Darby fell to the Flint Creek Titans but the score wasn’t really that important. Earlier in the week, Darby coach Jeff Snavely contacted the Flint Creek coach and told him the Tigers wanted to run a special play to honor a former teammate. Jake Sanders graduated a couple of years ago but remains in the hearts of the Tigers. Sanders has been battling lymphoma and just returned home to spend his remaining time here in the Bitterroot.
Snavely and his team, even though it was on Drummond’s field, wanted to honor Sanders by running a ‘missing man’ play. Cutler, the Titan’s coach, agreed and the first play of the game was with only seven players on the Darby side. They were penalized and moved back five yards. The very next play, the Titans intentionally jumped offsides to negate the first penalty.
The sportsmanship shown by the Titans went even farther as they wore fluorescent lime green tape with Sanders’ number, 61, written on it. Darby has done this all season.
It is these types of experiences that give us hope, that we can reach across the field and come together for a common cause even though the uniforms are different colors. These two teams exemplified true sportsmanship and showed their strength for a fellow football player. #Sunshine Strong.