The public address announcer in C. Milton Wright’s stadium set the tone for the evening.
“Tonight is about more than just soccer,” the voice said minutes before kickoff, a harrowing reminder about what’s important. “Tonight, we play for Blake.”
Tuesday was the Mustangs’ first home game since the death of Blake Elliott, a standout on the team who was killed in a school bus crash nearly two weeks ago that also critically injured Zach Griffin, a member of the school’s boys soccer team.
There was nothing typical about the game — from it starting with a moment of silence and ending in Harford Tech gifting C. Milton Wright players flowers, to how the Cobras won it, scoring in the final minute of overtime to clinch a 1-0 victory.
But Tuesday will be remembered not for the final score, but as the last first this Mustangs team will endure. The first practice, first game, and first home game. Each brought their own difficulties.
“Firsts were going to be hard,” Mustangs coach Andrew Harrell said. “We have all those under our belts now. But I don’t know if seconds are going to be any easier than firsts.
“They’re hanging in there. They’re doing a good job. They wanted to continue to honor Blake. They wanted to play for her. They loved that kid. She was one of our best players and friends with everybody.”
Tuesday reflected that impact. Banners with Elliott and Griffin’s names on them covered the stadium. Players donned warmup jerseys with Elliot’s name and No. 3 on them. And the crowded bleachers clapped for a full minute at the third minute of each half.
The team met last Monday, four days after the fatal accident, to discuss what to do with their season now mired in loss. Every option was presented, including canceling the remainder of the season. But, Harrell said, every player dismissed that and instead eagerly wanted to return to the field.
“None of them went that direction,” the coach said. “It’s what they want. I’ve been asking the girls a lot, ‘what do you need?’ Sometimes they need time, sometimes they want a fun practice. We’re putting them first. Everybody deals with grief a little differently.”
Harford County Public Schools did not make players available for interviews after the game.
The school held a vigil for Elliott on Sept. 19 and postponed all sporting events that night. The girls soccer team canceled its next scheduled game last Wednesday and returned to practice late last week. Monday, a 2-0 win over Havre de Grace, was their first time on the field in 12 days.
“We were happy to get back out there,” Harrell said. “We’ve been sticking together. The one thing that was missing was the soccer aspect.”
According to an update posted Thursday to Griffin’s GoFundMe, which has raised more than $103,000 as of Tuesday morning, “Zach is doing great,” organizer Erika Kitz wrote. There’s also a fundraiser for Elliott’s family that has raised more than $136,000.
“The outpouring of support has been incredible,” Harrell said. “It’s been something I’ve never seen. It’s amazing the way the community has come together to support each other.
“We wanted to make tonight special, for so many reasons. But for us as a program, it was just a thank you to everybody for what they’ve done. Our goal today was to just get through the day. Blake was that player who loved these big games, excelled in these big games. We said before the game, if we’re going to play like Blake, what does that mean? It means to play hard and put on a show. It didn’t end up the way we wanted, but we conquered that goal.”
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