Schuckman: Empathy and respect create viral video moment between QHS, Glenwood football players

QUINCY — Cole Wagy saw beyond the jersey, the helmet and the foe and took note of a fellow football player’s heartache.

At that moment, the Quincy High School offensive lineman walked over, knelt down and put his right arm around his ailing adversary.

“I didn’t even know his name,” Wagy said.

Names aren’t necessary to be empathetic.

Moments earlier, the QHS football team had run out the clock on a 49-42 victory over Chatham Glenwood on the road in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs, and Titans linebacker Brock Rogers squatted down, fighting back tears and struggling with the realization his senior season and prep career were officially over.

Wagy couldn’t ignore that.

“He was such a good player,” Wagy said. “He gave it his all every play. I saw him out there and I felt respect needed to be shown to him, such a good player who played his heart out. He was crying with his eyes in his hands. I just felt I had to do something.”

He wasn’t alone. QHS teammate Owen Zanger shook hands and patted several of the Titans on the back, while Derek Parris, sports director for Channel1450.com, captured the scene on video.

“I expected everyone to be looking at our team going through the line and celebrating,” Wagy said. “I didn’t expect anyone to see it at all.”

Parris posted the clip to Twitter about the time the Blue Devils’ bus arrived back in Quincy. Not long after, the Blue Devils caught wind of it.

“Tykell Hammers sent it to our football group chat,” Wagy said. “I was like, ‘What? That’s crazy.’ Then I went and looked and I liked the post and retweeted it.”

Then he went to bed, exhausted after the second playoff victory in program history.

Wagy had no idea he’d wake up as a soon-to-be social media sensation.

“My phone was just blowing up,” Wagy said. “I never meant for it to go viral.”

Parris’ tweet drew 550 likes and more than 50 retweets. MaxPreps picked up the video and shared it on various social media platforms, but no matter how many times it gets viewed or shared, Wagy stays his humble self.

“The coolest thing about it is exactly what I saw there is who he is,” QHS head coach Rick Little said. “I feel like I’m going to get emotional talking about, but that truly is who he is. It’s not just him. With the culture here and what we have going on with the kids and the buy-in and the respect, they really take it to heart.”

That kind of respect is both engrained and learned.

“Mom and dad taught me a lot about respect,” Wagy said. “But as a program, all the coaches really promote that too, to show respect for the other team. When the clock hits 0:00, whether we come out with a win or not, you still have to show respect for the other team.”

Respect is gained the way both Rogers and Wagy earned it — through effort, emotion and empathy.

“That really hit home big time for me,” Little said. “That wasn’t something he did for attention or a photo op. It was genuine sincerity by a great young man who really is the poster child for what we’re trying to preach here.”