Blue White Illustrated

UP CLOS E & P ERS ONA L PAYING TRIBUTE Memories of a departed friend inspire Penn State recruit Garrett Sickels | t was supposed to be a year that Garrett Sickels would never forget. And it surely will be. But not for the reasons that he anticipated. After shooting to the top of New Jersey���s prep rankings during his junior season, the U.S. Army All-American had everything any high school football player could ask for. A standout defensive end at Red Bank Regional High School, he had accepted a scholarship offer from his favorite university and was set to enjoy a great senior season. But then came Superstorm Sandy in late October. While the Sickels��� home survived the hurricane, many other residents of northern New Jersey weren���t so fortunate. The storm was so severe that authorities were forced to call in emergency responders from other states. ���For everyone around me, everyone who lives near the river, it was real bad,��� Sickels said. ���I remember that I couldn���t even get to my girlfriend���s house, which really isn���t that far away. I remember I had cops from Mississippi who wouldn���t let me leave my street. There was so much damage that they had emergency people from everywhere. It really looked like a war zone. We had no idea where to even start.��� It���s been nearly six months since the storm hit. While Sickels��� hometown of Red Bank has largely been restored, the damage was more severe along the Atlantic coastline a few miles east, and family and friends who live near the shore are still recovering. ���It still looks like a bomb went off up here,��� Sickels said. ���I���d say about 25 percent of my teammates are still homeless. I know a lot of people who just do everything they can to help out others whenever they get some free time. That���s maybe the only good thing that came out of this; it really helped us, as I GOOD FRIENDS Martin and Sickels both went on to become standout athletes at Red Bank Regional. Photo courtesy of Garrett Sickels an entire community, to all come together. From the adults to all my fellow students at school, there was a level of cooperation on different things that I���ve never seen before. ���There will never be a class like Red Bank Regional���s Class of 2013, that���s for sure.��� As difficult as the community���s recovery has been, it was made much worse on Dec. 3 when Albert Martin, a forward on Red Bank Regional���s basketball team and a close friend of Sickels, collapsed during a scrimmage against nearby Point Pleasant Beach. Martin had just gotten up from the bench and was huddling with his teammates on the court when he suddenly passed out. The team���s trainer was unable to revive him, and he was rushed to Riverview Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. It is believed he died of complications from an enlarged heart. Sickels was devastated. ���That was definitely the hardest day of my life,��� he said. ���I���ll never forget how I learned about it. A friend called and basically just asked if I was OK, if I was prepared to learn something bad. After he explained everything to me, I don���t even remember driving to the hospital, I just was so shocked.��� Known for his engaging personality and his determined work ethic, Martin was at the center of student life at Red Bank Regional. ���If you know our town, you know that there are a bunch of different towns that feed into RBR,��� Sickels said. ���It���s a diverse school, and Albert really brought all of us together. He was involved in so many social groups, he was the kind of guy who brought people together.���

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