Young Keeps Up With His Cousin
Published: Sep 5, 2007
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TAMPA - "Hey, C.J., we won."
With those four words, 18-year-old Darrell Young began his weekly ritual.
Staring at a marble headstone shaped like a football, Young relayed the events of Jefferson High School's 26-13 exhibition victory against Titusville Astronaut on Aug. 24.
He ended the conversation by telling his cousin, Cedric "C.J." Mills, who was shot and killed outside his home on April 25, he loved him and he was playing this season for him.
"Knowing that he's not with us, it actually makes me feel better if I come out here and have a conversation amongst ourselves," Young said. "It makes me feel like he's right by my side."
Normally, every Sunday after church, Young and his family drive to the Garden of Memories Cemetery. They don't stay long. Just long enough for Young to talk to C.J.
The conversations mostly involve what's going on with the Jefferson football team. It was good news after the Dragons' Kickoff Classic victory. It wasn't so good following Friday night's 43-20 loss to Hillsborough in the regular-season opener.
Young led Jefferson with 136 all-purpose yards, including 78 return yards, but turnovers and costly penalties ultimately undid the Dragons, sending Coach Mike Fenton on a mission Monday.
After the team finished practice, Fenton lined the players up in the end zone and had them run sprints, half the length of the field, four times.
"It's all about effort," Fenton said before the whistle blew and players took off running.
Wearing a T-shirt that read "WINS with EFFORT and ATTITUDE," Fenton gathered the team to address the Hillsborough loss for the final time.
"Let me see your eyes," he yelled. "Let this never happen again. From now on, we play with a chip on our shoulder."
The team wrapped up its workout by bowing their heads and reciting the Lord's Prayer.
Young prays often. His cemetery visits are a weekly thing. However, his aunt - C.J.'s grandmother, Lucy Mills - goes every day. She usually stops by on her way to work.
She tends to the flowers that surround the headstone, the one that reads "C.J. Mills, A Friend Athlete Poet Rapper Caring Determined." The one inscribed with his rapper nickname "Lil Cutty." The one with Lucy's name on it, next to Cedric and a heart with the words "ONE BLOOD" on the inside.
"This is my comfort zone and my time just with him," Lucy Mills said. "I know his soul is in heaven, but his body is here and this place is comforting to me."
During the family's recent visit, another man put flowers on a gravesite just down from C.J. His teenage grandson was also shot and killed. The assailant remains at large.
And about 100 yards from Mills' resting place sits the headstone of Torrie McDuffie. Like Mills' headstone, McDuffie's is adorned with a football. Next to some flowers rests a bottle of Gatorade.
The 16-year-old was shot in the head on March 22 while standing on a street corner with other children. A suspect was arrested days later.
C.J.'s family longs for the day the person who gunned him down is brought to justice. To help in that effort, Lucy Mills is organizing a rally for Sept. 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1504 Hubert Avenue, behind the J & S Grocery in Tampa.
Football was supposed to be the family's focus this year. Instead, they pour their energy into finding a murderer.
"I don't know how many games I can go to this year," Lucy Mills said. "I want to go and see Darrell play, but it's hard because C.J. won't be out there. I've been watching him play since he was 7 years old."
A bench in front of C.J.'s headstone reads "GOOD GUY GONE." That's where Young sits during his talks with his cousin.
He couldn't wait to tell C.J. about the special flag with his No. 8 on it that Young runs onto the field with before every game.
"It felt amazing," Young said of his flag-bearing duties. "It felt like my pain was just gone. It felt like I could just go out there and play for him."
The cousins were supposed to be playing on the same team this year. After a painful two-year stay in Monticello searching for a father he has never met, Young returned to Jefferson to better himself and join C.J. on the football field.
C.J. was murdered just before the start of spring practices, ending Young's dream.
"I wanted to get that opportunity to play with him, but he's gone," Young said. "I'm not going to let that bother me. I'm just going to do what he wanted me to do, you know, play my best. That's what I'm going to do this season."
COMING NEXT WEEK: Starting quarterback Zack Grossi, who waited patiently on the sideline last season for his opportunity, injured his throwing shoulder in the regular-season opener. His status for Friday night's game is uncertain. While Grossi does all he can to get back on the field, waiting in the wings are backup Doug Williams Jr. and a talented junior varsity quarterback.
Reporter Katherine Smith can be reached at (813) 259-7860 or ksmith@tampatrib.com.
