Rice Will Play On Despite Tragedy

The Rice Owls suffered a devastating loss Monday, after freshman Dale Lloyd (a Lamar High School alum) collapsed during a light workout. Though he was conscious when taken to the hospital, Lloyd declined quickly and died around 9 AM Monday. Autopsy results are pending for the 19 year old defensive lineman, who voulenteered in high school with the Mayor's Youth Council and was elected to the National Who's Who of American High School Students.

While grieving friends and classmates have been leaving messages on Dale's MySpace page, first year Rice coach Todd Graham made a tough decision: despite the loss of their teammate, the Owls will play the Army's team, this weekend, as scheduled. "We're going to press on," said Graham. "We're going to honor Dale on how we do everything the rest of the season".

That'll start with this weekend's game. All the players plan on wearing Dale's numbere on their helmets, and his jersey will be presented to his parents.

In lieu of flowers, the Lloyd family has requested that memorials be directed to The Dale Lloyd Memorial Scholarship Fund. This scholarship will benefit a future Rice University Student Athlete.

Having had the pleasure of meeting Dale, we at Houstonist can only say he will be missed and be remembered for his smile as well as his sportsmanship.