J.P. Stevens honors injured student at football game

EDISON - The girls had blue hearts on their cheeks, painted with love. The boys sported blue bandanas and blue stripes next to their nose.  

A large sign underneath the press box said, “We wear blue for the fighter in you.”

It was very much a blue week for the J.P. Stevens High School community. Sadness engulfed the hallways in North Edison after their fun-loving friend, their fighter, senior and 132-pound wrestler Lance Vargas suffered serious injuries when he was electrocuted while climbing a steel railroad trestle Tuesday in Metuchen and fell almost 30 feet, MyCentraljersey.com reported citing a statement from borough Police Chief David Irizarry. 

Police did not release a name, only noting it was a 17-year-old Edison resident. However, Gail Vargas of Edison confirmed on Facebook it was her grandson Lance, and wrote, "He is in St. Barnabas hospital burn unit with broken bones and burns on 70 percent of his body. He is in very critical condition. We love him so. He needs prayers and a miracle.”

Updates weren’t available through Friday, but police said Wednesday morning that he was in critical but stable condition.

“It devastated all of us, really,” said J.P. Stevens senior Frank DiSerio, who has known his buddy Lance since elementary school.

Through the tears, Vargas’ friends came together and thought of ways to honor him. The rallying point quickly became his favorite color of blue. Students, whether they knew him or not, and teachers wore the color to school on Thursday and Friday. Blue Silly String got sprayed on cars in the parking lot.

Instead of donning pink for Friday’s football game against Perth Amboy to raise awareness for breast cancer, word spread to put on blue, and the "Likes" piled up on Twitter.

And they came.

Friday’s game drew a buzzing, Thanksgiving-like crowd. Before kickoff, students played rap music and volleyball — the net had a blue edge — on the grass off to the side.

J.P. Stevens seniors — Brianna Cooper, Shannon Gregory, Kellan McNee, Brianna Miller and Leena Prabhakar — manned a table and asked for donations to help the family’s medical costs. A large board featured pictures of Vargas on both sides, looking goofy and serious. A typical teenager. The front said, “We Love You Lance, Stay Strong” and was autographed by friends.

Perth Amboy might have won 32-21, but the night turned into a celebration of Vargas’ spirit as he fights his battle to get better.

“A tragedy like this,” J.P. Stevens football coach Joe Riggi said, “brought out the best of the school. Of this team and it shows you what we’re all about here at J.P. That’s what you want to see. A town come together. A community come together. A school come together.”

Get loud

Before the national anthem, a student addressed the crowd through the public address system.

“I’d like to say something written by a close friend of Lance, Amanda Leary. Everyone here today is aware of what happened a few days ago to one of our classmates. We would like to take a moment and recognize how important Lance Vargas is to so many of us here. He is quite an amazing person. He has so many significant qualities that make him the person that everyone loves. He is fearless, always wanting adventure. He is sympathetic, always offering a hand or a back massage.”

The last phrase drew some laughs from the silent crowd.

“And most importantly, he is Lance. With the music tastes, treehouse and root beer. In his honor, instead of a moment of silence can everyone stand up and get loud. A moment of loudness for Lance. Stomp your feet.”

With that, the standing crowd banged their hands together over and over. The marching band’s horns played and a drum roll beat. It was as if Vargas just scored a pin in a wrestling match.  

The words ended with, “Stomp your feet. Clap your hands. Or do a little jig like Lance to show your support and togetherness for the recovery of a student, classmate and friend. Lance Vargas, the different guy. Please keep him in your prays. Thank you.”  

Blue and white signs lined the fence in front of the stands with messages such as “We Love You LV” and “Keep Fighting Soldier” and “Together We Are One. Without You We Are Not Whole.” Blue and pink balloons swayed from the fence.

Cheerleaders displayed blue ribbons in their hair. The football team had on their green, white and gold jerseys, but all had a blue LV stuck to the back of their helmets.

DiSerio, who plays linebacker, wore a blue sleeve over his right elbow, often glancing at it throughout the game.

“For him, basically,” he said. “And every time I looked down, it reminded me who I was playing for and why I was playing. So it really helped me to play well.”

After the game, DiSerio and senior wide receiver/defensive back Dan Ricigiliano spoke about their friend, who they played youth football with when they were 5 years old. Both sent their blessings to Vargas and his family.

“He’s such a fun guy to be around,” DiSerio said. “He just lightens the mood whenever he’s around, it’s great.”

Ricigiliano added, “He’s so funny. I don’t think anyone dislikes him. No bad mojo about him.”

They heard the news after Wednesday’s practice. Both said Thursday’s practice helped to get their mind off the accident.

“Since then,” DiSerio said, “it’s been pushing me to play hard today. That’s what’s motivated me. They always say to play for someone and today I played for him. It’s just tough that we lost.”

The game

Whether emotions or not played a role, things got away from the Hawks early. On the first snap, they fumbled which resulted in a Perth Amboy touchdown. In all, there were five turnovers in the first half as the Panthers led 25-7 at halftime.

Tyler Jack threw two touchdown passes, a 14-yarder to Jeremiah Stevens and a 32-yarder to Tyrese Thomas. Perth Amboy also got a 79-yard fumble recovery score by David Welch and an 8-yard touchdown run by Erick Rivera.

J.P. Stevens fans exploded late in the half when Nadale Buntin caught an 81-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Joey Young.

In the second half, J.P. Stevens rallied, giving their blue-clad fans a chance to yell. Buntin scored on an 11-yard touchdown scamper late in the third quarter. With 8:10 left in the game, Quian Muse punched in a 3-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 25-21.

The dagger came on the ensuing kickoff when Perth Amboy’s Jack streaked for a 97-yard touchdown to make it 32-21. The Panthers defense held the rest of the way.

But J.P. kept going, kept taking shots at the end zone even in the final seconds when it would have been just as easy to take a knee.

“They didn’t give up,” Riggi said. “We actually gave (Perth Amboy) a lot in the beginning, but I like the fact that we went down swinging. We never gave up and we fought, and that’s what we try to teach them— don’t ever give up.”

How could they on a night like Friday that honored their fighter friend in blue.