STRATFORD — Hundreds of family members and well-wishers gathered in Longbrook Park Thursday night for a candlelight vigil to honor the memory of Zyon McDuffie, a former Stratford teen who died Sunday in Georgia.
Pictures of Zyon with his Pop Warner teammates and one of his #6 football jerseys were held on frames in front of an arch of white balloons, with his name spelled out by LED tealight candles in the grass.
Surrounded by relatives and friends, Zyon’s mother Krystyna held a candle that was the first to be lit, the flame being used to ignite others then shared throughout the crowd, which became more and more illuminated by the light.
Zyon, who had moved recently to Georgia, was killed Sunday in what has been described as an accidental shooting while playing with a friend. Police in Union City, Ga., where the incident occurred, have not yet released details.
After a prayer, those assembled Thursday raised their candles in unison, the mournful silence broken by cries of “We love you, Zyon!”
Friends, family and coaches who knew Zyon offered condolences to his family and spoke of the potential he showed in football and his ever-ebullient personality on and off the field.
“The game of football is something special, and the bond that it forms among those who play it is something that can’t be broken,” Stratford Pop Warner President Kevin DeVitto said. “Sometimes words can’t even describe it. It’s a game where you rely on your teammate, your brother, to get you through the pain and agony this game inflicts on you, and I ask we all do that here tonight.”
Coach Tyrell Wright spoke emotionally of the bond he formed with Zyon after knowing him for nearly a decade.
“I watched him grow up,” he said. “I watched him get better every season. His work ethic was out of this world.”
“Zyon was my boy,” Wright said. “If you love somebody here tonight, say it now, because you might not get another chance.”
Team mom Philippa Tyghter said Zyon “was taken from us way too soon.”
“What stood out most with Zyon was the big Kool-Aid smile he greeted you with that was so infectious that you couldn’t help but smile back even if your mood wasn’t in the same place,” she said.
Tysann Carter said he met Zyon when the boy was 5 years old and nicknamed him “Bulldog.”
“Zyon was loyal,” he said. “When it came down to anything, whatever the situation was, Zyon was down.”
Carter said he was gratified to see the large turnout at the vigil.
“To see all you guys here having his back, having his family’s back, that’s a big thing,” Carter said. “Because if Bulldog loved you, he loved you.”
Matt Diaz said Zyon “touched my heart like no one” and would entertain him when Diaz drove him to practices and games with his own boy.
“The bond I watched with him and my son was crazy,” Diaz said. “He was just a special kid. He’ll always be in my heart.”
Dion Francis said Zyon would always be joking, making others laugh, and if reproached, would say, “Sorry coach, I’m just being me.”
“That was him,” Francis said. “He had a strong personality, he was going to make you laugh. I couldn’t even be mad at him because he’d turn around and make me laugh, then I’d have to turn around so no one else could see.”
Doug Turnage said Zyon could have ended up playing football professionally.
“As a coach, you would wish and you would hope that you would see a player develop, excel and move from Pop Warner to high school to college to NFL, even,” he said. “For the fact that I’m not able to see that, it makes me sad. I know he had that potential to take it that much further.”
The vigil ended with the release of balloons and sky lanterns decorated with messages like “RIP Z,” “#LLZ” for “Long live Zyon” and his jersey #6.
Arlene Garcia, whose son played with Zyon, credited Bunnell High School football coach Ty Jenkins with reacting to the news of Zyon’s death by arranging for grief counselors and help to those in need.
“From day one, when the kids found out the news on Sunday, he was right on top of it,” she said.
She that Thursday’s vigil showed the lasting bond formed by Zyon with his teammates.
“They work hard and spend so much time together,” she said. “In a world with social media, even though he didn’t live in Connecticut, they all still kept in contact and touched base with one another and talked football. It’s the first time a lot of these boys have had a loss. It’s very sad.”
A gofundme page has been set up to help Zyon’s family in the wake of his death. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
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