Kerrville recently held a ceremony at Antlers Stadium to honor all those who have passed away or are still missing as a result of the recent flooding on the Guadalupe River.
Among those who passed away was longtime Kerrville Tivy boys soccer coach Reece Zunker, who was camping along the river in Hunt with his wife Paula and their two children, when they were swept away by the rising waters.
The bodies of Reece and Paula have been identified, while the search continues for their two children, Lyle and Holland.
The news hit both Boerne ISD head boys soccer coaches hard. The Chargers and Greyhounds are in District 26-5A, along with Kerrville Tivy.
Chargers coach Dustin Gold was especially close to Reece. Gold was coaching the girls team at New Braunfels Canyon when Reece played on the Canyon boys team.
Gold said he and Reece kept in touch over the years, and both were excited to be coaching in the same district.
“His mom was a longtime teacher and sub at Canyon High School,” Gold said about Reece who also played football for the Cougars. “I got to catch up with him frequently at coaching clinics and events and it was special this year to be in the same soccer district and play against each other twice.”
Champion visited Tivy on March 14 to close out the regular season and defeated Tivy at Antlers Stadium, 4-3. Ironically, it ended up being the last game that Reece ever coached with Tivy and where Wednesday’s ceremony was held.
“We spent a good 30 minutes before the game catching up,” Gold said. “It was good hearing how excited he was that his son and daughter were the age where they were becoming more and more involved in sports and other extracurricular activities.”
Greyhounds coach Michael Strong said he always sensed Zunker had a lot of passion for his job. Zunker coached the Antlers boys team for 12 years.
“My best memory is talking before our game at Tivy and him telling me how much he loved coaching at Tivy because of his guys,” Strong said. “We talked about his history at Tivy, his ups and downs, and about being close to going to state.”
Strong said it was obvious that Zunker’s players gave it all they had for their coach.
“I think the biggest compliment I can give or say about him is to look at how hard his kids played for him,” he said. “When we talked, he always went back to how hard they played for him. He really loved being there and coaching the kids in that community.”
Former Ingram football player also perishes in flood
The recent floods also claimed the life of former Ingram Tom Moore football player Julian Ryan.
Ryan severed an artery in his arm while breaking out a window in the cabin they were staying for his family to escape and passed away before he could receive medical treatment.
Comfort football coach Jay Rieken said he probably coached against Ryan at some point since the Bobcats and Warriors play against each other most years but added that he doesn’t remember him specifically.
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