A Utah high school's football team gave up the chance of scoring an extra point in a touching tribute to a teammate who sustained a severe spinal cord injury during a game earlier this month, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
After scoring its fourth touchdown of the game on Thursday, the South Summit High School football team gathered at their sideline instead of lining up for the extra point, The Tribune said. Then, the players and coaches all pointed to the 26-0 tally on the scoreboard.
The gesture was a tribute to their teammate Porter Hancock, who wore the No. 26 jersey as a junior linebacker. He was injured while making a tackle during a game on Oct. 7.
"I didn't know what we were even doing at first, but then I knew as soon as I looked," quarterback Matt Rydalch told The Tribune. "It's funny how that number keeps popping up — last week we won by 26. It reminds us that we're staying strong for Porter."
The team, which ultimately beat Grand County High School with a score of 33-0, also hosted a silent auction to raise money for Hancock's medical fund.
The team's rivals have also chipped in, The Tribune reported. Grand donated $1,200 for the fund, while Emery High School, the team South Summit was playing when Hancock was injured, had reportedly raised $1,000.
Athletic director Troy Coil told the newspaper that roughly $60,000 had been raised for Hancock before Thursday's fundraiser.
