Murphy football players practice through pain
Published 12:20 am Thursday, September 13, 2007
On a day that was far from normal for young men on the Archbishop Murphy High School football team, their routine remained as normal as possible.
As usual, the Wildcats practiced after school Wednesday. But a gigantic void was left by the absence of a relatively small man.
Terry Ennis, Archbishop Murphy’s head football coach, died early Wednesday morning, ending his long battle with prostate cancer. Ennis started the Murphy program from scratch in 2000 and built it into a powerhouse that won Class 1A state championships in 2002 and 2003.
The school’s students, including football players, attended a prayer service honoring Ennis at about 8:45 Wednesday morning. School officials requested that reporters stay away and let students mourn.
“They are certainly grieving. This is a tremendous loss of someone who has been a very important and beloved part of their lives,” said Murphy principal Dr. Kristine Brynildsen-Smith, adding that the school brought in extra counselors to help support students.
After school the football team practiced half as long as usual, donning shoulder pads and shorts, Murphy offensive line coach Paul Lawrence said.
“It went very well. The kids responded,” Lawrence said. “They were a lot better emotionally (Wednesday) afternoon than they were (Wednesday) morning.”
Murphy, 2-0 this season, will travel to play a Cascade Conference game against Coupeville (2-0) 7 p.m. Friday on Whidbey Island.
Murphy has not yet named Ennis’ successor.
“Our game plan will remain the same,” Lawrence said. “We’ve still got a few things that we need to cover before (playing Coupeville). Coach Ennis would have wanted us to practice.”
