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MAYODAN - Time flew by, the way it does when you're a teenager and you aren't even aware of its swift passing, the way it does when you're the Southern Guilford Storm and you're hanging on late in Friday night's game at McMichael with a victory and the memory of your dead teammate on the line.

And then you heard her. Scotty Wayne's mom was cheering from the bleachers.

Sharon Bennett stood, pleading for the Storm to deliver her a touchdown. But it never came. McMichael snuck off with a 21-20 victory.

Afterwards, Southern Coach Darryl Brown and his players gave Bennett a game ball, autographed by the team.

"Thanks for your support tonight," he told her. "We're going to need you the rest of the year."

The day had flown by, the way it does when you anticipate something for a long time and suddenly it's upon you. Time sailed past, the way it does when you're grieving, and you find yourself trying to recall exactly where you were when you first heard the news about the car crash.

But then you wake up and it's six days later and time to play football.

A week ago, this game between Southern Guilford and McMichael, two North State Conference powers, held so much promise. But that was before Wayne, the Storm's star running back, linebacker and punt returner - what didn't he do? - died Oct. 4, when the car in which he and three friends were riding veered off Interstate 85 and slammed into a tree.

A second passenger, George Kevin Washington, died Thursday at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Wayne's best friend and teammate, Darren Garcia, was injured in the accident.

The Highway Patrol charged Deandre Thomas, Wayne's cousin and the driver of the car, with two counts of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. Troopers say Thomas fell asleep at the wheel.

At times, the week passed by in slow-motion as students, teachers and Southern's tight-knit community tried to grasp the tragedy.

Brown, the Storm's coach, is one of the many adults Southern Guilford students have turned to for answers. But Brown acknowledged even he's struggling to comprehend the week that was.

"I told them nothing is guaranteed in life except death," he said. "I tell them they should never have any regrets with how they live their life. They should never wake up Saturday morning saying to themselves, 'I wish I would have played harder in last night's game.' It's the same with life."

Then Brown paused and lowered his head.

"I'm not sure I've had all the answers for them," he said.

Garcia, Southern Guilford's quarterback, watched the game from a wheelchair. He is expected to recover from his injuries. But he wonders if he'll ever really recover.

"People say I'm blessed, but I don't feel it," he said. "Why was Scotty taken and not me? Blessed? I don't feel blessed."

At McMichael, the visiting Storm assembled in the visitors' locker room. Outside a large piece of plywood leaned against a brick wall with Wayne's number - 23 - and R.I.P. burned into the grain. There were signs honoring Wayne throughout the stadium.

His jersey hung behind the team's bench. Players wrote his name and jersey number on their wrists and arms. On a blackboard covered with the chalk dust of a thousand coaches' cliches, someone had written: "Do it for Scotty #23."

On Thursday, James Parker, Wayne's teammate and friend, wanted something more permanent. So he drove downtown. Forty-five minutes and $45 later, Parker's chest was tattooed with Psalm 23 - "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

"It hurt, man. It hurt," said Parker. "But I don't ever want to forget him. I know Scotty would have done the same for me. "

Minutes before the start of the game, Brown gathered his players in the end zone.

"We're going to lean on one another," he said. "We're going to do this together."

At halftime, with the game tied at 14, Bennett spoke of her gratitude for all the love and attention the school and community have showered upon her.

"It's overwhelming," she said. "It feels like he's still here."

Bennett could easily have stayed home Friday. But this is the only place she wanted to be.

"In a way, he's still here. And I've never missed any of Scotty's games," she said. "Besides, I've got a lot of babies on this team who still need me."

Late in the fourth quarter, with the game still tied, Southern Guilford mounted a drive. Wayne's mom was on the edge of her seat.

"Run, run," she yelled, when Southern running back Warren Scott broke off a 27-yard touchdown run, giving the Storm a 20-14 lead.

Bennett said Wayne played hard to the last play of every game. "He never gave up," she said. "It didn't matter how much we were behind. He played to the end."

It was clear now, as Wayne's mom rocked in the bleachers and begged the Storm's defense to hold on, that his tenacity came straight from his mother.

"Come on, hold them!" she pleaded.

But the Storm couldn't. McMichael scored a touchdown with 1:50 to play.

Bennett folded her hands and prayed for one last rally. But the game ended. The players gathered around Coach Brown.

"You played your hearts out," he said. "I'm proud of you. Life goes on."

Only now, time moved a little slower, the way it does when you're a teenager and your whole life is in front of you, the way it does when you're a mother, contemplating the end of a football game and the start of a cold, lonely winter without your Scotty.

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com