Columbia TN player dies the same day as State Game

[farmer]

Dylan Rebeor, the inspiration of the Central High School Lions Football team, died after a heroic battle with colon cancer today, just hours before his teammates will play in the state 5A Championship game.

The 16-year-old junior died about 3:30 a.m. at his home on Hicks Lane in Columbia. He had been gravely ill for several weeks but took the field as a Lions team captain for the coin toss at last Friday’s semi-final game against Knoxville West.

Family friend Rick Points, a director at Williams Funeral Home in Columbia, talked to the boy’s parents, David and Heather, soon after his death.



“His mother told me ... ‘Five minutes before he died, he asked me if we won.’ She said, ‘Yes, honey, we won.”

Funeral services will be at 5 p.m. Monday at Pleasant Heights Baptist, 2712 Trotwood Ave. in Columbia. Officiating will be Pleasant Heights Pastor Bob Vassar, who also serves as chaplain of the Central football team.


Visitation with the family will be from 2-9 p.m. Sunday at Williams Funeral Home, 2517 Trotwood Ave., Columbia.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation has spoken with Dylan Rebeor’s family. His wish was to “give back” to his teammates who had supported him through his illness, said Amanda Butler, a spokeswoman with Cabedge, a Nashville public relations firm.



COOKEVILLE — The Columbia Lions held vigil for a fallen teammate in the locker room. They channeled their love for him into touchdowns.

Just hours after the death of 16-year-old Dylan Rebeor, a group of teenagers — just kids — were being asked to take the field and claim Columbia Central High School’s first football state championship since 1952.

They had just learned of Rebeor’s death from colon cancer that morning at school. Dan Bell, a teacher at Central High School, said he saw linebackers break down in tears.

Sixteen-year-olds aren’t supposed to die. They are invincible, or so they think, and at that age, death seems as remote as an island beyond the horizon.

But on Friday, they had lost one of their own in a battle with cancer. Rebeor played wide receiver for the Lions, but his connection with the team went beyond the gridiron, his mother said.


“These were his brothers,” Heather Rebeor said. “He couldn’t love them any more.”

So on Friday night, the Lions huddled together in a locker room underneath the stands of Tennessee Tech University’s Tucker Stadium. Many had written Rebeor’s number on their faces, a “2” on one cheek and a “5” on the other.

The crowd roared outside, but at times, silence filled the locker room. Players stared ahead with their gaze fixed at the task at hand.

Aaron Hoath, assistant coach, led the team in a chant. “I am relentless” echoed in the locker room. Then, head coach Vance Belew quickly briefed the players on a few gameplan reminders.

“If anybody has anything to say, now’s the time,” he said, as the team began thronging near the exit.

That’s when wide receiver Eric Belew, Rebeor’s close friend and the coach’s son, took the stage. He told the team that Dylan cared more about his team, coaches, family and friends than himself. From the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Rebeor asked that the team be furnished with new pads and helmets.

Belew told the team that Rebeor was stronger than anybody he knew, and that if they showed half as much strength they would be successful for the rest of their lives.

And then he said this: “Show them the power of Dylan. Regardless if we win or lose, if we show the power of Dylan, we are champions in my mind.”

The team erupted. The locker room doors flung open. The crowd — many wearing shirts that read “CHS Lions Fight Like Rebeor” — exploded in cheers. The band blared the fight song.

Last year, the Lions reached the championship game only to fall to Hendersonville Beech.

But not this time. The Lions would not be denied. The script had already been written in the locker room.

Rebeor’s mother paced the sidelines. She clutched her hands together nervously. She was there for her son.

As running back Tra’Darius Goff pounded the ball across the goal line in the second quarter for the Lions first score, the crowd chanted Rebeor’s name.

The Commandos’ only score came on a questionable call. Belew appeared to have dropped a pass near the Lions’ 32 yard line, but it was ruled a fumble. A Commando scooped up the ball and pitched it to a teammate who ran it in for a touchdown.

Such a turn of events could send a team reeling, but not these players.

The Lions responded with a 68-yard touchdown pass that seemed to float like a feather into the arms of wide receiver Dre Hall. From there, the Lions couldn’t be stopped.

They put two more unanswered touchdowns on the Commandos.

As the clock hit zero, Eric Belew ran to the sideline. He embraced T.J. Brown, Rebeor’s stepfather, and then, he wept. Players ran to Heather Rebeor and wrapped their arms around her. The mother held up a front page of The Daily Herald proclaiming the Lions champs.

The day started with pain. It ended with joy — even if it was only a respite from the feelings of loss that would set in the next day.

Five minutes before his death, Rebeor had asked his mother, “Did we win?”

On Friday, the Lions answered that question. They left the field knowing they had won, and they had shown everyone in the state of Tennessee the power of Dylan.

[Leo Byrd]

RIP......Dylan

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

wow, what an awesome story. of 2 victories. one won a ring, the other eternity in heaven.

[1974Viking]

If this story doesn't make one stop and reflect on what is really important in life, nothing will. May you rest in peace, Dylan.

[farmer]

This is a true story also not one of those you read on the internet that gets passed around. This gives people something to think about as Christmas is coming up.

[OZZIEOHIO]

If that story doesn't choke you up a little then I'm afraid you aren't living...

I agree.