The reigning PIAA Class AAAA football champions didn't run onto the practice field Tuesday, just three days before the start of the WPIAL playoffs.
Instead, they marched quietly toward Central Catholic's chapel.
The Vikings put the playoffs on hold to remember teammate Kyle Wilson, who died late Monday night at Children's Hospital, according to school officials.
Wilson, 17, of Coraopolis suffered an apparent stroke sometime after the team's last walk-through practice on Thursday afternoon, coach Terry Totten said.
"It's still shock and disbelief ," Totten said Tuesday, as his team slowly marched behind him in a long line toward the chapel.
"In a tribute to Kyle, they voted to go forward this Friday night," he said.
Central (7-2), which finished second in the Quad East, is scheduled to open the playoffs against Penn-Trafford (4-5) at Fox Chapel.
"To honor Kyle, they voted to go out and give it our best shot," Totten said.
Totten said the Vikings will wear a helmet decal honoring Wilson's No. 23 going into the playoffs.
Wilson's family issued a statement Monday, less than 24 hours before his death, supporting the decision to go forward.
"We are confident that Kyle would want us to continue on," the Wilson family statement said.
Totten said funeral details have not been released.
"The Central Catholic school community is saddened by the death of Kyle Wilson," school officials said in a statement. "We join together in praying that Kyle be in God's presence always and for the comfort of his family and friends. It is important that we be united in support of each other during these days."
Wilson collapsed at the McKeesport-Gateway football game in Monroeville several hours after participating in practice with his team.
A deputy at the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office said Wilson's body will not undergo an autopsy because he died of natural causes.
Andy Macurak, an athletic trainer for the football team, said Wilson had about 300 visitors at the hospital Saturday.
"He had a lot of friends," he said. "He was a great kid. He was always bubbly and always joking around a lot."
School officials said counselors are available to assist students.
Wilson, a 5-foot-7, 160-pound junior, scored four touchdowns while rushing for 241 yards on 59 carries this season while working his way up the depth chart into the starting lineup.
