High school football player asks rival to pray for his mother’s battle with cancer

SHERMAN, Texas – Two high school football players went head-to-head during a game in Texas Friday night, but their actions after the game are what most people remember from that night.

"When you're playing the game, you're playing to win and the other team is the enemy, but afterwards you still have respect for the other opponent,” Sherman High School senior Gage Smith told KXII.

Smith said he knows West Mesquite player Ty Jordan from a select 7-on-7 team they both played on.

Jordan's mom is battling cancer, and Smith asked to pray with him after the game.

"I just had a moment with him praying over him, his mom, and his family,” Smith said.

Smith says in that moment it was not about the score or being opponents—It was about showing compassion.

Jordan's aunt posted the pictures on Facebook expressing how much the gesture meant to their family.

So far it has over 140,000 shares.

"To see that it blew up I was very surprised by it, and I wasn't expecting it to be like that you know, I was just doing it for him and doing it for his mom and his family,” Smith said.

Sherman Head Football Coach J.D. Martinez said Smith has been a team leader on and off the field.

"He's a true leader, and he has compassion, and it followed through for a lot of the guys on the team,” Martinez told KXII.

Martinez says his wife happened to capture the special moment. She sent the pictures to Smith's mom who passed them on to Jordan's family.

"Football brings people together in so many different ways, and that was just one example of it that night," Smith said.