On This Night, Barons Would Play for Scotty

Cindy Lang, Scotty’s mother, stepped out of the tunnel and into Long Beach Veterans Stadium on Friday night, gripping a small bouquet of flowers.

She smiled and accepted the hugs of the people who mourned her son. Usually, they held on longer than she did. They needed her strength.

When she turned, finally, to find her seat, Cindy was confronted by a four-foot poster of her son in full football uniform. On his face, his trademark smile. Under his right arm, stood his father, Steve. Under his left arm, mom.

“Oh,” she said. “I had forgotten about that photo.”

Scotty Lang, 16, died Monday on Fountain Valley High’s practice field. His funeral is this morning.

On the field below, Steve Lang stood near the sideline. The players, his son’s best friends, whirled around him. Eric Johnson, the head coach, offered a handshake.

Everywhere, there were orange socks. Like the No. 75 on the left side of their helmets, the players wore orange socks in tribute to Lang. “It’s overwhelming,” Steve Lang said. “We’re very appreciative of all the support. We love everybody here.”

In the four days since Scotty’s death, an impossibly composed Lang said, nearly every player had told him he would play for Scotty, in his memory, for his pleasure. “It almost broke my heart,” he said, “but it warmed it beyond belief.

“I told them that I loved them and appreciated what they were doing. They’re good boys. We’re grateful for their friendship.”

When Steve was 21, his father and brother were killed in a private plane crash. Two years after that, according to Bishop Bruce Miller, a longtime family friend and spiritual guide, a brother died in an automobile accident.

Asked if he had second thoughts about this team playing for his son, Lang said, “None. Zero. Scotty loved to play.” So they did, leading Long Beach Poly, the top-seeded team in Division I, 17-14, at halftime and losing only 28-20.

“They played their hearts out,” Johnson said. “I really believe we could have won that game.”

They took the fight to Poly, with emotion and determination. They were proud of themselves, as they were sure Scotty was of them.

“I’m glad we played,” Fountain Valley lineman Matt Mehdizadeh said. “Maybe it was to get a little bit of closure. Maybe not. But, we played for Scotty.”

Not long ago, according to Bishop Miller, Scotty and Steve sat in a hot tub. “Scotty,” Steve asked, “all those guys on your football team, do you have ill feelings toward any of them?”

Scotty, a junior who competed with other guys for playing time, thought for a moment and said, “Absolutely not. I love them all.”