Brighton – Several hundred mourners jammed into Brighton United Methodist Church on Friday to pay final tribute to 17-year-old Devon Knight, killed last Sunday morning after his prom at Horizon High School.
Knight’s coaches, teammates, girlfriend and family recalled a fierce competitor on the football field who was loyal and loving off it.
“God must have big plans for him to take him so young,” said long-time friend and teammate Erik Gillespie.
Knight died as a result of a head-on collision on 104th Avenue just west of Brighton Road Sunday about 7:12 a.m. His 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix veered across double-yellow lines and collided with a Nissan Xterra.
The driver of the Xterra escaped serious injury. Knight’s passenger and girlfriend, 17-year-old Tasheena Zorn, also was not seriously injured.
Knight was driving Zorn home after attending after-prom activities.
The Colorado State Patrol said Knight apparently fell asleep at the wheel. The patrol’s initial investigation indicates alcohol and drugs were not factors in the accident. A toxicology report is due in a few weeks.
Knight – a standout athlete at Horizon – drew nearly 1,000 people at a public memorial last week at the school. On Friday, a crowd filled the inside of United Methodist and spilled outside.
Many were teens, in letter jackets as well as in dresses, jeans, suits and ties. Some were athletes from Horizon’s cross-town rivals who wanted to pay respects to a rival on the football field and basketball court.
Adults on hand wept just as freely as the 15- and 16-year-olds as a loudspeaker fed the words from the service to a throng standing outside.
They heard how Knight started running nearly as soon as he learned to walk and began competing against his dad in footraces because other sports didn’t offer enough action.
Members of the Horizon football team fought off tears as they spoke of Knight as a hard-hitting tailback and one who never backed off from a challenge while competing.
As a tribute to his talent and work ethic in sports, the entire Horizon football and basketball teams served as honorary pallbearers.
They also spoke of his loyalty to friends away from the playing fields, and Zorn remembered his tenderness.
“It was the little things I remember,” Zorn said. He always waited for her after her classes and gently teased her about how he looked as good, or better, than she did.
Zorn said she’ll always treasure the Friday before the prom, when they went to the mall so she could get her dress and primp for the big night.
“I’ll always remember that for as long as I live,” Zorn said. “We went through thick and thin together, and our love will never be broken.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or at mwhaley@denverpost.com.
