After battling stage 4 liver cancer for almost a year and one half, former Plant City High School football player Russell Kemp died Friday, Aug. 19.
Kemp’s family and friends at Plant City High School have been celebrating his life. The Raiders football program has been especially supportive. At the Friday, Aug. 26, home football game against Armwood, Plant City held a moment of silence for Kemp, who had played on the offensive line, before kickoff. Afterward, the student section started a chant in his honor.
Coaches and teammates remember him as a diligent worker and a good role model for the team.
Wayne Ward, Kemp’s first head coach with the Raiders, appreciated his work ethic.
“When I first met him, he was a kid, a young man that was always on time, never late,” Ward says. “First one there, last to leave. He was just a Plant City Raider. That’s the best way I can describe him. He never asked for handouts. Everything he had out on the field, he earned. He didn’t want anybody to feel sorry for him. He looked at (cancer) as a challenge that he wanted to fight, and the young man did an amazing job facing adversity the way he did.”
Greg Meyer, who coached Kemp for two years, praised Kemp’s wit and attitude.
“Russell was a funny guy,” Meyer says. “Very quick-witted, sharp kid. He had a fantastic sense of humor and was a lot of fun to be around. The thing about Russell that was remarkable, he knew he wasn’t going to get a whole lot of playing time, but he still never changed his effort. He never missed a practice. He would take on the likes of all those guys daily and, despite being completely mismatched, he gave a great effort and got after it as much as he could. He was a fantastic team player with a great attitude, and he was a lot of fun to be around.”
Kenkhari Green, who played with Kemp on the offensive line, says Kemp’s demeanor had a positive effect on his own.
“He had a major impact on me,” Green says. “He was one of the hardest workers I’d ever seen. He never let anything knock him down … riding in the car with coach (Jon) Thompson, he used to sing to every rock song that came on.”
Teammate Markese Hargrove says not only did Kemp’s positive attitude affect players on the field, it affected them in the classroom.
“His locker was next to mine. Every day was something different with him, and he was the type of person to always make your day better — even if it was already good. Everybody else respected him … when we had study hall hours, Russell was an amazing tutor to anyone that would need it,” Hargrove says.
Gibbs High head coach Jon Thompson, who coached Plant City’s offensive line while Kemp was on the team, saw Kemp as an important part of the o-line’s picture.
“Russ was incredibly hard-nosed,” Thompson says. “He took coaching real well and was extremely eager to please. He was one of my toughest workers that I had overall. Russ was one of those cats that jumped back in there and wanted to re-do any drill he felt he didn’t do well enough in. We had studs at Plant City, but Russ was able to start and play on senior night and did a really great job, and it was a culmination of all the hard work that he put into it.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.