'He's still a part of this team': Burrell honors player who died during preseason

Although he died from a rare heart tumor on the practice field, Burrell lineman Noah Cornuet, 16, was still listed on Burrell's official player roster on Friday night for their season opener at Valley Memorial Stadium in New Kensington.

“We're keeping his name on the roster for the season,” said Kevin Horwatt, Burrell's coach. “He's still a part of this team.”

It was the quintessential opening game with late summer, 80-degree temperatures and Burrell blue skies for a balloon release sponsored by the Valley Vikings in Cornuet's memory.

Players from both teams met in the middle of the field for a moment of silence just before kickoff. They released helium balloons that were black and gold for Valley, and blue and white for Burrell.

Burrell players donned a “NC” sticker on the back of their helmets, while the Vikings paid their respects by wearing practice T-shirts with lineman Cornuet's number 70 before the game.

Noah's family moved by gesture

“It was beautiful what Valley did here tonight,” said Raymond Cornuet, Noah's father who attended the game, in which Valley's Viking's beat the Bucs, 3-0.

“Our boys played well. I had (Burrell) players coming up to me apologizing for not winning. I told them it's OK, you need to go and get your mind right for the next game.”

Cornuet made sure to hug each player on Burrell's team.

“That's a tough thing to go through,” said Muzzy Colosimo, Valley's coach.

When Colosimo was a junior high football coach at Greensburg Central Catholic, his team suffered the loss of player Tom Marks (1984-86) who died from injuries on his way to practice after he was hit by a car.

“I thought it was best to give our support to Burrell at this time,” Colosimo said.

For Burrell, the coaches are letting the players dictate the grieving process.

“This is touchy and emotional for the kids,” Horwatt said. “We were not going to say, ‘Sit down now and let's talk about it.'

“We want his memory to come through naturally instead of forced feeding,” he said.

As the team went to training camp in Ligonier after Cornuet's death, the coaches let the players decide when they would return to the practice field, where Cornuet collapsed on Aug. 6.

“Going back to the practice field after that happened was hard,” Horwatt said.

Nevertheless, the teamed persevered and players have mourned and honored Noah in their own personal ways.

Some of the players write “70” on the tape on their wrists and shoes. Others illustrate Noah's memory on their T-shirts, according to Horwatt.

Horwatt said that the team is grateful for the support of other football teams, including longtime rival Valley.

“It's nice to have all the support that so many are giving now,” he said, “and all of cards we have received in the mail from all over.”

Mary Ann Thomas is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. VND Sports Editor Bill Beckner Jr. contributed to this report.