JIM THORPE -- A school community in Carbon County gathered for a football game and much, much more on Friday night.
There was a special tribute to two young cheerleaders, killed recently in a crash.
“We would like everybody to stand at this time and we are to honor Jasmine and Taylor with a moment of silence.”
It was a somber start for the first game of football season at Jim Thorpe Area High School. There was a pause of remembrance for two students whose lives were taken too soon.
Jasmine Fonseca and Taylor Shepherdson were killed when the minivan they were in crashed on Route 903 near Jim Thorpe the night of August 20.
The girls, both 16 years old, were members of the Jim Thorpe cheerleading team and their fellow teammates say this night is emotional.
“It feels like there's holes to us and we're not whole. It's definitely a lot different when you don't have the girl you know standing next to you, both of them. It's definitely different, try to stay strong for everybody,” said senior Brianna Waselus.
“We miss them very, very much. It's really hard to be here without them, but we know that we have to work hard to make them proud. That's what we're doing,” said Ava Lowin.
For the head coach, it's been tough for her, being strong for the girls, while dealing with the pain of this loss.
“We spent our first whole practice talking about how we were going to honor them. We knew we need them here with us on the sidelines in some physical form so we came up with the megaphones to have with us at all times,” said coach Julie Romanisko.
“I don't think we're ever going to stop thinking about them, like even during basketball season, they're always with us. We'll always think about them,” said Lowin.
The team and many in attendance wore t-shirts to honor the girls with their names on the front and two wings on the back, remembering the two young angels who are gone but not forgotten.