More than 600 people attended a funeral Mass in Wading River this morning for 16-year-old Thomas Cutinella, the Shoreham-Wading River varsity football player who died last week after an injury during a game in Elwood.
An overflow crowd spilled out into in the parking lot outside the church, listening to the service on loudspeakers. Mourners included Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter. The Shoreham-Wading River school district canceled classes today and offered shuttle buses to carry students and staff from the high school and middle school parking lots to the church.
Suffolk County and Riverhead police, with the assistance of fire police units from across the county, closed some area roadways and restricted access to others before, during and after the service at St. John the Baptist R.C. Church on North Country Road.
Visitation and services for the Wading River teen began at the parish church on Sunday evening and continued there yesterday. Football teams from around the county, including Riverhead, attended services there wearing team jerseys.
Thomas, an 11th grader in his first season on the varsity football team, was an offensive guard/linebacker for the Wildcats. He took a hit during the third quarter of a game against John Glenn on Wednesday and collapsed on the field with a head injury, police said.
He was the eldest of four children of Frank and Kelli Cutinella of Wading River. He was a popular honors student who also played lacrosse and was running for junior class president, his father told Newsday.
Following today’s Mass, a 120-car funeral procession led by a Suffolk County Police motorcycle escort, made its way to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram for graveside services and burial.
A scholarship in Cutinella’s memory has been established through The Shoreham-Wading River Wildcat Athletic Club. Donations can be made here. swrwac.org.
The Shoreham-Wading River school board meeting scheduled for tonight has been postponed until Thursday at 7 p.m. The district designated today a superintendent’s conference day, canceling all classes, day care, games and extracurricular activities.
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