Del Campo To Honor Fallen Warriors at Football Game

will remember two alumni killed while in military service before tonight's game against .

The game, starting at about 7 p.m. will be dedicated to two of Del Campo’s Fallen Warriors, Ronnie Coffelt and Brian Dunlap. The two attended DCHS in the late 1980’s.

Sgt. Dunlap, a Marine, was killed in action in 2005 by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Taqaddum, Iraq. Army Sgt. Coffelt, 36, died July 19, 2007 of wounds suffered when a bomb exploded in Baghdad, the Defense Department said.

"I notified players and staff," said Del Campo vice principal Susan Kerhoulas. "I told them let's make this a memorable event."

Del Campo's choir will sing, the band will play, ROTC cadets will escort family members to a reserved seating area and student government leaders will assist, Kerhoulas said. Plaques will be given to the school in honor of Coffelt and Dunlap and jerseys will be presented to their families.

A similar memorial was held earlier this season at for Capt. Joseph Schultz, a 1993 ECHS graduate, who died May 29 while serving with the US Army in Afghanistan.

At Del Campo, there will also be a $1,000 award given to a senior student in an essay writing contest in the spring, Kerhoulas said. ROTC students will review and select a winner.

The Cougars football team is 5-3 on the season.