COURTESY PHOTO
The St. Mary’s boys hockey team hung the jerseys numbered “10” and “19” in honor of James Lavin and Owen Higgins respectively. The No.88 is a tribute to the late Patrick Reddy.
By HAROLD RIVERA
A handful of local high school hockey teams are doing their part to pay respects to James Lavin and Owen Higgins, the two Falmouth High School students who were killed a car crash last Thursday night.
Lavin and Higgins, members of Falmouth High’s hockey team, had just left hockey practice when their car crashed into the woods around 7 p.m. Lavin was pronounced dead the scene of the accident. Higgins died later Thursday night from the injuries he suffered.
Local teams have rallied together to show their support for the Falmouth community. At the Lynn Jets Christmas Tournament, the Lynn and Swampscott teams hung jerseys on their benches with the respective numbers worn by Higgins and Lavin. Higgins wore number “19” while Lavin wore number “10.”
Wednesday’s contest between the Peabody/Lynnfield and Quincy/North Quincy girls hockey teams included a similar tribute. Peabody/Lynnfield’s bench also featured a banner that read “Falmouth Strong.”
At the Cape Ann Savings Bank Tournament, Beverly, Gloucester and Marblehead hung the No.10 and No.19 jerseys on their respective benches. The same was done by Saugus in the Kasabuski Tournament and Revere/Malden in the East Boston Deep Freeze Tournament.
The St. Mary’s boys hockey team held a fundraiser on Wednesday night as the Spartans hosted Lowell Catholic at Connery Rink.
The St. Mary’s community suffered a similar tragic loss in 2007 when Patrick Reddy died in a car accident in Maine. Reddy, a 2006 graduate of St. Mary’s, starred on the Spartans hockey team.
“He (Reddy) was a senior captain and just a very popular kid both with the hockey program and the school,” St. Mary’s hockey coach Mark Lee said. “He was very popular in the Lynn community.”
Lee added that the tragedy in Falmouth hit home for the St. Mary’s team, after having experienced a similar loss in Reddy’s death.
“It hit home, especially for those of us who were here coaching and for the Reddy family,” Lee said. “It brought back some bad memories of a tragedy that feels like it happened yesterday. It has to be a nightmare. I can’t imagine what those two families are going through.”
St. Mary’s donated all of the proceeds from the game’s 50-50 raffle, and raised a total of $2200. That amount was matched by the Patrick Reddy Foundation, as well as the Joseph O’Donnell Foundation, making it a $6600 total for the fundraising efforts.
“I think hockey people are special,” Lee said. “It’s a tight family and we rally around each other. It’s just a tragedy. We’ve gone through it at St. Mary’s. We know firsthand how tragic it is and we appreciated other schools helping us in our time of loss.”
Lee added, “The hockey community is a special community. We’re happy to do what we can to help ease the pain a little bit.”
Lee credited Mike Reddy, father of the late Patrick, for offering the idea of a fundraiser on behalf of the St. Mary’s community.
“As soon as it happened he (Mike) contacted me,” Lee said. “Having lived it and having that feeling of what the families are going through, I give the Reddy’s all the credit in the world. They wanted to do something in the name of St. Mary’s.”
In a team effort, the St. Mary’s players got the word out to their friends and families in hopes of drawing a strong crowd at Wednesday’s game. The fans in the crowd also showed support by wearing maroon and white, Falmouth High School’s colors.
“Our players were happy to help,” Lee said. “They did everything they could to get the word out and get a good crowd at the game. I believe these young men understood and were honored to be a part of this. We had a good crowd at the game. A lot of the kids in the crowd wore Falmouth colors.”
Lee acknowledged the fundraising efforts as a sign that the St. Mary’s community cares for the losses suffered in Falmouth.
“I’m very proud of our program,” Lee said. “Our hearts go out those families.”
Harold Rivera can be reached at [email protected].