CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- For the past 10 months, members of the Virginia football team worked to make it back to play again at home and prepared as much as possible to handle the emotions they knew would come without Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D'Sean Perry on their sideline.
They stood in silent tribute Saturday morning on the field, 30 minutes before kickoff against James Madison, as Virginia honored Chandler, Davis, Perry and their families with a pregame video tribute and permanent memorial inside Scott Stadium.
Chandler, Davis and Perry were shot and killed on a charter bus in November after returning to campus from a school field trip. Two others, including running back Mike Hollins, were shot but survived. Saturday marked Virginia's first home game since the tragedy, after the final two games of the 2022 season were canceled.
The went down to the wire, as James Madison scored the go-ahead touchdown with 55 seconds remaining to erase an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit and win 36-35, a heartbreaking loss for a program that poured everything it had into honoring its teammates.
"This one hurts, and it's going to hurt for a while," said Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott, who opened his postgame remarks giving special recognition to the Chandler, Davis and Perry families. "We've got a football team in there that battled really, really, really hard for the last 10 months to get to this point. Do they deserve to win? I believe so. Because of the people that they are, and what they've been through.
"But unfortunately, the game of football, it's not a game of deserve. It's about what you earn. Unfortunately, we didn't make enough plays. We weren't a disciplined enough football team to win, but we'll respond. I still believe the young men laid it on the line and celebrated the lives of Lavel, Devin and D'Sean, the best way that a football player knows how -- to just leave it on the field. I love those three young men. I miss them daily. My heart goes out to their families."
Virginia took a 35-24 lead into the fourth quarter behind the stellar play of freshman quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who finished with 377 yards, two touchdowns and an interception starting in place of the injured Tony Muskett (shoulder). They did it behind the first two rushing touchdowns of the season for Hollins, whose return to the field after surviving a gunshot wound to his abdomen was nothing short of miraculous.
But a one-hour weather delay changed what ultimately happened next. James Madison had the ball when play resumed and marched down the field for a touchdown. Virginia, unable to run the ball consistently enough, was forced to punt it back, giving the Dukes an opportunity to win.
Jordan McCloud threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kaelon Black for the victory in front of a large James Madison contingent that stuck around despite the delay. It was a stunning end to a game that Virginia seemed to have in control, only to let it slip away.
"We're going to hurt for tonight and then we're going get up in the morning and we're going to get ready for Maryland," Elliott said. "That's the mindset that I'm trying to establish within the program. What I told them prior to the game is that this is a defining moment. This is an opportunity where we take the next step to having a true consistent winning mindset.
"You're not necessarily playing to a scoreboard, but you're playing to a standard. There's going to be a lot to learn in this loss, and it hurts, and there's a lot of young people in that locker room that are hurting and it's my job to teach them how to process that hurt."
Before the game started, Virginia played a video tribute, narrated by actor Samuel L. Jackson, to all three players and the legacies they leave behind. Members of all three families stood on the sideline and watched the video board, while the entire Virginia football team stood in the end zone and watched.
Tayvonn Kyle said standing on the field, watching the video, "definitely hit a lot harder than what we prepared for because sometimes you can't prepare for certain moments like that."
Four parachuters then came into the stadium, each one carrying a flag representing the players' numbers -- 1, 15 and 41 -- in addition to a "Virginia Strong" flag. Representatives from all three families were recognized, including Davis' and Perry's parents and Chandler's uncles. Athletic director Carla Williams stood at midfield with the families.
Virginia unveiled two permanent memorials: plaques for each player on the Legends' Walk in the north end of Scott Stadium and the Nos. 1, 15 and 41 inside diamonds on the south end.
Hollins, as he did last week, led the team onto the field, this time carrying a "Virginia Strong" flag. The entire team knelt in the end zone, which was painted with the phrase "Virginia Strong" and the Nos. 1, 15 and 41. Hollins represented his team for the coin toss, in addition to Davis' and Perry's parents, Chandler's uncles and Hollins' parents.
Hollins had the play of the first half, rushing in for a 4-yard score with 1:02 to go for his first touchdown of the season. It was a poignant moment for the team and for Hollins, whose future in football was in jeopardy after the shooting.
But Hollins returned faster than doctors expected and decided to play this season in honor of Davis, Perry and Chandler. After the score, his teammates swarmed to embrace him. When he ran back to the sideline, Hollins was greeted with a big hug from his little brother, Deuce.
"That's something we expected of Mike," Kyle said. "That's big time. He knows it, we know it. He set the energy, set the tone for us all. It was good to be able to see him overcome what he's overcome and be able to turn that tragedy into triumph. That was a moment for us."
The tributes began Friday afternoon, when an oak tree was planted on the Betsy and John Casteen Arts Grounds with the entire football team and members of the three families in attendance.
"We plant this tree, first and foremost, to remember," university president James E. Ryan said. "This oak, for as long as it stands, will help us all remember Devin, Lavel and D'Sean and who they were as people."
During the pregame walk into the stadium Saturday morning, the Davis, Chandler, Perry and Hollins families led the team as orange-clad fans cheered. One fan had a homemade "UVA Strong" sign with their names and numbers.
About an hour before kickoff, members of all three families went into the end zone painted "Virginia Strong." One member of the Chandler family kneeled on the No. 15. A member of the Perry family did pushups on the No. 41, as others wiped away tears.
Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a former Virginia student, has been charged in the shootings. On Wednesday, a special grand jury in Charlottesville issued new aggravated murder indictments against Jones. If convicted, he would serve a mandatory life sentence.
In the locker room afterward, Elliott cautioned his team from allowing the heartbreaking loss to fester. Virginia has a quick turnaround with a game at Maryland on Friday.
"I called everybody out, like we're not going to start getting in our own heads and listening to outside voices," Elliott said. "It's my job to make sure that the staff and the players, they don't stop believing. I'm not going to stop believing, and I don't want people around me who don't want to believe."