2 Dunlap, Saxton (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

Sunday was a sad and painful day for the Riverview Lacrosse family. Saxton Dunlap lost his six month long battle with cancer and passed away peacefully in the early morning with his family by his side. It is difficult for all of us to reconcile the passing of someone so young and so full of life and potential.

He will be missed and remembered by all of our coaches, players, parents, and alumni.

Having had the honor and privilege of coaching all these years, I have seen many fine young men come through our program. Saxton was and always will be one of my favorites. He certainly wasn’t the easiest, but he was one of the best. He always came into the locker room with a smile and that smile usually had a little bit of mischief in it. He was a great guy and an immense talent.

His mischievousness got him into trouble with me a few times and in his junior year I had to bench him for a few games. Then, we were playing in the Ram Bowl one night and our only goalie got a major penalty. I turned around to Saxton and said “if you want to get out of the doghouse you’ll have to jump into the goal for us right now.” He put that goalie equipment on so fast that I didn’t even have to call a timeout! He made some saves, too!

Saxton made a number of big plays for us over the years. He always played hard. He played through injuries and illnesses and always pushed to be the best that he could be. I have no doubt that every time he stepped on the field last year, he was also fighting an invisible enemy that none of us knew about.

In our locker room, we try to stress the importance of learning to win with grace and lose with dignity. Saxton Dunlap was forced to fight the ultimate battle much too early in his life and against an unstoppable foe. He lost his battle, with dignity, on November 8, 2020.

We will dedicate our 2021 Lacrosse season to Saxton Dunlap. His jersey will hang in an empty locker for the entire season and at our last home game we would like to present that jersey to Kristy, who, in her own right, has contributed so much to Riverview Lacrosse.

All of our players will wear the number on their helmets this year. We will honor our fallen warrior in this way and he’ll be with us every day.

Lastly, we will retire the number from Riverview Lacrosse. No one will ever again step onto the field wearing that number. It’s Saxton’s number.

On behalf of the Ram Nation, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Kristy and the entire family.

Rest in Peace Saxman.

~ Coach Pete