Everyone at Sylacauga High School was momentarily stunned during a Friday night football game.
All but Lew Murphy.
In the second quarter of the Aggies’ match versus Central-Coosa, Murphy stepped in after Joey Shelnutt, another referee, appeared to have suffered a heart attack.
According to Chris Smelley, head coach of Sylacauga, he was the first to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He got started right away. Before Lew began CPR, Joey had not been on his back for fifteen seconds. Together with a nurse from the stands and the on-site firefighters, the trainers quickly went outside and performed CPR.
Murphy, a Sylacauga local and 15-year officiating veteran, attributed his prompt action and the final result to God’s grace.
On Saturday afternoon, a family member at Grandview Medical Center verified that Shelnutt’s status was stable, but that bypass surgery would be necessary.
This is how Murphy remembered the crisis.
He said that I was the back judge. Joey was officiating. He went up there to see the ball and put it down after we ran a play. I believed he stumbled. He truly struck the ground when he did. I simply rushed for him. He did not respond. He was going white. Just to be sure, I tried to get a pulse. We are all trained in CPR, of course, so I got started on that as soon as I could.
According to Smelley and Jimmy Reynolds Jr., a high school photography instructor who took amazing pictures of the life-saving technique, Shelnutt was successfully resuscitated at least twice.
According to Smelley, it was serious. I honestly believed he was going to die on the field when I was there, and I suppose he did.
Reynolds and Smelley said that there was more than just a silence in the audience as emergency professionals worked on Shelnutt.
Something else was present.
Reynolds claimed that the energy from the prayers in the stands was so intense that it was literally palpable.
According to Smelley, both teams were on their knees when the sideline DJ started playing the song “Goodness of God.”
He stated it felt unreal. You could really hear the prayer reverberating around the stadium when the announcer requested all Christians to raise the official in prayer. People discuss prayer or its power. Today, people are discussing that. It was palpable on Friday evening.
When Shelnutt became stable enough for emergency services to remove him off the field and transport him to the hospital, Smelley added, the audience stood up.
When it was revealed that he was exhibiting encouraging signs, there was a large standing ovation, according to Smelley. There was cheering on both sides. Everybody was applauding. That, I believe, helped to bring things back to normal.
The game was able to resume after a delay of about twenty minutes.
Smelley recalled, “I asked Matt Caldwell, the white hat, what we were going to do.” Let’s wait a few minutes to allow everything to settle down, he said. The teams will then be given some time to warm up and begin going. Everyone was pleased with the restart.
Indeed, Murphy returned to his work as well.
He said, “We went back at it.” I informed Matt that I had no idea what I was tossing the flags toward, but I was undoubtedly throwing them. Although we maintained our professionalism, it was undoubtedly on the back of my mind the entire time. I felt much better after learning that he was stable.
Murphy has almost 40 years of experience at Walmart. On Saturday morning, the Sylacauga Walmart shared a post regarding his behavior.
According to the post, one of our own, Lew Murphy, became a hero at Sylacauga High School this past Friday night. As soon as Joey Shelnutt, another official, passed out during the game, Lew intervened and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Joey’s life was saved twice by his prompt action, calm leadership, and bravery under duress.
Murphy denied becoming a hero.
People think that, but he clarified that it wasn’t about him. I was attempting to get my friend to breathe again. About eight years ago, I underwent open heart surgery myself.
By a score of 44–22, Sylacauga defeated Central-Coosa.
The following was stated by photographer and Sylacauga High parent Heather Gonsoulin:
It was one of the most potent miracles from prayer to see firsthand as our coaches raised their hands in His name for the referee while we were there in the silence of prayer.
