Beside a giant football jersey made of flowers, friends, family and teammates bid farewell to a beloved Long Island high school football player who was died on the field during a game last week.
Hundreds of students teachers and parents filled St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Wading River where mourners traded stories about 16-year-old Tom Cutinella, a junior at Shoreham-Wading River HS, who died from an apparent head injury after taking a hit during a football game against John Glenn High School in Elmwood.
“God really did reach down and grab an angel,” said Brian Sheehan, a friend of the family.
Sheehan said that if Tom could send a message to his family, he would say, “‘Mom and Dad, I’m sorry you had to go through such a painful and agonizing week. But I’m OK. I’m safe. I’m in the best house you could possibly be in.'”
A police escort led the funeral procession before the crowd watched pallbearers carry the casket of the young football star into the church followed by his stunned parents and three younger siblings.
Two hours later, the Suffolk County Emerald Society Pipe Band played solemnly outside the church as mourners slowly left the parking lot.
To accommodate the funeral, the school district designated Tuesday as a superintendent’s conference day, which meant no school for students, most of whom were either in the church or in the parking lot listening to the service over speakers.
The service drew players from opposing schools, many of whom wore their team jerseys in tribute.
The football jersey floral arrangement was adorned with Cutinella’s No. 54.
Days earlier, mourners held a candlelight memorial service on the school’s football field.
Cutinella dreamed of going to West Point, his family said.
A scholarship in Cutinella’s memory has been established through The Shoreham-Wading River Wildcat Athletic Club. Donations can be made at swrwac.org, which showed more than $41,000 donated by Tuesday morning.