By Staff
By Kevin Travis
It’s never easy to bury a friend. A teammate. A son. A brother.
Especially when that person is so young.
In his 21 years, John Scott Alligood touched many lives.
Tears surely flowed during John Scott’s burial on Friday. A few of his best friends, who were John Scott’s teammates on the 2003 Washington Pam Pack soccer team, helped lay John Scott to rest.
Former teammates and classmates Josh Powell, Brent Woolard and Kyle Allen were pallbearers, while Galen Niederhauser and Kevin Hooper were honorary pallbearers.
Tragically, Alligood is the second former Pam Pack athlete from that 2003 team to die.
Justin Woodham died in 2005 after a car accident. Alligood was an honorary pallbearer at Woodham’s funeral.
It can be easy to shed a tear and difficult to celebrate life in times like this.
But look at any photo of John Scott and he’s smiling. I believe he’d want the same from his family and friends.
And there were many of them.
Of course, John Scott, who graduated from Washington High School in 2004, didn’t exactly make a lot of friends with opponents on the soccer field. He was a vicious defender who played havoc with the best scorers on the opposing team.
He was a part of the “Dirty Dozen,” 12 Pam Pack seniors who helped turn Washington’s soccer program into a successful one. Alligood, Powell, Woolard, Allen, Niederhauser, Hooper, Woodham, Matthew Perry, Reid Harris, Daniel Parker, Bryan Nicholls and David Peak comprised the “Dirty Dozen” that season. The team went 14-4-4 and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.
Alligood was named to the All-Eastern Carolina Conference team that year. It was quite a turnaround for Alligood, who didn’t finish the season his junior year.
During the team’s banquet, head coach Ben Brand presented Alligood with the Best Defensive Player Award. Brand said Alligood was the anchor of the defense.
While known as a strong defender, Alligood did find the net on occasion, including a goal in an 11-0 win over South Central.
While soccer was a huge part of Alligood’s life, as he went on to coach a youth soccer team, there was so much more to him. His abundance of friends can attest to that.
Alligood will be remembered, as will the rest of the young Washington people who have died so early in their lives.
People like Woodham, Kevin Jones, Michael Roach, Clay Lilley, Noah Pike, Eli Lee, AJ. Wallace, Brian Taylor and Trent Watkins.
Saying goodbye is hard.
Especially when they’re so darned young.
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Kevin Travis is the sports editor of the Washington Daily News. You may reach him at 940-4217 or by email at Kevin@wdnweb.com.