SAXONBURG (KDKA) — It’s a loss that has been tough to take.

Washington & Jefferson College running back Tim McNerney was killed earlier this month in an apparent robbery after a night out.

On Saturday night, more than 100 people gathered at Knoch High School to remember McNerney and pray for justice.

On the field where he played and among the teammates he called brothers, the football stadium was McNerney’s second home during his time a Knoch High School.

The number he wore glowed brightly in the stands during the vigil.

“We wish we could have came together on better circumstances, but it does, it shows how close we are as a family cause for the longest time we literally shed tears together, bled together and sweat together right on this very field,” said Ben Rodgers, McNerney’s friend.

There were friends who shared heartache and a family struggling with grief over the loss of a football standout who left his mark on the community.

“We felt we had to do this because we had to bring the community together to show what Tim did for the community,” added Preston Saxton, McNerney’s friend. “And it’s just, it’s a band of brothers, we’re all brothers.”

“I was just really close with him and all of our friends have just become so much closer as a group because of what happened,” added Maisie Miller, another of McNerney’s friends.

During the vigil, friends read words of encouragement to take something positive from a loss so unimaginable.

“We find wisdom in this tragedy, we must dedicate ourselves to living the way Tim did,” said one community member.

So far, no arrests have been made in the case.

“Everybody struggles with it in their own way, but again, we do our best to try and keep the memory of Tim McNerney alive, and I think that’s really where our focus is tonight,” added Mike King, Knoch’s head football coach.

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