Scifres read Moore’s quote from the 1999 football yearbook. He then shared the remarkable prayer that Moore wrote and delivered at Roncalli’s all-sports banquet in the spring of 2000.
The prayer of a champion
“Dear Lord,
“We are gathered here tonight in your name to honor those athletes who have not only taken the field for Roncalli, but who have taken to the battlefield for you.
“It is not always on the sports field that we do our battle, but on the field of everyday life. We do not battle for the goals nor the touchdowns, or the blue rings, but for the cross that we will carry to you.
“Allow not our memories to be filled by the highlight tapes or the dazzling plays, but instead by the prayers that began our games and the huddles we made to praise you after our victories and even our defeats.
“Let us not only think it was the weight of the iron in the weight room or the long hours at practice that made us victorious, but the weight of the cross and the hours on our knees that made us great.
“As for the seniors who have taken off their Roncalli jersey for the last time, help us remember that the competition has just begun. For the real battle is not with the pigskin or the round ball, but with the crosses that you have laid upon us.
“Allow us to be coached by your love, and let all of us give you, our true coach, 110 percent. That is where we will find the true meaning of a champion.
“In the name of your Son, Christ Jesus, we ask this blessing. Amen.”
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For Scifres, that prayer tells people everything they need to know about Moore. It’s why Moore’s high school football coach mourns his loss and celebrates his life.
“It was just heartbreaking on so many levels,” Scifres said. “He was such a good person who had given his life in service to others. Maybe where it touched me the most was in knowing his family—knowing how much he meant to his parents, knowing how much he cared about his parents.
“As much as any kid I ever coached, he always had a keen sense of honor. He was always going to do the right thing.”
Tony Hollowell saw that character trait again in the final act of Moore’s life—when his organs were donated to save the lives of people he had never met.
“After learning about the gift of his organs to so many people, I suddenly realized something I know to be true. David just fulfilled his greatest dream, which is to lay down his life for others,” Hollowell said.
“I was watching the news conference of his parents at the hospital shortly after the announcement that he would not recover, and his mom stated, ‘If David had known that an officer was going to be shot by this man, he would have wanted it to be him.’