Ouachita football vows to rally in wake of drowning

Just as the Ouachita football family was moving past the death of teammate Dillon Neal from 2013, the Lions are now faced with another tragedy.

Rising sophomore defensive back Kenton Norman drowned Saturday in Hot Springs, Arkansas, during a vacation with his family.

The pain and anguish has yet to sink in for most associated with the program, but what is clear is Ouachita will rally in the wake of its fallen teammate.

"It's so important. That's what Ouachita does better than anybody else," Ouachita senior offensive lineman Kennedy Madison said. "Everybody has each other's back."

Norman, who was loved by teammates, family and friends, died Saturday afternoon after spending about 20 minutes on life support.

By Saturday night, news had spread to Twitter, leaving many in shock just like the unforgettable November night in 2013 when Neal died in a car crash.

Norman's family, including his mother Yolanda Wilson, have received an outpouring of support in the last 24 hours.

"It lets you know it's not just the team, but it's a whole family," Wilson said.

Ouachita held a team meeting late Saturday at the school where counselors were present to help the team grieve.

"Everybody was very emotional," said rising junior Devion Warren. "It was shocking to hear he died."

Some players, like Madison, were more worried about how the freshmen class would handle the news.

Still, Madison couldn't help but flashback to when Neal died.

"My first reaction was to call coach (Jeff Fitzgerald) and ask him if it was true. That's the same thing I did two years ago," Madison said. "I knew how it was the first time and I didn't want people to go through that again."

The harsh reality is Norman's death is true.

Ouachita, with the help from the community, plans to march forward.

"I know that Ouachita and all the other local teams, they're going to come and they're going to support us real hard," said rising senior Mickel Holman. "That's something we're going to need to get through this."

The Lions plan to use the strength from Norman's personality to push ahead. Those that have spent time with Norman are aware he wouldn't want the team to sit around and mope.

"We just have to come together as one now. That's all we can do is support each other and be behind each other," said rising sophomore Jabari Johnson. "I guess it was just his time to go. God had his plan. You can't bring him back, so all you can do is try to get over it and keep moving."

Back in 2013, Ouachita was slapped in the face during the season when Neal passed away the day after a game. Six days later, the Lions were back on the field to muster up enough energy to play.

The healing process was hardly instantaneous.

Ouachita had a hard time coping with Neal's death, a struggle Madison said spilled over to the field. This time is different since the Lions have several months to let the emotions out before the season starts in August.

"Use it as an advantage. Use it as motivation," Madison said. "That was our biggest problem. We let Dillon dying affect us. We always were sad before the games then you'd go on the field and it wasn't the same. You can't play sad. You gotta play with emotion."

The program had just moved on and recently presented Neal's family with a signed "55" jersey — the number he wore at Ouachita — during the football banquet.

"Everything was going good with the football team and for the school," Madison said. "We looked real good in the spring and now we have this to look on."

Wossman coach Dean Smith, who served as an assistant at Ouachita in 2013, said he can't question God's timing, but couldn't help wonder about what the Lions have been through since 2013.

"It just breaks your heart," he said.

What Smith didn't question is what Norman's tragedy serves as a reminder of.

"As teenagers, sometimes they wake up and complain about the little things but just understand being happy to be alive and talk to your friends and tell your parents you love them," Smith said. "This is never planned. It always just happens. Appreciate everything on Earth and never take a day for granted."

Connect with Sean Isabella on Twitter at ST_IsabellaTNS