Death is never easy. Especially when it’s a young person. Particularly when it’s a young person in a small town. 

There was more than just smoke hanging over the Charlo football field on Saturday night. There were signs of loss everywhere.

Signs and other memorials reminded the crowd of their missing teammate.

Brett Krantz passed away earlier this summer from injuries sustained in a car accident. The 15-year-old was going to be a sophomore at Charlo high school. 

In both end zones of the field, a John Deere logo was painted in the grass with the number 51 below it. Behind the home team, a banner reading ‘You have one job and one job only…Brett Krantz’ was attached to the fence. Next to it was a helmet and uniform with the number 51. Coaches were wearing green hats with a yellow ‘V’ on them. A picture of Krantz with angel wings hung behind the concession stand.

At practice a few weeks ago, head coach Mike Krahn said the team was going to honor their fallen friend. “They want to do well this year for Brett,” he said. 

They definitely did that Saturday night, rolling Superior by a score of 52-0 in their first game of the season. 

According to Krahn, football was Brett’s favorite sport. “He had a really good camp this summer,” he said, “But obviously it’s bigger than football. It’s very emotional in small schools, we are all family here.”

Krantz was a big fan of John Deere, and after his death, his friends went around town, painting logos, one of which is right in front of the doors going into the high school. “They got busy doing stuff for him, and when you’re working for a cause it takes your mind off things,” Krahn said. 

They also put on a slideshow for Krantz before the funeral service, and have been helping his dad on their ranch. “Brett was his dad’s main help on the ranch, and a few of the kids went out and helped him get his hay in,” Krahn said.

In Charlo, the loss of a friend, a classmate, a football player, a John Deere guy, and a hard worker will hang over the community long into the future, but you can bet that the football team will hit a little harder, run a little faster, and play with a little more emotion this year to honor their fallen teammate, Brett Krantz.