TEMPE, Ariz. — The strength of a football team is often found in the weight room—in the pounds they push and the weight they carry.
At McClintock High School, it's a symbolic strength that's powering the season.
Their strength is found in the huddle, on their helmets and inside team headquarters in Tempe.
The Chargers are playing with heart because they know what it's like to hurt.
"I was at work and I got a call from his mom. She called me saying he was gone," junior wide receiver and defensive end Daniel Fuentes said.
Fuentes and Abdul Adams, 'Slim' for short, were best friends.
"He was actually that night coming to spend the night at my house after he had went to the lake," Fuentes said.
Adams was just a junior. He was killed in a kayak accident this past spring.
"I don't know why or what God was thinking when taking him. He was special to us. Not only to us, but everyone on this campus," senior quarterback Jaxon Knutson said.
Slim was poised to play his first year on varsity this fall and catch passes from Knutson.
He was short in stature, but big when he stood with the team.
"I had never seen him in a bad mood. He was always in a good mood. Everyone around him was just always having a good time," Knutson said.
"We just knew the whole season was going to be about him. We say 'Slim' in every break. It obviously means a lot to us and he meant a lot to us," Fuentes said.
"People are proud to say it," added Knutson.
McClintock has dedicated the 2024 season to Slim. The Chargers went 9-1 in the regular season, their best record since 1992, when they went 10-0, according to the Arizona Football Archives.
The remembrance started in week one when his family led the team onto the field, holding his No. 20 jersey.
The same energy has been evident in the nine weeks since.
"We knew what we wanted. We wanted to go 10-0. We wanted to do it for Slim," Knutson said.
The mission was a roaring success until a setback two weeks ago when McClintock's perfect record was snapped in a blowout defeat to Campo Verde.
"It was really a slap in the face losing that game," Knutson said.
The loss wasn't just reflected on the scoreboard, it was felt on the sidelines. A season that started with tragedy had taken another turn.
Their head coach, Mike Fell, was forced to watch the game at home.
"Right now when we're getting to the apex and due to some health concerns, I cannot be out there with them," he said.
Fell has been away from the team since the start of the month.
"I am rooting so hard for these young men to deal with the adversity of not having their head coach on the sideline," he said.
Just like Slim, Fell is there in spirit. He continues to plan practices and pour over game tape from his kitchen table, relaying findings to his assistant coaches.
He's preaching to his players to keep things in context.
"I'm doing my best not to make it a big deal because I don't want it to overshadow anything they're trying to accomplish," he said.
The team says their purpose runs deeper. After every huddle now, they say both "Slim" and "Fell."
Both are symbols to give them strength for the upcoming playoff run.
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