`AN ALL-AMERICAN' LOSS.

Byline: Rob Moseley The Register-Guard

CORRECTION (ran 8/20/04): An error was introduced into a story on Page A1 about UO football recruit Terrance Kelly's funeral. Several Oregon coaches attended the memorial, but only defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti spoke at the service.

RICHMOND, Calif. - Terrance Kelly was acutely aware of the violent environment he was trying to escape when he signed a letter-of-intent to play football at the University of Oregon last February.

"Many people imagine the life of a teenager being carefree and simple," he wrote in an essay that was part of his application for admission to Oregon. "But that is not the case in the city I live in."

Kelly wrote that while trying to study in his Richmond home, he was often distracted by the sound of gunfire. He wrote of ambulances and police cars racing to crime scenes, sirens blaring. He wrote of young people being murdered.

"I am determined not to end up like so many of my peers," he wrote.

An estimated crowd of 1,500 family members, friends, teammates and even football opponents crowded the Hilltop Community Church in northern Richmond on Wednesday for a memorial service to remember Kelly, who came heart-wrenchingly close to achieving his goal before being shot to death last Thursday night.

The shooting occurred two days before he was to leave the San Francisco Bay area to begin formal football practices as a linebacker for the Ducks.

The outpouring of grief was overflowing, as mourners crowded the church's main sanctuary well beyond its capacity of 900. Some watched the service in two anterooms and even the main lobby via video screens, while still others could do nothing more than stand outside the main doors of the church to show their respect.

Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti, linebackers coach Don Pellum and defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti, who spoke at the service. They also attended the memorial service, along with veteran Oregon football players Charles Favroth, Ramone Reed and Demetrius Williams, and Kelly's fellow De La Salle High School graduates who also signed with Oregon earlier this year - Jackie Bates, Cameron Colvin and Willie Glasper.

The memorial service was a mix of rousing gospel hymns and somber tributes from friends and family, the congregation alternately dancing and sobbing with grief. Besides Kelly's prep and college football coaches, the speakers included the mayor of Richmond.

Seats in front were reserved for Kelly's family, along with his former prep teammates, who came wearing their green De La Salle football jerseys, each adorned with a black armband reading "RIP TK #28," his high school uniform number. At Oregon he was to wear No. 32, and Aliotti presented Kelly's father, Landrin, with the jersey that had been prepared for his son's arrival in Eugene.

As nearly every speaker noted, Kelly was loved as a "gentle giant" with a brilliant smile. He also happened to be one of the top linebacker prospects in the nation.

"Terrance was an awesome kid," Aliotti said. "I loved being around him. Not because he was an all-American linebacker at De La Salle. Not because he was going to be an all-American linebacker at Oregon. But because he was an all-American person."

Glasper's mother, Joyce, read Kelly's UO admissions essay during the service before presenting it to Landrin Kelly.

"He tried to be the best person, always, that he could be," she said.

Late in the two-hour ceremony, Kelly's former prep teammates who were joining him at Oregon were presented with medallions, each reflecting an aspect of Kelly's football career. On Willie Glasper's neck hung a football, Colvin's necklace bore "#32" and Bates' boasted a large "#28."

The three were stoic during the presentation, but afterward the tears came easier, and each declined to be interviewed.

"They lost their teammate, their brother," said Valencia Bates, Jackie's mother. "Words can't express how bad they feel."

De La Salle head coach Bob Ladouceur asked the congregation to help "bring peace to Richmond."

Kelly was shot in Richmond's notorious Iron Triangle neighborhood while waiting in his car for the son of his father's girlfriend, who was visiting a friend's house. Richmond police have taken brothers Larry Pratcher, 18, and Darren Pratcher, 15, into custody, saying the shooting may be related to an incident that took place between Kelly and Darren Pratcher during a basketball tournament last summer.

"The single act of violence that led to Terrance's death, we can do nothing about," Ladouceur said. "But the events that led up to his death, we can do something about. We need to respond with love and action. Failure to do so would dishonor the life and memory of Terrance."

Kelly was born in Oakland, Calif., on April 23, 1986, to Landrin Kelly and Carla Ellis. Reared by his father and grandmother in Richmond, Kelly excelled as a football and baseball player as a youth, and also tried ice hockey and gymnastics. For high school, he enrolled at De La Salle, a Catholic school 10 miles east of Richmond.

Kelly starred as a tight end, running back and linebacker for the Spartans. He was recruited by many universities, eventually choosing between Oregon and the University of California.

Cal recruiting assistant Kevin Parker, a former Oregon running back, spoke at the memorial service and presented the Kelly family with a miniature football signed by Cal players and head coach Jeff Tedford.

Earlier this summer, Kelly spent a month in Eugene for informal workouts with his future teammates. By Wednesday afternoon, Bates, Colvin and Glasper were back on that same field as fall practice officially began.

"I'm glad we talked about the celebration of Terrance's life," Bellotti said. "What he's already accomplished, and what he'll continue to accomplish as he lives on in the hearts of our players."

CAPTION(S):

Several friends of Terrance Kelly wore T-shirts with his photo and different messages at the UO recruit's funeral. Bob Larson / Contra Costa Times Former De La Salle High School football players Willie Glasper (left), Jackie Bates and Cameron Colvin (right) comfort one another during the funeral. Terrance Kelly was going to play for the Ducks along with his three friends.