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August 16, 2016
Gerald Pennex
August 16, 2016
South Terrebonne football coach Richard Curlin said his team plans to honor a student athlete who died last week after injuries sustained in a car wreck.
Curlin said the Gators will wear a helmet decal with the No. 5 this season to remember the life of Andraye Verdin — a young man who was the passenger in a fatal one-car wreck last weekend on the Bourg-Larose Highway near the Lafourche/Terrebonne line.
The longtime Gators coach said it’s the least he and the team can do. There will also be a moment of silence in Andraye’s honor before the team’s first game of the season.
“We’re going to miss him,” Curlin said last week-just hours after news broke of Andraye’s passing. “He was a gifted young man. He was very, very athletic. The kids liked him. He was a good friend to many of the guys on the team. He was going to have a big year for us. We’re all just hurt and are missing him right now. This is a terrible, terrible blow.”
People around the Gators locker room remember Andraye for the spirit he had — his all-around zest for life.
Ellender football coach Dave McCormick coached Andraye for the past several seasons before taking the job with the Patriots last spring.
He remembered Andraye as a guy who always had a joke to tell. He was the type of kid who was
never alone, because he always had people on the team close-by who wanted to enjoy his spirited personality
“He was a great kid,” McCormick said. “Everyone loved him. For this to happen, it’s tragic. I’m praying for his family. I’m praying for his friends. He was always laughing. He was always smiling. He always had the way to laugh and also to make you laugh with him. He was just one of those kids. He will be sorely, sorely missed.”
The crash occurred on Aug. 7 — the final day before school started in Terrebonne Parish last week.
According to Louisiana State Police Troop C, Andraye was the passenger in a 2002 Toyota Tundra on the Lafourche Parish side of the Bourg-Larose Highway. The vehicle was traveling toward Terrebonne Parish at the time.
Troop C said the road was wet, which caused the vehicle’s driver, Louis Blanchard, 18, to lose control at a left curve and veer off the road.
As he did, the vehicle spun counter-clockwise off the road and into a tree on the passenger side, which severely injured Andraye.
He was treated in the hospital for several days before being pronounced dead by doctors on Thursday night.
As news of Andraye’s passing hit social media, support was strong among members of the South Terrebonne High School community.
Several online posts remembered Andraye as a warm, loving young man who was kind and gentle to everyone.
“He was the best. He will be sorely missed,” read one tweet.
“Go be with the angels now, Andraye,” read another. “You were an angel your whole time on earth, so it’s only right you get your wings.”
On the field, South Terrebonne’s players are emotionally brittle as they try and adjust to the loss of a loved one.
Curlin said Andraye was a two-way player who was going to start in 2016.
The coach said the Gators are also lending their support to Blanchard, who is a multi-year starter and captain on South Terrebonne’s team.
“He was coming into his own. He was getting more and more comfortable every day,” Curlin said of Andraye. “He was just starting to get his stride. He was just starting to get his confidence. This was going to be the most that he’d played for us in his career. It’s such a shame and is just so sad that it was all taken away.”
The coach said the Gators will offer help to any grieving players in the coming days.
McCormick said he, too, is offering his support and prayers — even if from afar at a new position.
“He was a wonderful kid,” McCormick said. “We’re thinking about the Gators today over here at Ellender Memorial High School. We know they’re hurting right now and we want them to be OK.”
Andraye Verdin (left) poses with a classmate during the last school year. Classmates remembered Verdin this week for his charming personality.
Coaches and teammates remember Andraye Verdin for his warm, fun-loving personality.
