Opposing team's players, cheerleaders form tunnel for Paramus Catholic's Devin Willock after his injury - USA TODAY High School Sports

November 18, 2019 at 05:09AM

Penn-State-committed Devin Willock was on the wrong side of a blowout in a playoff game, when he suffered what appeared to be a serious left ankle injury.

When it seemed evident that the senior's high school football career was coming to an end due to the injury, the opposing team's players and cheerleaders showed a sign of respect.

As reported by NJ.com, St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, New Jersey) players and cheerleaders formed a makeshift tunnel for Willock, a player on Paramus (New Jersey) Catholic, to pass through on a stretcher and into an ambulance on Saturday. 

"We just wanted to really show how much we cared and how bad we felt for him," St. Joseph Regional lineman Luke Wypler, an Ohio State commit, told NJ.com. "It was a terrible thing that happened and just a part of the game, unfortunately. We wanted to send him off in good spirits."

Willock has collegiate football on the slate now, but that was his last high school game. St. Joseph Regional went on to win 44-0, and it will play Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, New Jersey) in the next round of the playoffs.

At the time Willock went down with an injury, the game was already well in hand for the opposing team, but St. Joseph's Amin Vanover, who is also committed to Penn State, has an idea for why Willock stayed in for that long.

"I'm pretty sure he was over there telling his coaches not to take him out," Vanover told NJ.com. "He didn't want to come out. He wanted to play until the end, that's who he is."

Penn-State-committed Devin Willock was on the wrong side of a blowout in a playoff game, when he suffered what appeared to be a serious left ankle injury.

When it seemed evident that the senior's high school football career was coming to an end due to the injury, the opposing team's players and cheerleaders showed a sign of respect.

As reported by NJ.com, St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, New Jersey) players and cheerleaders formed a makeshift tunnel for Willock, a player on Paramus (New Jersey) Catholic, to pass through on a stretcher and into an ambulance on Saturday. 

"We just wanted to really show how much we cared and how bad we felt for him," St. Joseph Regional lineman Luke Wypler, an Ohio State commit, told NJ.com. "It was a terrible thing that happened and just a part of the game, unfortunately. We wanted to send him off in good spirits."

Willock has collegiate football on the slate now, but that was his last high school game. St. Joseph Regional went on to win 44-0, and it will play Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, New Jersey) in the next round of the playoffs.

At the time Willock went down with an injury, the game was already well in hand for the opposing team, but St. Joseph's Amin Vanover, who is also committed to Penn State, has an idea for why Willock stayed in for that long.

"I'm pretty sure he was over there telling his coaches not to take him out," Vanover told NJ.com. "He didn't want to come out. He wanted to play until the end, that's who he is."

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