Ledyard — In spite of the week's unspeakable sorrow, Leon Buriak managed a smile early Thursday afternoon, raising the signed football to the heavens, where his fallen son, Matt, was surely watching.

It was the ball Matt caught just before he collapsed during a junior varsity football game last weekend. Matt Buriak, 16, a junior at Ledyard High School, died earlier this week.

The football, signed by all of his teammates, is the last tangible object Buriak touched on the mortal soil.

But what he truly touched — his family, friends, school, community — took part in a passion play in his honor for a few hours on Thursday. It was through unexplainable sadness that the day turned into unforgettable inspiration.

"It's tragic for our family. A terrible, terrible situation," Leon Buriak said after Ledyard's 35-6 win over Fitch, after which players, coaches, parents, cheerleaders, friends and neighbors hugged and clutched each other, not wanting the moment to subside.

"But the support from the community has been absolutely overwhelming," he said. "Matt is in a better place. We're sick to death, but the outpouring … I don't have words for it."

The outpouring has extended beyond our corner of the world. Even UConn football coach Randy Edsall, whose program has endured Jasper Howard's death, was compelled to call Ledyard coach Jim Buonocore on Wednesday. He sent Waterford High grad Zach Hurd, a UConn lineman, to speak to the team Wednesday night.

"He told us to go out (Thursday) and do what Matty can't," senior A.J. Wilcox said, "and to go out and play for his parents."

And so they did. With the Buriaks watching in a special section just below the press box, the Colonels entered the field to a standing ovation from the 2,000 fans at Bill Mignault Field. The players walked four-by-four in lockstep precision, while Matt's best friend, Jack Porter, sported Buriak's No. 23 helmet triumphantly.

Public address announcer Don MacKenzie, voice cracking, had just read a prepared statement as a prelude to Jay-Z's "Young Forever," a song the players picked for the occasion.

"Fear not when, fear not why

Fear not much while were alive,

Life is for living not living up tight

See ya somewhere up in the sky."

Just before the coin toss, the Fitch players and coaches, carrying a banner in Buriak's honor, met the Ledyard players and coaches at midfield. Buonocore and Fitch coach Mike Emery shared a handshake and an embrace.

Ledyard dominated the game. Zeke Torres and Shane Sullivan and Ryan Foster and Troy Powell and all the Colonels played with the verve inspired by the words written on senior Alex Lawrence's right arm: "Burry fury."

When the game ended, the Buriaks made their way to the field, touching off a most wondrous scene. All these sweaty, smelly players surrounded the Buriaks: Leon, Matt's mother, Roberta, and sister, Melissa. And they staged an industrial sized group hug.

"It was quite smelly and disgusting," Roberta said with a grin. "Matt used to hug us like that. Even though he was 16, he'd hug us like he was five."

The Buriaks were presented the aforementioned football, Matt's No. 23 jersey and news that he was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

And with that, they ever so slowly left, the gray November sky yielding to night.

It was a day that will live on in Ledyard lore, a day that the spirit of a kid triggered the inner angels of an entire region. Teams from throughout the Eastern Connecticut Conference wore commemorative No. 23 patches and buttons, various fields bore the No. 23 painted into the grass, Buonocore wore a green hoodie in deference to Buriak's favorite color and even the officials wore black arm bands.

And it was a day that illustrated the power of community. All of Ledyard should be damn proud of its kids on the football team.

"I wondered whether the kids wouldn't just feel the weight of the community, but an entire region," superintendent of schools Dr. Mike Graner said, alluding to a pregame address to the team. "I told them to play within their ability. All week, they were models for the student body: quiet, poised, disciplined."

In the past week, many of us have shared in the privilege of getting to know Matt Buriak through his friends and family. Sam Kilpatrick, his baseball coach, said, "I loved that kid. Everyone did." Former teammate Drew Roselle, back from college Thursday, called him "a genuine kid, a pure kid." MacKenzie said, "You have no idea what a cool kid he was."

But maybe the best tribute of all is from a friend of the Buriaks who sent the following e-mail:

"About a month ago I was watching a game on TV with my son and a play happened that made me say, "that guy is such a gamer." My wife hadn't heard the term before and accused me of making it up. I explained that it was hard to define, but it was the guy you knew you could count on.

"To illustrate it more clearly, my son and I came up with some Ledyard kids who we thought were gamers and we started that list of four off with Matty Buriak's name (J.J. Jablonski was next). He was an absolute gamer.

"As you get ready to walk into my house, if you look left there are three rather large shrubs. The first shrub is totally wrecked (and still imprinted with a body shape) thanks to Matty B. diving off the porch head first into it trying to catch a wiffle ball during one of the many front yard wiffle ball games. We had to actually extract him from that shrub because he couldn't get out by himself. That was a snapshot of how he did things."

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.