LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- An area semi-pro football team that has experienced far too much loss in the last few years suffered another unexpected loss this past weekend.
Christopher Byrd, 22, collapsed while walking to his car following a pick-up basketball game Sunday. He would be declared dead later on.
"Anytime we go out on the field, this win is for Chris," Kentucky Xtreme owner Victor Cole said.
That's how the Kentucky Xtreme football team must move forward.
The owner and GM sat down to remember Byrd, a young man he knew for less than a year and who had planned to make his debut in a scrimmage this weekend.
"A good person on the field and off the field, loving father, a really good teammate," Cole said.
For this minor-league outdoor football team, it unfortunately knows death too well.
In March 2014, Xtreme Dance Team Member Germina Cruz and her boyfriend, former UK Basketball Player Kerry Benson, were killed after the car hit an ice patch and lost control.
"To have a player so young who has a lot of life to live go so soon, last year with Germina she passed away in a car wreck again...she was only 23 a lot of life to live," Cole said.
In November Coach Derek Craig died due to injuries suffered in a car crash and in 2011 Coach Jamal Briscoe died suddenly of an enlarged heart.
"With sports..family is everything," Cole said.
The endurance that comes with football mirrors the diligence this team will need to guide them through yet another tragedy, while keeping a special bond tighter than ever before.
"Any catch, any tackle, any play that is made is going to be for Chris," Cole said.
