CAMP SPRINGS, Md. — Days after their teammate, 8-year-old PJ Evans, was hit by a stray bullet and killed, the Showcase Sharks dominated their Saturday football game in his honor.
“They felt they had to do it. They had to come out here. It was no question," team mom Tousaan Jones said.
PJ has played with her son on the team for the past two years.
"He's like a ray of sunshine. Whenever you around Oh, he's cracking jokes. He's making the kids laugh," Jones said.
She said they're all hurting without him there.
PJ had just finished a scrimmage Tuesday night and was enjoying Taco Tuesday at his cousin's apartment, when police say someone started firing into the complex indiscriminately.
One bullet came through the wall of PJ's cousin's apartment and hit him, killing him. His cousin, Darren Diggins, watched the entire horrific scene unfold.
“I was crying. And I kept walking back and forth," Diggins said. "Trying to look at him but I couldn’t.”
PJ leaves behind an older and younger brother.
The elder, Walter Plummer, is still struggling to process the loss.
“My heart," Plummer said. "That’s my heart walking around living his life, being the best he can be at everything.”
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To honor his legacy, PJ's teammates vowed to play their best Saturday.
“He was excited about this game. He was working hard for this game," PJ's mom, Tiffani Evans said. "So I mean you know I had to be out here to support these kids, man. They playing for their brother.”
Each of the players wore red socks and wristbands — PJ's favorite color — and added a 21 to their helmets — his jersey number.
The team also set up a chair with his jersey and helmet on the sidelines.
"A fun player. He loved the game. [He was] my brother. And he was a nice guy to me, always had my back," some of PJ's teammates recalled.
The Showcase Sharks certainly had PJ and his mom's backs, winning the game in a blowout — 49 to 0.
“This all love man. It's all love and it's gonna continue," Tiffani Evans said. "I'm not gonna turn my back on none of these kids, man, I'm gonna support them.”
To show that support on their end, the coach announced at the end of the game that they're adding Tiffani Evans to the coaching staff as "Coach Mom."
With the team taking a knee, the newly-appointed Coach Mom thanked the team for their love and led them in a chant: "Long live PJ! Long live PJ!"
The Prince George's County Police Department is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of PJ's killer.