A short time later, Montgomery pulled another coach aside and told him that he was tired and needed to rest. When the coach returned to check on Montgomery he found him lying on the practice field.
Emergency crews arrived and determined that Montgomery was having a heart attack. After being responsive during the entire incident, Coach Montgomery fell unconscious. The coach was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
But the spirit of Coach Montgomery lives on in his young players. "When I lost him it really hurt me," quarterback Keith Myers said. "He's the one who got me into football, when I was four. He taught me all the fundamentals of football… how to play, so I wanted to come play for him."
The players, who haven't lost a game since Montgomery's death, made it to the national finals. The game will be played in Orlando, Florida.
While the team is scheduled to leave on Saturday, they don't have enough money to make the bus trip. The team is scheduled to be in Florida from December 6 - 13th, at a cost of $20,000.
The team is looking for any assistance they can get to make the trip and hopefully win the Super Bowl.
Donations can be mailed to:
Pres./Athletic Director, East Dallas Desperados - Ken Green
P.O. Box 270412
Dallas, TX 75227
Anyone looking to make a donation can also contact coach Ken Green by phone, at (214) 536-7872.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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