When the Edward Waters University football team kicked off its 2023 season on Saturday afternoon at Nathaniel Glover Community Field & Stadium, the historically Black university’s community acknowledged the lives lost in the previous week’s racially motivated mass shooting, with a collective understanding that things could have been worse.

A white supremacist was on the campus of Florida’s oldest historically Black college with murderous intent on Aug. 26. He did not pull the trigger, in part, because students notified security guard Antonio Bailey, who shooed the shooter off campus.

Angela Carr, Anolt “A.J.” Laguerre Jr. and Jerrald Gallion were all killed at a Dollar General less than a mile from campus. Their memories were observed in a moment of silence before kickoff.

The Rev. John Guns, who pastored Gallion at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, gave the invocation. He thanked God for the victory of the occasion – thousands of people having the ability to safely congregate.

A standing-room-only crowd filed into Glover Community Field to watch the Tigers host Florida Memorial in the Big Cat Classic. Bailey may have served as the honorary captain, but the Lions won the toss and deferred.

For Shara Self, the Big Cat Classic was years in the making. The Edward Waters alumna may have been a cheerleader during her undergraduate days, but on Saturday she supported both teams.

“To be able to see my son and my nephew meet at center field is a great opportunity,” Self said. “(Seeing) them be able to do things that they set their minds to and their goals on doing in life, and now achieving those goals, is an amazing feeling.”

Desmon Self is a freshman center at Edward Waters. His cousin, Antoine Williams started at quarterback for Florida Memorial. They were teammates at Atlantic Community High School in Delray Beach.

As a parent and alumnus, Shara Self says she was proud of the way the Edward Waters community responded to the shooting as well as the way it rallied around “their babies and college students and protecting them by all means.”

That included Saturday’s contest where security was tighter than in previous years. Marcus Williams, Edward Waters’ Director of Public Safety, personally checked scores of bags prior to admission. Nearby, Edward Waters Athletic Director Ivana Rich helped waived a wand over spectators to ensure there were no weapons.

Once the game began, it was no different than most EWU football games. Edward Waters marched up the field on their first series and created the biggest roar the New Town community has heard in months when Raveon Moore plowed over a Florida Memorial defender for the Tigers’ first touchdown of the season.

The Tigers had opportunities, including three scoreless possessions in the red zone, but didn’t always convert.

Florida Memorial capitalized on the Edward Waters miscues. The Lions (1-1) took the lead in the second quarter and never looked back. The Lions won 38-21 to win their second straight in the series.