School Bands Together After Daniel Morales’ Tragic Death
Daniel Morales, a senior on the NPHS Varsity football team, died on Tuesday, September 1, 2015 from a stab wound sustained during a fight outside of a Taco Bell in Camarillo, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
Morales, a recent transfer student from Adolfo Camarillo High School, was reportedly involved in an altercation on August 31 which escalated. After being stabbed, he was taken to a nearby hospital, but passed away the next morning.
“I walked into our coaches’ room with our team in there, and I bawled my eyes out [when they told us] because it’s not everyday you hear of the death of a teammate,” Brock Barton, senior, said. “That first day, the first practice, was absolutely garbage because none of us were in the mood.”
According to the Acorn, suspect Tyler Osertag, 20, was arrested by police after statements were taken from Morales’s friends who were with him when he was stabbed. Osertag has several previous arrests. His social media seems to flaunt his criminal behavior. “I can’t imagine what will have been done by age 30,” Osertag tweeted on August 29th. “Almost 21 and I’ve seen way too much shit I should have never seen and partied hard af.”
In his short time at NPHS, Morales managed to make a positive impression on teammates, administrators, and coaches.
“He seemed like a really nice kid, very personable, in the fact that he was new and came up and talked to me,” said Principal Eby, who spoke with Morales several times.
Morales’ friend Brandon Garza, a graduate from Adolfo Camarillo High School, spoke highly of his former classmate.
“Daniel was a hard worker when it came to football and working out at the gym,” Garza said. “He was a great individual with a bright future ahead of him.”
Because of his transfer to a new school, Morales had to wait ten practices before he was eligible to play, but this didn’t deter him from going out for the team or working hard at practice.
“It hurt him when he wasn’t allowed to play,” Gary Fabricus, coach, said. “Some of the conversations he had with other teammates during Friday nights were ‘I can’t wait until I get to play.’ He was willing to do anything during practice to help his teammates.You could tell he really loved football.”
Through Morales’ tragic death and the reverberating shock waves afterward, students have banded together to help support the Morales family and get through this difficult time together.
“I think finding out somebody your own age passed away can be difficult to deal with,” Eby said. “It can also bring a student population together as well, and I think it did for our sake.”
On September 4, the day of Daniel Morales’ funeral, the football team dedicated their home game against Saugus to Morales. The team carried his jersey onto the field and the Panther Pit dressing in blue out of respect for Morales’ ACHS roots. The Saugus game would have been Morales’ first game of eligibility for NPHS.
“It was tough for the players,” Fabricus said. “When they first heard the news it didn’t really sink in… They’ll still probably have little flashes at practice when they look over to where they used to see him and realize he’s not there. I think the actual game right after the service was easier than the next couple weeks when they actually realized he was gone.”
In the wake of this tragedy, the school and community have united to help carry on Morales’s memory and legacy. “We have an amazing community,” Eby said. “Everybody stepped up as far as helping the family, providing for the family, support, and then just outreach within the community, (with) so many people emailing me and calling me, saying ‘Hey whatever you guys need we’d be happy to help.’”
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