At Tualatin High School’s Sept. 13 winning football game against South Salem High School, Ry’von Reese, who is a running back on offense, scored two touchdowns. That would be an outstanding accomplishment under any circumstances, but it was especially remarkable considering that his mom Chenise had died of a heart attack three days earlier.
And now the Tualatin community is rallying around the high school senior, with some of the team moms starting a GoFundMe account to pay for funeral expenses and help Ry’von’s grandmother Wanda support him through his senior year and graduation next spring.
Kelly Newton said she and other team moms found out about the tragedy during a team dinner a couple days after Chenise died. “It was horrible,” she said. “We talked about how we could help the family. We had never done a GoFundMe before, but everyone just showed up for someone they didn’t even know, and we got it going. It is pretty awesome.
“Ry’von’s mom sat behind me at the first game, and we chatted a little. I welcomed her, and that was about it. You just never know when something like that is going to happen.”
Dom Ferraro is in his third year as head football coach at TuHS, and ironically, he coached Ry’von’s older brother Raul about 10 years ago at Westview High School. “He kind of told me that Ry’von wanted to come to TuHS for his senior year,” Ferraro said. “And around last May they said he was coming.”
Ferraro explained that in the second week of June each year, the team comes together for spring football. “It’s a mini-football camp for two weeks,” he said. “Then we continue with morning workouts through the summer. Ry’von went through all the steps to complete the transfer to TuHS.
“On the football side and the game side, I try to have as successful a program as possible, and I develop relationships with the kids. They develop life skills through playing, which is one of the reasons I coach. The sign of a good team is how they bond as a team. Football is a tough sport, and players get injured, and there are bumps and bruises, although we’ve been lucky the last couple of years.
“From June through November, we are together. For five months, we are together, and they have each other’s backs. They develop bonds that last beyond high school.”
As for Ry’von, “he’s a great kid,” the coach said. “He’s quiet, very polite, respectful. He blended in with the group very well. He just fit in well, and he is a smart, quiet, fine young man. I feel bad about his family.
“When he scored those two touchdowns Friday night, he must have had a whirlwind of emotions going through his head. He is a smart young man, and this is just a tragedy.”
Ry’von learned of his mom’s passing during football practice on Tuesday, Sept. 10. “Two of my coaching staff are police officers, and I assume someone in the family said Ry’von was at football practice, and police showed up and got him and drove him to the hospital,” Ferraro said. “No one knew at the time what was happening. By the end of practice, we knew what had happened.
“Within a team, there are little friendship groups, usually by class. But I told the kids to go out of their way to show their love and support to him. I’m really proud of him. This is obviously a tough time for this young man, but we are going to support him and his needs. He wants to play college football, and I want to provide a support system for him.”
In addition to playing running back on offense, Ry’von is a linebacker on defense. “Ry’von is the second-string running back, and at Friday’s game, the first-string running back said, ‘Ry’von should start tonight,’” Ferraro said.
The GoFundMe website for Ry’von states, “As a team and community, it would be amazing to rally around him and his family to show our love and support. Chenise leaves behind her mom Wanda to handle both the emotional and financial difficulties of caring for her children and covering the expenses of an unexpected funeral and living expenses of a high school grandson during his senior year.
“We offer this opportunity to help ease some of Wanda’s burdens by making a financial donation. Donations go directly to Wanda and will help cover the expense of a burial, funeral and related costs. Any additional will go to helping support Ry’von through his final year of high school.”
The website is: tinyurl.com/yapvkc8f.
