SAN ANTONIO – Friday was the first football game of the season for John Jay High School, and as the players returned to the field, they honored the man who used to help coach them, Rodney Buentello.
Buentello drowned while saving two children in Medina Lake in June.
"His biggest thing was to make a difference in their lives so they could go on and be something," said Lisa Buentello, Rodney Buentello's widow, about her husband taking pride in helping coach the John Jay football team.
Knowing that the team will be honoring Rodney by wearing football helmets that will display his initials, brought Lisa to tears.
"He loved the kids and they loved him, and they look up to him," Lisa said. "This is amazing. It really is amazing for them to want to honor him in such a wonderful way."
Rodney Buentello was a graduate of John Jay High School, a retired Marine and a two-time Purple Heart recipient.
John Jay High School head football coach and athletic coordinator Gary Gutierrez said Rodney Buentello's work had a big impact on not only the students, but the entire community.
"We couldn't think of a better way than, him being in the military, putting the American flag on the mustang and also his initials," Gutierrez said. "We'll wear it with pride, while we are playing and what we represent here at John Jay."
"Coach meant a lot to all of us," said Joseph Contreras, a John Jay High School senior. "He was always a motivation. He was always there for us and this is something good we wanted to do for him."
Lisa Buentello, who is also a John Jay graduate and who currently works at John Jay High School, said she'll be there at the game, watching with their two sons.
"They are very proud of their dad and what he did," Lisa said. "It's hard for us, because the selfish part of us says it's not fair that he's gone from us, but he impacted so many people. It was just his character."
