14 years later, 2nd tragedy pains father

Adam Candee

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2003 | 9:36 a.m.

Allow LeRoy Manning to manipulate time for a spell, if only because life owes him a small gesture.

In LeRoy's moment, you will undoubtedly find his 16-year-old son, Billy, endlessly lifting weights late at night or feverishly dribbling a basketball minutes after football practice in the tiny northern Nevada reservation town of Owyhee.

If he could choose, LeRoy would return to the fall of 1989, Billy's junior year at Owyhee High School. That is when Billy started becoming a star running back for the Braves. LeRoy might freeze the frame right there.

That is because Billy Manning died just a few games into Owyhee's season, the unimaginable result of what is believed to be the first death directly caused by a game-related injury in at least the past 40 years of Nevada high school athletics.

"That was a really dark time in my life," Manning said Monday. "And it goes through my mind every day."

The second such death in recent state history occurred Sunday night, when 17-year-old Las Vegas High football player Edward Gomez died at University Medical Center from a blunt force trauma to the head apparently sustained Friday night in the final minutes of the Wildcats' Sunset Region championship victory over Desert Pines.

Dr. Jerry Hughes, in his 15th year as director of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, has been present for the deaths of Manning and Gomez. Hughes could not recall any other game injury-related fatalities during his tenure.

"We're sick about (Gomez's death), like everyone else is sick about it," Hughes said.

Closer in spirit

Owyhee, a town about one-third the population of Las Vegas High School alone, is more than 500 miles from the Valley and the tragedies of Billy and Edward are separated by 14 years. Yet when informed of Gomez's death, Manning's emotions sounded as fresh as the day his son collapsed on the field just two plays after a major head-on collision with a defender.

"That is so terrible to hear," Manning said. "It just hurts my heart. It's so tragic."

Billy, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound rock, was LeRoy's only child and his stunning death left LeRoy without "his future."

"What the hell do you do after 16 years?" Manning said.

Manning, now a Chief Tribal Judge in Owyhee on the Duck Valley Reservation, could not talk about Billy's death for a long time. Only a few years ago did he begin to win a battle with alcohol, one fueled by Billy's death, that nearly claimed his life more than once.

"The only thing that pulled me through was to get down and pray for one or two hours solid on my hands and knees," Manning said.

"I wanted to die."

The play and beyond

Geri Jones, a secretary at Owyhee High School, attended the game where Billy was injured. From a fan's perspective, Jones could tell that Billy took a big blow, even though he walked back to the huddle afterward.

"I know he was hit," Jones said. "I think it was from a head injury that got hit really hard."

Even Billy felt something wrong on the fateful play. LeRoy clearly heard the force of the hit from the stands.

"(Billy) told the boys, 'That nearly knocked my brain loose,' " Manning said.

Billy made it through one more play, then collapsed in the huddle, tried to get up, and collapsed again. A couple of hours later, Billy was airlifted to Boise, Idaho, for treatment, and eventually induced into a coma and put on life support.

Cards and well wishes came from as far away as New Jersey. They would not be enough to wake Billy, though, and it became apparent he would not recover. LeRoy made the choice -- one he still questions -- to remove the ventilator from his son a couple of days after the catastrophic head injury.

"How could I give up on him so quick?" Manning said. "How could I not give him a couple more days?"

Ends and beginnings

To this day, the fire stirs in Manning as he talks about what he feels could have saved his son, from quicker medical care to a better helmet. Manning said his son's helmet airbag did not work properly, but did not say if that was found to be a contributing factor in his injury.

Billy's legacy still pervades Owyhee today. The Braves rallied that year to win the only 1A state title in school history. Upon returning from the championship, the team presented LeRoy with a signed game ball.

Owyhee principal Gwen Anne Thacker said Billy's number 34 is retired at Owyhee High School. LeRoy is also setting up a $1,200 scholarship in his son's memory for the first time. The award will go to a male or female athlete who participates in three sports and maintains good grades, and it does not have to be used for college.

It is LeRoy's way of keeping his son close in a healthy way.

"It's been 14 years," Manning said. "But it's still like it's just a couple of weeks ago."