'They fought and they battled': Elliott proud of Cavs in defeat - ESPN

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Virginia coach Tony Elliott knows what the final box score says: Tennessee 49, Virginia 13.

But he also knows getting to Saturday was a triumph in itself for his team. Virginia played a game Saturday for the first time in 294 days, following the deaths of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., D'Sean Perry, shot and killed last November on a charter bus after returning home from a class field trip.

Vowing to play in their honor, Elliott said that just before the game began, «I was at peace knowing that the victory had already been won.

»You've got to remember — every day they walk out on that field, they're reminded," Elliott continued. «Every day they walk off that field, they're reminded. Every day they go to class on Grounds, they're reminded. Every day they're reminded of what happened, and not everybody is done grieving or healing. The good thing was we were able to get to this point and even though the outcome didn't go the way that we wanted it to go, the guys can have confidence knowing that, 'You know what? I can do it.'»

There were physical reminders pregame. Kicker Will Bettridge, who is wearing Perry's No. 41 this season, wore custom-painted shoes honoring Perry as he walked from the bus into the stadium. Tennessee placed decals on its own helmets with the numbers Chandler, Davis and Perry wore: 1, 15 and 41.

There was also a moment of silence after both teams cleared the field following pregame warmups. Cheerleaders from Tennessee and Virginia walked onto the field and placed flowers on the 1, 15 and 41 yard-lines as the sold-out and Tennessee-heavy crowd watched in silence, a photo of the three players shown up on the videoboard.

Then, as Virginia emerged from the locker room, running back Mike