Virginia football team cancels game vs. Coastal Carolina this week

Update 11/16: The Virginia Cavaliers have decided to cancel their final home game of the season against Coastal Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 19.

The Virginia Cavaliers will make a decision soon regarding whether or not to play Saturday’s home football game against Coastal Carolina following the tragic deaths of three members of the football team, athletic director Carla Williams told press on Tuesday. Head coach Tony Elliott and the team will be involved in the decision.

UVA juniors Lavel Davis, Jr., D’Sean Perry, and Devin Chandler were killed on Sunday night in a mass shooting at the University of Virginia’s Charlottesville campus while returning from a field trip to Washington, D.C.

Former Virginia football player Christopher Darnell Jones, Jr. has been taken into police custody as a suspect. Two other students were injured in the shooting, one of whom is in critical condition.

Junior running back Michael Hollins, Jr. was also injured and is in stable condition after being shot in the back, per the Washington Post.

Elliott was late to Tuesday’s press conference after meeting with Hollins in the hospital after he was out of surgery. He spoke at length about the three players who died as well as the team as a whole.

“I’m trying to provide all the resources and support that I possibly can,” he said. “I have to acknowledge the strength of our players and staff at this time to be able to come together and process what has taken place.”

He became emotional when he recalled the first meeting with the team after the shooting, but said that the team was “on the road to healing.”

“The message to the team is that we’re going to celebrate those lives going forward,” Elliot said.

The Cavaliers have a conference matchup scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 26 against the Virginia Tech Hokies. They are 3-7 this season.