Alleghany High School remembers long time football coach - WSLS 10 NBC in Roanoke/Lynchburg Va

Alleghany High School remembers long time football coach

There were many words to describe the life and memory of long time Alleghany High School football coach and teacher Mark Keith.

"Energetic, fiery, hard headed, intense that is the type of coach he was. He wore his emotions on his sleeve what you saw is what you got with Mark Keith,” says Athletic Director John Hutchinson.

And when words were not enough, a crowd stood silent in his memory.

But Mark's memory is a loud as any high school football game.

"We have a lot of energy today again it has been a long week and missing him, his presence is here tonight,” says Principal Fred Vaughan.

From the sidelines to the team, a sea of red shows support for mark  tonight's game wasn't about one man,  it was about Alleghany and the man who stood proudly behind every student and sport

"Anybody knows mark a, the kids are going to come out and play hard and fight because that is what mark was all about . Mark put in a hard day’s work and these kids are going to put in a hard nights work for mark,” says Basketball coach Danny Keene.

Playing hard on the field is exactly what mark would have wanted, says Hutchinson.

"He would have wanted us to get back to normal as soon as possible and if he were alive he would be here pulling for the mountaineers,” says Hutchinson.

And even though this is the first game mark wasn't cheering on the team, that doesn't mean his spirit can't be heard at Alleghany high school.

“He has touched a lot of people around here he has coached a lot of kids and different sports, this community will really miss Mark Keith,” says Keene.