Ginger Morehead doesn’t know exactly what it was about Cole Smith that caught her eye when she sat in the stands at Danville High School’s homecoming game against West Limestone on Sept. 30, 2016.

Yes, the West Limestone senior defensive back and wide receiver wore the same No. 27 as her son Jacob Morehead, but just about every other team Danville played last season also had a No. 27 on the roster. Yet there was something special about the 27 in the blue jersey.

“I remember sitting in the stands and commenting to my husband about (Cole),” Morehead said. “We play a lot of teams that have a No. 27, but there was something about Cole that made us take notice. They (Cole and Jacob) just resembled each other out there on the field.”

Morehead’s interest in Smith didn’t end when the final seconds ticked off the clock that night. She kept up with the West Limestone standout, and was shocked to learn he tragically died in a car accident on Thanksgiving.

“When we heard of the accident, it totally hurt us to the core,” Morehead said. “I just remember thinking just by the grace of God, it could have been the other 27 (her son Jacob.) We could have been in that position. It’s hard to comprehend what the family must be going through. It was one of those feelings we couldn’t shake. There are tragedies everyday, but something about this one just stuck with me.”

So when Morehead heard about the Touchdowns from Heaven campaign Smith’s family began in his memory, she knew she wanted to help.

Touchdowns from Heaven is an outreach that donated 330 footballs to needy children in the area at Christmas-time last year. The family accepted donations of footballs, from soft foam footballs found at dollar stores to full-size footballs from the sporting goods department. Family members and volunteers then wrote Smith’s favorite Bible verses – Psalm 23, John 3:16 and John 8:12 – on the balls and typed his story and the entire verses to a piece of paper attached to the balls.

The balls were distributed to the Family Resource Center in Athens, Stockings of Hope, Kids to Love, Limestone County DHR and to various children in the community who might not get a lot for Christmas.

While the outreach was successful last year, Morehead wanted to help make it even bigger this holiday season. She is a member of the Danville High football booster club, and brought forward the idea of donating footballs for Touchdowns from Heaven.

“I thought it would be a good way for our team to show support even though we’re competitors,” Morehead said. “Because, we all are on the same team in life.”

The rest of the booster club was supportive, and decided Danville will donate one football for each touchdown scored by its varsity and junior varsity football teams in the 2017 season.

“Even if it’s a small tribute, it’s a tribute to Cole and what he stood for,” Morehead said. “It keeps his legacy going and helps others at the same time.”

Cole’s aunt, Amy Clem, said the family was first contacted by Morehead through Facebook a few month’s after his death.

“She contacted us because her son was No. 27 on Danville’s team,” Clem said. “It just so happens the lady’s sister (who is a photographer living in Texas) had come up and took tons of pictures at the Danville-West Limestone game, and had photos of her son No. 27 and Cole together on the field. Those photos are such a blessing to us. I’m sure when they were taken, they had no idea the impact it would have on another family’s life a few months later.”

West Limestone football coach Jordan Cantrell said he is not surprised to see Cole’s legacy living on in charitable giving.

“He was a guy that impacted a lot of people’s lives because he cared about others number one,” Cantrell said. “You don’t see a lot of that in the world today. Lots of people just care about themselves. He was the type of guy you know would be in a room because he would be the one saying hello to everybody and making them feel special.”

What began with the family taking football donations last year spread first to Danville and now is spreading among the football programs in Limestone County.

Clem said the West Limestone and Ardmore football programs have agreed to donate footballs this season while Elkmont has agreed in principle, and is finalizing the logistics. She said she hopes every school in Limestone County will take part in the outreach.

“Cole was born and raised in Limestone County and was well-known throughout all the schools,” Clem said. “If a school in Morgan County is doing something for him, why not the schools in Limestone County? Even if they wanted to just donate a football for touchdowns scored in home games, anything would help to reach out to more children this year.”

It has been a tough year for the West Limestone High School community since Cole’s death, but Cantrell said it is important to keep his memory alive.

“It’s something I think about daily,” Cantrell said. “The moments we shared with him really positively impacted my life and the lives of the kids on the team. We are all still feeling the impact. We want to keep his legacy going and touch other kids lives through the outreach as he touched our lives while he was here.”

While the people of West Limestone all have different memories of Cole Smith, Ginger Morehead has one image of him that will always stick with her. It is a picture her sister took during that game last season.

“There’s one picture in particular of my No. 27 walking in one direction and Cole is in the background walking in the other direction,” Morehead said. “It seems so poignant. I can’t hardly explain why it has touched us like it has, but not a day goes by where we don’t think of them and pray for them to find peace and comfort.”