Virginia high school football triumphs in the face of tragedy

With head coach away mourning the loss of his son, Spotsylvania captures an emotional victory

Gary Adornato | 5 Hours Ago

The Spotsylvania Knights defeated Atlee, 17-14, with their head coach Conway Reid on Friday. Reid missed the game while he mourned the loss of his son Trevor, a former Spotsylvania player, who was killed one week ago in a motorcycle accident. / Spotsylvania Football Facebook

A victory could never replace what was lost by the Spotsylvania high school football family last week, but the Knights were able to make it rallying point for healing as they continue to mourn the death of Trevor Reid, the 21-year old son of Spotsylvania head coach Conway Reid. The younger Reid died in a motorcycle accident on Sept. 14.

Tim Coleman, the current head coach Fredericksburg Christian, stepped in to coach the Knights on Friday and the team responded with a 17-14 victory over Atlee.

Coleman is no stranger to Spotsylvania. He was the school's head coach when it won a state championship in 1994 and his star quarterback that season was Conway Reid.

Running back Manny Duah led the way on Friday as he rushed for 166 yards, on an incredible 40 carries, and two touchdowns. Michael Bonilla also hit a 25-yard field goal.

Trevor Reid was a three-sport star at Spotsylvania, where he played football, basketball and baseball. His memorial service was held on Saturday with most of the Spotsylvania football family on hand to support their coach.

Published 8 Hours Ago|Modified 12:37 PM EDT

GARY ADORNATO

Gary Adornato began covering high school sports with the Baltimore Sun in 1982, while still a mass communications major at Towson University, and in 2003 became one of the first journalists to cover high school sports online while operating MIAASports.com, the official website of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Later, Adornato pioneered market-wide coverage of high school sports with DigitalSports.com, introducing video highlights and player interviews while assembling an award-winning editorial staff. In 2010, he launched VarsitySportsNetwork.com which became the premier source of high school media coverage in the state of Maryland. In 2022, he sold VSN to The Baltimore Banner and joined SBLive Sports as the company's East Coast Managing Editor.