Stephen Bicknell remembered by teammates

PRATTVILLE -- The reality still hasn't set in for the friends and former teammates of Stephen Bicknell.

Two days after the 19-year-old Army private was killed in Iraq, those close to the 2005 Prattville High School graduate still struggled to comprehend the loss.

"I found out (Monday) night, and it really shook me up," said Caleb Glass, a former teammate and member of the Class of 2005. "I couldn't go to bed. I was up until 5 a.m., trying to find out more.

"My brothers have been in the military for years, and I have other family members (serving). But this is the first close person I've lost. The seniors on (the 2004) team were close. We were a family. He was a brother to me."

Bicknell was a receiver and backup quarterback for Prattville's 2004 state runner-up team. Head coach Bill Clark informed his team of his death Tuesday morning. Many of the seniors already knew.

"A lot of the seniors played with him," Clark said. "There's a sense of disbelief when something like this happens to someone so young. It was hard for the players to accept, just like it was for the coaches when we found out (Monday night)."

For Prattville quarterbacks coach and former Jeff Davis assistant Tommy Goodson, the news moved him to make contact with former players.

"You remember Ted Bryant," Goodson said of the former Jeff Davis football and baseball standout. "When I heard the news, the first thing I did was call him and several other guys I hadn't talked to in awhile. I just didn't want to go another day without talking to them.

"Ted and I haven't spoken in a year or so, and I didn't really know how to get in touch with him. Once I found him, I told him what had happened and explained that I just wanted to take the time to get in touch with some guys. You can't take the time you have for granted."

Goodson said he and Bicknell had e-mailed each other earlier in the year.

"I didn't know his name the first year," said Goodson, who came to Prattville in 2003, Bicknell's junior season. "I just knew him as Vegas. That's what everyone called him because that's where his family had been stationed before they came here.

"There's still a picture in the training room from his senior year. It's of five students at a game. Each of them has a letter painted on them to spell out Vegas. I think of him every time I see it."

Senior quarterback Larry Smith remembered Bicknell as a leader.

"He took me under his wing my sophomore year," Smith said. "(Hearing this news) hit me hard. I got the phone call, but I couldn't believe it. Stephen was just a good all around person."

Smith became Prattville's starting quarterback as a sophomore, while Bicknell played receiver and backup quarterback. Bicknell was never bitter about backing up a sophomore.

"Even though he was the backup quarterback, he always prepared like he would be the starter," Goodson said. "His senior year, he came in and led us to four victories against the Montgomery schools. When Larry was healthy again, he gave up the position. He never complained about it, he just moved back to receiver. He was the ultimate team player."

When he did get his chance to play, Bicknell was ready. Smith went down with an injury in the fifth game of the 2004 season, the beginning of a crucial stretch of region games for the Lions.

"He came in against JD after Larry got hurt," Clark said. "We were behind, but he stepped in and led us. He worked hard, waited his time and led us to four victories at Cramton Bowl."

Following the rally against JD, Bicknell started in three straight wins over G.W. Carver, Sidney Lanier and Robert E. Lee at Cramton Bowl.

Justin Bailey, a 2006 Prattville graduate, played three seasons with Bicknell and grew up with Bicknell's widow Miranda.

"I fell to my knees and started praying," Bailey said of hearing the news for the first time. "I prayed for his family. I've known Miranda forever, since we were in kindergarden. And I know he was everything to his mother (Linda). I'm still dumbstruck by this."

Miranda Bicknell graduated from Prattville last spring and is expecting her first child.

"It's been doubly bad," Clark said. "Stephen played for us and Miranda was one of our athletic trainers. It's just bad all around. We started the Stephen Bicknell memorial fund (Tuesday) to raise money for Miranda and the baby."

Those interested in contributing should call the main Prattville High office at 365-8804 or call the athletic department secretary at 361-3865.

Glass said he and another former teammate, Jonathan Kohn, want to compile some momentos for the Bicknell family.

"We're going to try to get up with the other seniors and see what we can get together and give to the family," Glass said. "That way, his baby will have something to remember him by."

Bicknell is the second former Clark player to be killed in Iraq since June. Army Sgt. Carlos Pernell, a member of Clark's first team at Prattville, was killed in June.

"Both of them have showed their love of country and their willingness to serve," Clark said. "Stephen came back and told us he had joined the Army, and he came back after basic training and told us he was going to be deployed. He was proud to be serving his country. That's the kind of guys he was."

From the Montgomery Advertiser

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