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Foothill High School graduate and Detroit Lions NFL player Miles Killebrew gives Henderson students, teachers and parents words of encouragement during a virtual back-to-school Zoom event Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020.
Friday, Aug. 28, 2020 | 2 a.m.
In their inaugural season, the Vegas Golden Knights — a cobbled-together expansion team dubbed the Golden Misfits — stunned the hockey world by rocketing to the Stanley Cup Final.
Vegas ended up losing the 2018 championship to the Washington Capitals. But their improbable, record-setting run proved one thing: “Underdogs come up on top all the time,” Golden Knights chaplain Vince Antonucci said.
“One thing the Knights have taught us is when you are set up to lose, you might be set up to win,” Antonucci told a group of Henderson school students, parents and staff during a virtual rally Wednesday to mark the start of the new school year.
The message comes as the Clark County School District is facing unprecedented challenges in providing an education to students during the coronavirus pandemic.
To keep students safe, the district has opted to keep schools closed and conduct classes online.
That might seem like a formula for failure, but schools will overcome the challenge and come out stronger, Antonucci said.
Other sports and community figures also spoke via Zoom to students and staff from Foothill High School, Mannion and Burkholder middle schools, and Smalley, Walker, Galloway and Newton elementary schools.
Among them was Randall Cunningham, a former NFL and UNLV quarterback and now chaplain for the Las Vegas Raiders.
“That’s pretty cool to have the Las Vegas Raiders behind us,” said Patrick Detken, a pastor at Hope Church LV, who led the rally.
Detroit Lions linebacker Miles Killebrew, who played high school football at Foothill, also joined the rally, calling teachers “the backbone of the community.”
“The pressure is on you and I know, based on the teachers I grew up with, you will rise to the occasion,” he said. “Henderson has strong teachers.”
Killebrew told students there will be “battles I didn’t have to make when I was your age and that your parents didn’t have to make ... I believe in you and the city believes in you."
Henderson Police Chief Thedrick Andres also praised teachers. “You help our kids dream and reach their highest potential,” he said.
