Minneapolis school shooting victims honored by Catholic high school football rivals
Two Twin Cities Catholic high schools met on the football field Friday night to honor those impacted by Wednesday's mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church.
Cretin-Derham Hall and St. Thomas Academy have a long-standing rivalry, and this matchup was no exception. Before the first kick, both teams observed a moment of silence.
"This community has been impacted this week by the events on Wednesday at Annunciation, and both schools have students from that community," explained Matt Funk, the athletic director at CDH. "We're all catholic schools united, and we wanted to take a moment to remember those we lost, those that are still grieving."
Players stood across from each other as the American flag flew at half-staff.
On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Tim Walz ordered all U.S. and Minnesota flags to fly at half-staff at all state buildings immediately. He did not say when that order would end, but invited individuals, businesses and other organizations to join in.
"[The moment] gives you a chance to think and reflect, and you can't act if you don't think and reflect," said Anne Petschel, mother of two.
Petschel and many others are also turning to prayer, relying on shared faith.
"We come together and that's what we do as Catholics, as a community of faith that believes in God, in Jesus Christ," said Sean Van Gemert, a father who is also a CDH staff member. "We support each other, and we did that for our community."
The Academy of Holy Angels football team paid tribute to the victims of the shooting before their game on Friday night against the Byron Bears with a moment of silence and a prayer. Holy Angels in Richfield is around 10 minutes away from Annunciation, and around 13% of the high school's student body comes from the Catholic K-8 school.
The Minnesota Twins also observed a moment of silence on Friday night before their matchup against the San Diego Padres.