It was a somber moment at Mountain View High School Friday night when community members joined together for a moment of silence during a football game.
They were honoring the memory of Lucinda Daniels, the mother of a Spartans player, who died earlier in the week.
Daniels collapsed during a game the Friday prior after running onto the field to see her injured son. That was due to a stroke, according to a GoFundMe created for her family, which added that she suffered a second stroke the following day.
She passed away on Wednesday.
“Tonight was very emotional,” said Brady Gilbert, a friend of Daniels’ son. “We were playing for something bigger than ourselves.”
Players told NBC Bay Area they decided to come out and play with her initials on their helmets, because it’s what Daniels would have wanted.
“She never missed a game,” said Gilbert. “She loved her kids.”
One of Daniels’ four children also played in a Junior Varsity game Friday. Her son on the Varsity team, although still recovering, came out Friday to stand by his team.
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School administrators said, in two weeks, the team will host a ceremony honoring the Daniels family in hopes of helping the community mourn.
“We’re going to have a pom pom night for her because she came to every game with her pom poms,” said Spartans Head Coach Tim Lugo.
“It’s going to be a long process for the entire community,” said Peggy Prendergast, who knew Daniels, “and certainly for the family and everyone who loved her.”
