The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1177236
NOVEMBER 2019 ■ 127 ■ PACK PAST The following is an excerpt from A. Zach Williams' new book, reprinted with per- mission. It is available in paperback on Amazon.com. The following comes from Chapter 49, titled "The Unthinkable." D arrell Moody was awake and working at the Capitol House when he received the call. The voice on the other end wanted to know if he knew the call number of Bo's airplane. "No," Moody answered, thinking, "Why would I know that?" He had never been asked that question before. It was the first inkling something was amiss. A second call from [LSU athletic director] Paul Di- etzel came later, asking him to meet at the football office. At the Capitol House, Bobby Morri- son, according to his memory bank, awoke sweating profusely as [LSU assistant coach] Jon Mirilovich stood over him. Ex- actly why he was sweating, Morrison isn't sure. Maybe a premonition? The news that followed, Morrison would proclaim, trig- gered the worst day of his life outside of the death of his parents. Mirilovich said, "Bo's plane is missing." "What?" Morrison exclaimed. Note: Although Moody did not recollect the following call, here's how Greg Wil- liams remembers it: Greg Williams was exhausted. He and Bo had been out recruiting all day and he needed some rest. Normally, Williams would drive back to Bossier City and spend the night at the Sheraton hotel. On this evening, Williams remained in Shreveport and stayed at a local motel across from the airport. Some- time around 3 a.m., Williams got a tele- phone call from the Shreveport Police Department. The caller asked, "Are you Coach Wil- liams?" "Yeah," Williams responded. The caller advised Williams to call Dar- rell Moody at the football office at LSU. Though he had just been awakened out of a deep sleep and was a bit disoriented, Williams said he wasn't terribly concerned about the pre-dawn phone call because it was not that unusual. His only thought was "I wonder what the hell Moody's up to?" Williams made the call. His first words: "Darrell what the hell is going on?" Moody has a question, too, asking, "How many people were on that plane?" "What?" "How many people were on that plane?" "Bo and the pilot. That was it," Williams responded. "Are you sure," Moody demanded. Williams, becoming a bit agitated at the cryptic line of questioning said, "I'm positive Darrell, I was standing by the door when they left. Why?" "His plane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean," Moody replied. Williams' mind was now churning a mile a minute, trying desperately to com- prehend what he just heard. "Wait a min- ute," Williams said, puzzled. "I can almost see the Mississippi from where I am, and you're telling me the plane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean?" "Yeah," Moody said. "And they think Bo's dead." Disbelief and shock set in, and Williams lamented, "Holy s---!" [LSU assistant coach] Bishop Harris and [NC State graduate assistant who was going to join Rein's staff] Jim Stowe had spent the day at the American Football Coaches Association convention in New Orleans. After seeing Stowe off on his flight back to Raleigh on Thursday afternoon, Harris met for a planned weekend stay at [LSU assistant coach} Otis Washington's home in New Orleans. "That's when we got the call," Harris said. Otis Washington received the sad news like everyone else; at home, early morning, and by telephone. Excerpt From Forty Minutes To Baton Rouge: The Story of Robert 'Bo' Rein In his first season as the head coach in Raleigh, Rein (left) with then NC State Chancellor Joab Thomas, had a 3-7-1 record. The Wolfpack went 24-11 over the next three seasons and won the program's last ACC championship in 1979. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS