Ryan DaileyMark Dailey died on Thursday. His youngest son Ryan, starting quarterback for the Wilson Area High School football team, had a game on Saturday.
Ryan's coach and mother left it up to him: Did the 17-year-old want to play two days after he lost his father?
“I'm the quarterback,” he said. “I wanted to lead the team. And I wanted to play with all of my friends. I wanted to win for them, for my family and I wanted to win for my dad.”
Dailey, a senior, started the first two games of the season but rotated snaps with teammate Nick Smith. On Saturday, against Northwestern Lehigh High School, he played the whole game.
In the locker room before kickoff, his teammates gathered around him.
“He didn't say much, but we all said something to him,” said his good friend, wide receiver Tyler King.
“Go out there and do it for him,” one player screamed.
“Your dad's watching,” said another.
Ryan responded. He threw for 226 yards, and ran for 59 more and three touchdowns.
Wilson head coach Bret Comp knew Dailey was locked in.
"He was hot,” Comp said. “You could tell from the opening drive. So we decided to keep him on the field and keep him as engaged as possible."
Comp hoped for a storybook ending for his young quarterback, but was still proud of his performance.
"That takes some tough stuff to be able to go out and perform. Period,” Comp said. “And then to perform at a high level, that's as tough as it gets. The kid played the game of his life.”
“It's a shame we didn't win,” said his mother, Mary Onorata. “But in my eyes he's a winner because he pulled it together.”
Mom and dad divorced when Ryan was little.
Mary remarried, and the family splintered.
On Saturday, Mark Dailey’s mother, brother, sister, nieces and nephews all attended Ryan’s game.
“Watching him play brought the family together,” Onorata said.
She thinks it had an impact.
“I never saw him play like that,” she said. “I just can't tell you, the whole game I cried.”
View full sizeWilson Area High School quarterback Ryan Dailey kneels in prayer during Saturday's football game against Northwestern in Wilson Borough with teammate Tyler King. Every time Ryan scored, he immediately looked up at a united family and pointed.
Well, for the last two.
After he scored his first touchdown, Ryan dropped to a knee. He bowed his head. King tapped his shoulder.
“This is for you, Dad,” Dailey said.
For the other two touchdowns, he pointed to the heavens.
“It's hard because he was gonna come on Saturday with my grandmother and the rest of my family,” Ryan said.
Mark Dailey came to as many games as he could. He tried, Ryan said.
Ryan’s heart has a hole. Football only fills so much.
"He's my dad,” Ryan said. “You can't replace anybody like that."