ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Northeast Vikings won big on the football field Friday night, toppling Dunedin 68-28.
- Northeast High has special memorial for Jacquez Welch
- Welch, a standout Northeast High football player, died after collapsing during game Sept. 20
- Previous stories on Jacquez Welch
The big victory was celebrated but the Vikings community continues to deal with a loss it is struggling with.
In a special ceremony before the game, Northeast High honored Jacquez Welch, who died after collapsing during a game last month. Welch, 17, stumbled after a tackle during the Sept. 20 game against Seminole Osceola High School and didn't get up.
"Jaquez may now be at rest, and no longer physically with us on this earth, however number 4 will forever live in our viking hearts," school officials said during Friday night's tearful celebration.
Doctors at Bayfront Health hospital told Jacquez's mother Marcia Nelson that the tackle had little do to with her son's injury. They say Welch has a pre-existing condition called an arteriovenous malformation in his brain, which is an abnormal tangle of blood vessels.
"It was something he couldn't control, nobody could control, so it's keeping me calm and understanding... what happened," Nelson said. "Tragedy happened, but it was a cause that I couldn't control, so maybe that's more why I'm a little calmer."
On Friday night, which also was Homecoming for Northeast High, the Northeast High field said: "Tonight we play for Jacquez Welch."
And play they did, pounding the Falcons by 40 points.
"It’s kinda emotional," Nelson said. "I wouldn’t say it’s difficult it’s just emotional because he’s not out there. But to see his name everywhere and the quotes and the shirts, kinda just a little emotional."
Welch's funeral will be held Monday at first Baptist Church of St. Petersburg at 10 a.m.