Community honors longtime Bush HS coach Allen Aldridge at football game: 'Everybody loved him'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Nothing goes together quite like Friday night lights and Texas, but ABC3's Game of the Week is so much more than just a football game.

On Friday, Alief Taylor hosted Fort Bend ISD's George Bush High School at Crump Stadium.

George Bush HS took the field for the first time since their longtime coach Allen Aldridge passed away.

Aldridge was a former NFL pro, who won a Super Bowl ring in 1997 with the Denver Broncos, but ABC13 talked to people who knew the Houston native and said that he took most of his pride in mentoring his young players.

On Friday, ABC13 talked to people who knew Aldridge, and said that he took most of his pride in mentoring his young players.

Before the game, both teams joined together in the middle of the field for a prayer. Alief Taylor's football team encouraged their fans to wear orange in support of Aldridge.

"He is bigger than life. Everybody loved him. He's going to be missed in not just Fort Bend, but around the city of Houston," Javian Thornton, who is the interim head coach for Bush HS, told ABC13.

It was emotional and especially tough for Alief Taylor's football head coach Shawn Gray. Gray left Bush to take the helm of Alief Taylor's football team in 2020.

"Eighteen years, we worked side-by-side with each other. It was just nothing but fun memories. All we did was have fun all the time. We enjoyed each other's company. He's family. We did a lot of stuff together. He is a true brother to me," Gray said.

On Friday night, a game was played, but remembering Aldridge's impact was the real win.

SEE PREVIOUS STORY: Allen Aldridge, Super Bowl-winning UH alum and Bush HS coach, has died at 52