Area high school soccer teams to honor classmate killed by fentanyl

By Marleah Campbell

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    SHAWNEE, Kansas (KCTV) — Two high school soccer teams will take the pitch Tuesday night while raising awareness of a deadly issue on the rise in the Kansas City area.

Fentanyl took the life of one of their classmates, Cooper Davis, last August.

Davis was 16 years old when he took what he thought was half a Percocet, killing him. The three friends he was with lived.

“The death of a child is something you can’t put into words,” Cooper’s mom Libby said.

Cooper’s family is hoping to turn their pain into something positive. They’ve started a nonprofit aimed at stopping the use of fentanyl and educating kids on the risks.

“Really, it’s what keeps us going,” she said. “We want to make sure that we can make something good happen. We can make a lot of good things happen so that Cooper’s death is not in vain.”

Tuesday evening, Mill Valley and Olathe Northwest will warm up in shirts that say “Keepin’ Clean for Coop.” The first 50 students at the game will get a shirt as well.

Libby will address the crowd at halftime.

“The only family that is not at risk of fentanyl taking the life of their teenager or their student is a family who can guarantee their child won’t ever make one bad decision,” she said. “Because that is literally all it takes: one day, one time, one pill, and they may never come back to you.”

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