SHEPHERD — What should have been a week of homecoming celebration for the Shepherd Mustangs has instead been a time of mourning and community support.
The Shepherd community is grieving the loss of 16-year-old Camdon Olmstead, who died following a vehicle accident last Saturday. In tribute, his football number, 66, has been painted in both end zones on the Mustangs' football field.
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“It’s very appreciative, very overwhelming, too,” Shepherd coach Josh Casares said. “I know right when it happened I started receiving text messages left and right."
Casares said messages of support came even from coaches he had never met. Teachers and teammates remember Camdon as the team's hype man, and his presence was felt throughout the week, including at a volleyball match.
Support for the Olmstead family has come from communities across Montana.
“Yeah, I just can’t say enough about all the support for not only our boys and our school, but for his parents, as well,” Casares said. “I know they’re going through a lot."
Friday night's opponent, Joliet, quickly found ways to help.
“We didn’t have school Monday, but first thing Tuesday our student council decided to do a fundraiser, and Joliet community came together big,” Joliet coach George Warburton said. “These kids had the great idea of doing the Jammy Day and, of course, accepting donations. And in a matter of a short 24 hours we had $875."
Joliet players are wearing helmet stickers featuring Camdon’s No. 66, while Huntley Project players will do the same for the remainder of the season. Columbus students also wore blue on Tuesday in his honor.
Community members have stepped up in other ways, as well. Robin McCaffree printed specially designed T-shirts to help support Camdon’s family. The shirts sold out during Thursday night's volleyball match, and McCaffree said another sellout Friday night would bring total sales to more than 300 shirts.
“The quote is, ‘Train like you’ve never won before and compete like you’ve never lost before,’ and then Camdon’s No. 66,” McCaffree said. “This is Camdon’s quote that he told the football team, so that’s pretty cool."
Shepherd defeated Joliet 38-20 on a night few will remember the score but rather a night when two communities came together in love and support.
