Agoura High Football Team Honors Late Teammate With Blowout Wins

AGOURA HILLS, CA — Donning their late teammate's number 76, and the phrase 'Be Like Carter,' the Agoura High junior varsity and varsity football teams pulled off two blowout wins Friday night.

The junior varsity team closed out their game on Friday with a 50-0 win against Nordhoff High School, immediately followed by a 33-3 win for the varsity squad.

The stands were packed with students in blue and yellow, most wearing shirts that read 'Be Like Carter' in honor of Carter Stone, a 15-year-old football player who died unexpectedly on Aug. 25.

---

The game opened with a 30-second moment of silence to honor Stone after the crowd was reminded of what Stone meant to the community. The football field was covered in signs and tributes to Stone, whose helmet sat raised above the field for the varsity game.

Both teams started Friday's game with 10 players on the field instead of the usual 11.

Stone embodied four characteristics that Agoura High football players should all strive for, the announcer said over the loudspeaker before Friday's game

"First, is being honest — showing integrity with everything you encounter and do. Secondly, is strong work ethic and putting everything into each and every task you strive to accomplish. Being humble — realizing that it takes a team, not an individual, to be successful. And lastly, and most importantly, being kind to everyone no matter who they are or where they come from," the announcer said. "Carter never wavered from these qualities, and it truly separated him from others around him in a positive way."

Friday was the second game the students decided to play after finding out about Stone's death just a week before.

The team has been clear since the day they heard the news: they were going to continue playing and they were going to play for Stone, Coach Dustin Croick said.

---

Be Like Carter

Stone died Aug. 25 after going in for a routine surgery, during which doctors discovered an undiagnosed tumor on the 15-year-old's heart.

Stone's loved ones and teammates are eager to show their community what it means to 'Be Like Carter,' a phrase Stone's sister Amelia came up with to signify how driven, hard-working, humble and kind Stone was.

"That kid woke up every day and was Carter. Now we wake up every day and we have Carter in the back of our heads, and we're going to try to be like Carter," JV quarterback and sophomore DC Stevenson said.

Stone was the kind of kid who went the extra mile, Croick said. His work ethic was astonishing for a high-schooler, he added. For example, Stone elected to wake up at 5:30 a.m. over the summer for extra weightlifting on top of his already brutal football practices, Croick said.

Stone's teammates noticed his work ethic too — he was the kind of kid who always showed up, Stevenson said. When he made a mistake, he was quick to ask the coaches why.

Stone was shy, Croick and Stevenson agreed, but his funny and sweet personality still shined through.

"Carter Brian Stone was an incredibly kind, compassionate, caring human being. At 15, he was just beginning to grow into the remarkable person he was becoming," the Stone family said in a statement. "He was looking forward to starting high school and was excited to be on the football team. Carter had a charming sense of humor and a love of music, video games and superhero movies. He loved spending time with his family, including his three sisters, many cousins and friends, and experienced great joy holding his newborn baby cousin."

Handling The News

Stevenson shot up in his bed when he heard about Stone's death in a group chat. Shocked and confused, he immediately tried to confirm it with his coaches. Most of the boys found out about Stone's death via social media or group chats on Thursday, Aug. 25, but the football players were officially told Friday at school.

Throughout that Friday, players rotated through coaches and counselors' offices while trying to get through the school day and finally get onto the field.

"I [didn't] really know what to say because, personally, I've never been in this position before," said Stevenson, 15.

Though confronted with the death of a classmate at such a young age, Stevenson has been a leader for his peers, according to coaches.

"That Friday was pretty difficult for most," Stevenson said. "Me and my friends walked in [to school] as a team together. ... Because we were wearing our jerseys everyone was kind of staring.

"That next Friday I woke up, definitely did not feel normal. But we had a football game to play later that day."

On Aug. 25, the team took on Ventura High School, one of many schools that have paid tribute to Stone and shown support for the Agoura High community. For the Agoura High teams, Stone's death is motivation to be better men and to make him proud on the field, Stevenson said.

"We knew we had our teammate watching above us," Stevenson said. "We're playing for Carter because God only knows that he would give anything to just be on that field playing a football game."