Pocono Mountain East wrestling to honor teammate with 'Scotty Purple Night'
Many people in the Pocono Mountain East and Monroe County communities still feel the emotion after the passing of Scotty Raymond. On Wednesday, eight months after his death, Raymond's wrestling teammates and coaches will honor him with a "Scotty Purple Night" on Dec. 20 against Pocono Mountain West.
According to coach Carmen Mercadante, Raymond was colorblind, and the only color he could see was purple, which inspired the theme of the occasion.
"We had special singlets made with his name on them," Mercadante said. "We got special shirts that we sold to raise money for their fund called 'Scottie Spreads Joy.' Many teams do a white-out or black-out for their games - We're doing a purple night.
"The team, the fans and I will wear the shirts in representation of Scotty on a night that's dedicated to him."
A lot of Raymond's teammates still wrestle for the Cardinals, including senior Cael Harmon.
"We wrestled with him our whole life and he's been an important part of our program," Harmon said. "We've been there from kindergarten to the 11th grade, and with him being so important, I think it's only right that we have a night for him."
In addition to honoring Raymond with the special singlets and T-shirts, all the proceeds from the shirt sales will be given as a donation check to the Scotty Spreads Joy Foundation.
"Scotty Purple" night will occur at Pocono Mountain East High School in Swiftwater, Pa. The varsity match will start at approximately 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Scotty Raymond to be honored by Pocono Mountain East wrestling Dec. 20
