South Jersey Community Honors 10-Year-Old Boy Shot, Killed At Pleasantville High School Football Game During Annual Thanksgiving Game
SICKLERVILLE, N.J. (CBS) -- Football is a Thanksgiving tradition for many. But in South Jersey, the game meant a lot more for two teams who honored a 10-year-old boy who was shot and killed in the stands a few weeks ago.
Many people in Sicklerville carried a brown paper bag with 10-year-old Micah Tenant's face as they collected donations in his honor.
Thanksgiving Day spent on a football field in Sicklerville weighed heavy for the players from the Winslow Township Eagles and Timber Creek Chargers.
The annual football game opened with a moment of silence as players and cheerleaders locked arm in solidarity for Micah.
The fifth-grader from Atlantic City was shot in the neck while sitting in the stands during a Pleasantville-Camden playoff game on Nov. 15. The 10-year-old died five days later.
"The gratitude for my life and having my brothers with me, locking arms like that, it was just a special moment for me," Timber Creek linebacker Arturo Merola said.
Over at the concessions stand, a donation jar started to fill for Micah and his family.
Collecting money hits especially hard for Camden County emergency responder Ginger Welcome.
"I've been an EMS for 26 years and seeing the heartache of having to save someone's life if not telling them that their child has passed it is very heartbreaking," she said.
A sense of sadness was also felt in the stands.
"Once you lose a life and especially a child's, as a parent. I can't imagine," Hilda Massenburg said.
"It's your biggest fear as an athletic director. Your biggest fear is something like that happening because you never know," athletic director Frank Torcasio said.
Aside from Micah, on the night of the deadly shooting in Pleasantville, a 15-year-old boy was grazed by a bullet and a 27-year-old was also shot. Both are OK.
Police say the 27-year-old was the intended target, he was charged along with five other men.
In Sicklerville, the focus stayed on remembering Micah and uplifting his family.
"All of these communities coming together really helping them supporting them, I think that would give them some kind of relief you know, that they know that they're not alone in this," Merola said.
