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New Mexico St. QB has game of his life hours after slain father’s funeral
The headline from New Mexico State’s game at Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday night -- the Aggies’ third straight win -- was that quarterback Andrew Allen came off the bench to throw for 243 yards and four touchdowns in the 37-34 win.
But it’s what Allen did in the hours before the game that made his performance one of the more remarkable ones in recent memory -- at any level, in any sport.
Allen began the day in Le Marque, Texas -- a four-hour drive from Lafayette, La. -- to attend the funeral service for his father, Darrell Allen, who died Nov. 10 after succumbing to a gunshot wound suffered while working security at a Temple, Texas, bar in the early hours of Nov. 1.
"Yesterday I traveled home for a candle light service for my dad and today we had the final service and I came straight here," Allen told the Las Cruces Sun-News after the game. "It’s been a long day but I couldn’t be more proud of how it ended."
According to the Sun-News, Allen was able to visit his father before he passed away, and met his team around 2 p.m. Saturday in Lafayette after making that four-hour drive.
"Andrew has handled this all really well," Aggies head coach Doug Martin told the Sun-News after the game. "I told him that his dad would be proud of him today. That is how you handle adversity."
@NMStateFootball QB @Prime_Time18 Led his team to a win tonight. Earlier he attended funeral of his father. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/HoXc4NO8mA
— Paul Pabst (@PaulPabst) November 22, 2015
Allen's father was a Texas sheriff and was killed in the line of duty. He's wearing one of dad's police shirts.(2/2) pic.twitter.com/uFPv6xe6gK
— Paul Pabst (@PaulPabst) November 22, 2015
I greatly appreciate the love and support y'all showed tonight, Thank ALL OF YOU !! #Respect https://t.co/XPVJ5jMUVZ
— Andrew Allen (@Prime_Time18) November 22, 2015
Darrell Allen, 43, was the police chief in Marlin, Texas. He was working off-duty security when he was shot following an alleged struggle with a man. According to multiple reports, 24-year-old Derrick Wayne Gamble is being held on $1,750,000 bond, charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and murder -- the murder charge and an additional $1 million bond were added on Nov. 12 after Allen’s death.
Marlin is just southeast of Waco in east-central Texas.
"I can't say enough about what he's been through," Martin continued to say about Andrew Allen, who was expected to see limited duty in the game because of both his father’s funeral service and an injury Andrew suffered during a game on Oct. 31. "He really has handled everything so well. The best thing for him was to be around his football brothers. And the team really rallied around him.
"... He got to see his dad before he passed away, got to go home and do that. I think that helped him also. I told him that his dad would be proud of him today. That is how you handle adversity."
The Sun Belt Conference named Allen its Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week on Monday.
