Zebras coach remembers fallen player

Tragedy struck the Pine Bluff High School football team this past weekend when the Zebras lost one of their own.

Kendall Burton, 16, was found shot to death Friday night. He was not identified by police, but the Pine Bluff School District confirmed Burton was the victim of a shooting at the intersection of South Georgia Street and East 25th Avenue.

A suspect is not yet named.

The Pine Bluff football team posted a memorial for Burton on X, formerly Twitter, Saturday night.

Pine Bluff Coach Micheal Williams said Burton was a great person, both on and off the football field.

“I want people to know that Kendall was a great young man that was very loving,” Williams said. “He was not in the streets. He was not that kind of kid. He had good grades. He was not hanging around the wrong people, so all the misconceptions about Kendall, that is all untrue. Kendall was a very special kid. He was the type of kid that we loved to have, and we cherished the moments and time that we had with him.”

Burton was a sophomore wide receiver and defensive back for the Zebras this past season. Williams said he had a bright future ahead of him as an upperclassman.

Williams, who just completed his second season as the Zebras’ head coach, said Burton’s talent stood out right away. Burton, he said, had aspirations of playing with the varsity as quickly as possible. He worked out with the varsity players as a freshman and, had he not suffered an injury in the freshman team’s final game in 2022, was slated to play on varsity the rest of the year.

He played with the varsity Zebras this past year and took advantage of the opportunities he was given. Of note, his final reception was a 91-yard touchdown catch against Shiloh Christian in the Class 5A state semifinals, which gave Pine Bluff a 21-12 lead with 4:50 remaining in the first half. Shiloh won 49-41.

As talented as he was, his opportunities to showcase his skills were limited because he played behind a stellar senior class with a lot of depth at his positions. Williams said Burton had much more to offer than he got to demonstrate, both as a player and as a teammate.

“As a teammate, he was great,” Williams said. “All the kids respected Kendall. All the kids knew that he was the leader of his sophomore class, and all the kids knew that he would be the one that they would look at for leadership this coming up year, even though he was about to be a junior, but he was clearly going to be a major leader on the team.”

School has not been in session since Burton’s death because of winter weather, meaning the team has not yet had a chance to get together. Williams said the coaches have checked in with the other players by phone, and everyone is taking it hard. He called Burton “one of our sons.”

Pine Bluff schools Superintendent Jennifer Barbaree said in a statement the district is devastated by Burton’s loss.

“He will be sadly missed by his classmates, faculty and staff,” Barbaree said. “Please join us during this difficult time as we pray for his family, the students and all those whose lives he touched.”

Williams said this tragedy is new for the football team, but not for Pine Bluff.

“Our kids have suffered a lot of loss over the few years that I’ve been here, and even before I got here,” Williams said. “I don’t want to take this time too lightly, but I do know the kids are traumatized by all this violence, and it has to stop.”

Commercial senior reporter I.C. Murrell contributed to this story.