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Zach Hemmila passes at 22, Rest In Peace Wildcat

By Shereen Rayan

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Zach Hemmila passed on Sunday, August 7th, 2016 in his sleep, he will forever be in our hearts.

It is not known yet what caused Zach Hemmila to lose his life here on earth this last weekend, just weeks away from the start of the 2016 football season. Having graduated with a degree in Regional Development, he was about to play his last season as a redshirt senior.

It’s become apparent over the last 10 hours or so that Zach’s world was fully of love. The last photo he posted was with his long-time girlfriend having fun on vacation at a Padre’s game. He always posted heartfelt messages to his family, giving them the praises for his achievements, that he wouldn’t have gotten there without his family.

Not many people lose someone close to them early in life, and when it happens it can shake you to the core. That’s what happened this morning when the Arizona Football team found out they lost one of their own, a young man who touched so many people, who was so happy and was about to have a season to remember.

His teammates came out in droves to express their feelings on social media; Paul Magloire, Jeff Worthy, Samajie Grant, Gerhard de Beer, Marcus Griffin and more.

Coach Rodriguez could barely talk when addressing the media. We support what Rich Rod said, please no speculation on the cause of death.

It rips your soul apart, literally, one cannot fathom what the Hemmila family, his friends, his coaches, his fans and especially his teammates are going through right now.

Zach’s high school coach Shaun Aguano got a call about 9am this morning, and he called Coach Charlie Ragle, and then spoke to Zach’s dad. “Zach played a huge part of our Chandler football family,” Aguano said, “He was a very good kid, I enjoyed being around him, he played Lacrosse also..I loved his smile and his quirkiness…I feel incredibly horrible for them [his family]..one of my babies passed away too early..he’s in a good place right now and we want to keep him in his prayers.”

Many Pac-12 football teams expressed their condolences immediately such as Stanford, Washington, Oregon, Utah, USC Coach Clay Helton, Arizona State and UCLA Head Coach Jim Mora. Mora opened his press conference this morning with heartfelt message to Arizona Football:

According to Michael Lev, Arizona Daily Star, Hemmila was being prepped to start at center for the Cats, here’s what he told Lev:

“It took me a year and a half to two years to get it down to where I wouldn’t get yelled at by Coach Rod,” Hemmila said. “I used to have wild pitches where the quarterback can’t catch it. I usually had four or five of those a practice. Last fall camp I had one or two the whole camp.”

The hashtag #Forever65 is poignant, so use this when you are sharing memories and prayers for the family.

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Our ZonaZealots family wanted to contribute our thoughts as well, the news this morning was a shock to us all:

“I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to write about and get to know this special Wildcat, however short the time, it was a positive experience. His smiling face adorns his Facebook page, and it was always nice to see him happy. I was happy to hear Coach Rod say that Zach was happy just a day before his passing, this is a comfort. Zach will be in our hearts always, he will be an inspiration for all his teammates, current, past and present, his coaches, and all his fans everywhere. Bless you, Zach! BearDown in heaven!”

“Certainly want to extend prayers and well wishes to the Hemmila Family. We are saddened by the untimely and tragic passing of Zach. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the friends and Arizona football community affected by this.” – Editor Eric Townsend

https://twitter.com/zonazealots/status/762691405990858752

“Most of us know Zach because he’s a football player and/or part of the Arizona Wildcat and Chandler High School family. Life takes crazy turns every day, and this, unfortunately, is one of those days. It is likely his play has inspired many on the field, but more importantly, his life has inspired people off the field.  Zach’s family can be proud and they should know they will always be a part of our Wildcat family. Thank you for sharing Zach with us!” – Peggy McClain, writer

must read: Arizona Football: QB Zach Werlinger takes fans behind the scenes

ZonaZealots would like to put a tribute together for the family and the team, so please give us your sentiment and any photo’s and memories you have through Twitter @ZonaZealots, Facebook www.facebook.com/zonazealots, or email sportscrazee28@gmail.com.

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