Dresden football player's house catches fire; donations to be collected at Friday's game

DRESDEN — Zech Lewis was with his dad in Martin for an appointment to check Lewis' broken nose Monday morning when his dad got a phone call.

While the father and son were at The Sideline, the family's home caught fire.

“My dad got a phone call from one of our friends, he was with the fire department, and he called us and let us know about it,” Lewis said. “We don’t know anything about the damage really yet.”

All the family knows now is that the fire caused extensive damage to their home, causing them to temporarily move in with Lewis' grandparents in Martin.

According to a report from the Dresden Fire Department, no one was home at the time of the fire, which officials believe was caused by an equipment failure or a heat source within the home.

There was a total of at least $58,475 worth of damage.

Dresden will play Obion County Friday night, and the two are teaming up to raise more funds for the Lewis family. 

“Friday night over at Obion County, we’re going to pass a helmet through the stands at some point during the game and ask for donations for him,” Dresden coach Levi Estes said. 

Obion County athletic director Craig Rogers talked with Dresden principal Chuck West about the idea of helping Lewis' family. Rogers, a former Dresden coach, said both parties reached out to the other to come up with a plan for Friday night's game.  

“I think, we haven’t really come up with a time, what we’re thinking is maybe at the end of the first quarter or something,” Rogers said. “(Have) a little announcement.”

Lewis said he and his family are grateful for the outpouring of support they’ve received this week. At the moment, he said there are no plans to start a GoFundMe page because how busy the family has been while trying to evaluate the damage. 

“We’ve already had a lot of donations,” he said. “It’s great to know, especially living in a small town like Dresden, that there’s still a ton of people out there that care about you and willing to help you out through anything."

“I just want to say thanks to everyone that’s helped us out. If anyone wants to help out, it’s surely appreciated and thanks to them.”

Reach Luis Torres at ltorres1@jacksonsun.com or 731-425-9638 and follow him on Twitter @LFTorresIII.