With Karns City quarterback in hospital, Moniteau shows support, solidarity with rival school
CHERRY TWP — Bursts of purple and gold filled the cafeteria as Moniteau Jr./Sr. High School students filed in for lunch wearing the colors of their rival school on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
Some shirts bore the name of Mason Martin, the Karns City Area Jr./Sr. High School quarterback who collapsed during a game Friday and was airlifted to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh.
The decision to wear purple and gold as a sign of solidarity with Mason’s family and Karns City Area students was simple, said co-principal of student affairs Dustin Thompson.
Despite being rivals on the field, Thompson said students from the two local school districts are close, many of them playing sports together and attending the same places of worship outside of school.
Mason’s father, Denny Martin, is a gym teacher in the Moniteau School District, having taught at the high school for many years before switching over to teach physical education at Dassa McKinney Elementary School this year, Thompson said.
“These kids all know him,” Thompson said.
On Sunday, Moniteau staff and students joined families from school districts spanning Union, DuBois, Redbank Valley and Butler for a prayer vigil for Mason held at Karns City’s football field, Thompson said.
Thompson also shared that a district decision was made to send guidance counselor Chelsea Vanasco to the Karns City Area School District on Tuesday to support their students.
Had the injured football player Friday evening been a Moniteau student, Thompson said the show of support from Karns City would have been the same.
“Neighboring districts step up,” Thompson said.
Kameron Hershey, a Moniteau high school student and media specialist, witnessed Mason’s on-field fall as he was photographing the game. He said he saw Mason fall to the ground, then not get back up.
“It was scary,” Kameron said. “It’s a lot to take in at a moment.”
He said he would want Mason to know that “everybody has his back.”
“We’re all rooting for him,” he said.
Madison Anderson, an 11th-grader and captain of the cheer team, said she has known Mason for about two years. Stamped with gold letters, her purple shirt read, #MASONSTRONG.
If she could talk to him, Madison said she would tell Mason to keep fighting and that lots of people who love him are rallying for his recovery.
“We all care,” she said. “We’re hoping for this to pass.”
Brock Beachem, a senior on the Moniteau football team, said the friendly competition between Moniteau and Karns City can grow more intense because “we’re all friends and family.”
Teamwork and sportsmanship are part of the game of football, he said.
“During a game, you want to knock (the opposing team) down,” Brock said. “After the game, you want to cheer them up. People who get hurt, you want to help them.”
The shirt he wore in support of Mason — and other like it worn by other students in the cafeteria — was designed by his mother, he said.
In a Monday social media statement by Denny Martin on his wife’s Facebook page, the family said it will not be posting any updates on Mason until at least the end of the week as he undergoes various tests.
