TERRI LANNETTI was in attendance yesterday as Lycoming College
played a Division III national football quarterfinal against
Bridgewater (Va.) in Williamsport, Pa.
Like everyone else, she observed a moment of silence for a fallen
player before the game began. Later, welling up with emotion, she
saw that the Warriors had No. 19 scrawled on their arms or legs and
that the player's No. 19 jersey, and cleats, were on the bench.
During breaks in the action, she could not help glancing, again
and again, across David Person Field at the hillside rising above
the visiting stands. No. 19 was etched in the snow.
The tributes? They were there to honor her son, Ricky.
Ricky Lannetti, a 21-year-old senior wideout/returner from Father
Judge High and one of Lycoming's unquestioned headliners, died
Saturday night at Williamsport Hospital of undetermined causes.
Lannetti's mother and others said hospital officials were
intending to transport Ricky to Philadelphia early Saturday evening,
and that a medical plane brought in from Pittsburgh was waiting to
perform that task. But Ricky's condition deteriorated rapidly and he
was not responding well to portable support devices. Time of death
was 7:36 p.m.
The game had been scheduled for Saturday at noon, but was
postponed because the snowstorm had caused unplayable field
conditions. The Warriors, believing Ricky would have wanted them to,
informed coach Frank Girardi that they wanted to play yesterday.
Terri Lannetti said she had to be there.
"I don't think anyone even knew I was there until near the end,"
she said softly by telephone, shortly before returning to
Philadelphia with the family of another Warrior. "I just wanted to
watch. I was hoping so much they'd win."
Terri left the field rather quickly after the game. But back at
the motel, a parent delivered Ricky's helmet, signed by all of the
players, along with his jersey and action snapshots taken by the
team photographer.
"I was so touched by that," she said.
The game? Lycoming lost, 13-9. The Warriors' lone touchdown was
scored on a 13-yard reception by Sean Hennigar, another senior
receiver from Judge.
Hennigar and Lannetti, along with another player, star linebacker
Brian Connors (Clarks Summit, Pa.), were dormitory roommates.
Hennigar is the brother of former Judge quarterback Greg Hennigar,
who died last May 31 of injuries incurred in an auto accident. He
had just finished his freshman year at Penn State, and, as a
walk-on, had made a favorable impression in the annual Blue-White
game.
Sean, Greg and Ricky were working together for a landscaping
company at the time of Greg's death.
"Ricky meant a lot to me as a teammate, and a lot to me as a
friend, especially since we'd been together these last 4 years up
here," Sean said, also by phone. "When Greg died, Ricky was
definitely there for me. His girlfriend's mother had died and he
said he knew what I was going through. He said if I ever wanted to
talk, just say the word...
"We wound up doing that two different times. Just went out and
talked about everything."
Sean said the loss of a great friend, even as he's still trying
to cope with the loss of his brother, has left him "devastated."
"We were preparing for some fun things," he said. "We were making
plans to go to Cancun over spring break."
Sean said the Warriors were mostly in tears about a half-hour
before yesterday's game.
"Then," he said, "a couple of the team leaders stood up and
started speaking, saying how we could use our thoughts of Ricky [for
inspiration]. It looked good when we came right down the field
[early] and scored. But...I thought about Ricky nonstop. I kept
looking at his number in the snow."
Lannetti, from the area of Frankford and Cottage, in Mayfair,
this fall set school records for catches in a game (16) and season
(70). He totaled 955 yards and five touchdowns. He earned All-Middle
Atlantic Conference honors for receiving (first team) and returning
(second team). In his career, he generated 1,423 receiving yards and
1,759 on returns (3,182 total).
A criminal justice major, he was on target to graduate at the end
of the first semester next school year. He had spoken, his mother
said, about trying to become a probation officer.
In a story on Lycoming's Web site, Girardi said of Lannetti,
"This is a sudden loss for all of us. Ricky was not only a fine
student-athlete, but also an important member of the campus
community. He was an inspiration to us as a team and the support he
had from our student body can't be put into words. Our thoughts and
prayers are with his family."
The story emphasized that Lycoming's team doctor, as well as the
attending physician at Williamsport Hospital, said the cause of
death was not contagious "and there should be no cause for alarm by
other students."
Judge assistant Bill Koch said of Lannetti, "He was kind of quiet
and serious. Also, he was one of the most competitive kids we've
ever had. He gave 100 percent at everything he ever did. He didn't
play basketball for Judge, but just walking through the gym, you'd
watch him play one-on-one and, phew, he'd play so hard.
"Ricky was a typical Judge kid. Not the most talented. But the
hardest working. He was likable and coachable."
The Rev. Dennis Killion, an assistant principal, said he was
around Lannetti for at least one period daily throughout his 4 years
at Judge.
Killion said, "He was a fine young man. A good student-athlete. A
true Judge guy."
Koch, a longtime great friend of the family, and Terri Lannetti
drove to Williamsport on Friday night in anticipation of the game.
They arrived at 1 a.m. Saturday, knowing Ricky had been feeling ill
for several days. Sean Hennigar, of course, also knew that.
"It started with coughing and sneezing," Hennigar said. "Then he
went to throwing up. Then his legs started killing him. We thought
it was because he was dehydrated. He kept saying he was going to try
to play. Then the pain got so bad he could barely walk."
At 4 a.m. Saturday, Lannetti phoned his mother's motel room and
said he'd better go the hospital.
"He was more worried about us than himself," Hennigar said.
"Every time he'd roll over in bed, he'd moan. He kept saying, 'Get
me outta here. You guys won't get any sleep before the game.'
"When I was helping him to the car, he kept saying, 'Go back
inside. Get some sleep.' "
Said Terri Lannetti: "I heard Ricky telling Sean to get more
rest. He was thinking of everyone else. The rest of the night and
into the morning, he kept asking if I was OK. That's how he was. He
put others first. Ricky was everything to me. A great kid. Very kind
with a good heart."
Also among Lannetti's survivors are his father, Richard, and two
sisters, Lisa, 19, and Katie, 17. An autopsy is scheduled for today.
Funeral arrangements are incomplete.
