DALLAS — The senior class principal at Lake Highlands High School, Tessa Pettigrew, was one-of-a-kind.
But more than that, "She was like, part of us, as seniors," said Bienveine Bisimwa, a senior on the Lake Highlands soccer team.
A vibrant personality, Pettigrew would great her students each morning on the announcements, with a "Hey, hey, hey, Wildcats!", adding her own flair to an otherwise mundane task.
But on a Friday afternoon, the students and faculty at Lake Highlands received word that Mrs. Pettigrew, their beloved principal, had passed away.
"It was a sad moment for not just us, but the entire Lake Highlands community," said senior Drew Tischer.
The soccer team found out just an hour and a half before their third-round playoff game against Flower Mound Marcus.
"We're trying to prepare for the game, and you find that out," said Charlie Willmann.
"You just focus on the game right now," Kerry Najera said. "And you know, go out there and get this win for her."
But none of the Lake Highlands players was more affected by this than Cung Lian -- the senior class vice president. He would meet with Mrs. Pettigrew every week.
"It was like he was best friends with her, you know? They were always talking, always together," said Anthony Licea.
"She really meant something to him," Tischer said. "Which speaks volumes to her character, because she always wanted to see him do well, and all of us do well."
Lian wasn't at practice Tuesday, but his teammates all spoke to how much he cared for Mrs. Pettigrew, and how he wanted to dedicate Friday night to her.
"The way he was playing, it showed that he's playing for Mrs. Pettigrew," Bisimwa said. "After the game, he posted a picture on his Instagram. And he said, "This is for Mrs. Pettigrew. This win is for you."
A 1-0 win over Marcus moved the Wildcats on to this weekend. Friday, April 7, they play in the Regional Semifinals. A win there would move them on to the Regional Finals on Saturday, April 8.
"We wanted to win for her," Willmann said. "And that's what we want to do on Friday, and on Saturday... and we want to keep going, for her."
If you'd like to donate to the GoFundMe for Mrs. Pettigrew's family, the link is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-pettigrew-family.