Stanley is mourning the loss of one of their own as a Stanley-Boyd football player was killed Friday night while he was driving to a playoff game.
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Now his teammates, friends and family are struggling to cope with the loss.
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We spoke with several of Jared Johnson's friends, they say it's a loss they're still trying to understand. But, say they're grieving together, honoring his memory as a community and that is helping them through this tragedy.
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It was an unexpected loss..
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"It weighed heavy on the guys minds the whole game and on the coaches minds the whole game," Stanley-Boyd Football Coach Jeff Koenig said.
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In the midst of level three playoff game, the football team discovered they lost one of their own. Senior offensive lineman Jared Johnson died in a crash while driving to what would have been the final game of his high school career.
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"This is, this is a horrible night, it's just the worst news you could get," Stanley-Boyd superintendent Jim Jones said.
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"Its a shock to all of the team members," player Greg Ponick said.
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Johnson was traveling along Copenhaver Avenue, a gravel road, when he lost control. The Clark County Sheriff's Department says his vehicle then rolled several times, ejecting Johnson from the vehicle.
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He was taken to Our Lady of Victory Hospital in Stanley, but later died of his injuries.
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"I feel like I've lost a son, but I tell the guys every game I love them win or lose, you probably don't get a lot of football coaches that say that, but it's, it's true," Koenig said.
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Friday morning friends, family and teammates gathered at the high school to honor the young man they say was a gifted athlete and respectful student, blessed with a winning humor and smile they'll miss dearly.
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Teammate Greg Ponick says it's a loss made tougher by the close ties of the Stanley Community.
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"It means a lot to them and to all of us as a team, we're a family, it's like being sons of the Johnson family," he said.
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Ponick says after they got the news at halftime, it was a struggle to take the field but they were playing for Jared. He says that's what Johnson would have wanted.
Football Player Killed in Crash

By Lindsay Veremis | 
Posted: Sat 8:22 PM, Nov 03, 2007
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Updated: Tue 5:39 PM, Sep 16, 2008