“There are more important things in life than winning and losing a game.” – Lionel Messi
My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Elijah Dewitt, who was a senior football player for the Jefferson Dragons’ football team in Jackson County. Dewitt was shot and killed last Wednesday night outside of the Dave & Buster’s at the Sugarloaf Mills Mall in Gwinnett County. He was barely 18 years old.
My prayers also go out to the community of Jefferson, which is just a short drive from where I live here in Athens. I’ve had a few friends play for the Dragons.
I had no connection with the Dewitt family, but I did watch Elijah on the field last year. It was last December when he was playing for the Prince Avenue Christian School Wolverines in the Class A-Private state title game against Trinity Christian.
Elijah was shifty and had great size. He also had solid hands and was a coach’s dream when he would block opposing defensive backs on the perimeter. Elijah was hoping to earn a scholarship offer to play football in college.
I had heard his name well before the 2021 season, which is when he transferred to Prince Avenue. He was a star on the field with Georgia freshman Malaki Starks during his freshman and sophomore years at Jefferson.
I’ve dealt with tragedy before in my life with the unexpected death of a family member; however, I couldn’t imagine what his family is going through.
Two suspects were arrested less than 48 hours later following the shooting. Both 19-year-old Chandler Richardson and 18-year-old Kemare Bryan were arrested in Anderson, S.C., and are now facing murder charges.
It’s honestly sad that three teenage lives are now ruined, but my heart aches for the Dewitt family and Jefferson community. The Dragons had a bye this past Friday but will resume region play this week at Flowery Branch.
A few high schools across the state held a moment of silence for the Dewitt family and Jefferson this past Friday. On Tuesday, there was a candlelight vigil for Elijah in Athens. Several Lake Country football programs also expressed condolences via social media for those two parties last Thursday.
As the Lionel Messi quote said at the top of this column, “There are more important things in life than winning and losing a game.”
That always rings true. I hope we can learn from this as a society and stop all the unnecessary gun violence. There have been several shootings at high school football games throughout the state of Georgia in the past two months. It’s egregious.
Rest in peace, Elijah.
You were a good soul lost far too soon.