JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- An 18-year-old football player who drowned in the surf on Labor Day while trying to save his girlfriend was honored before the start of his team's game Friday night.

There were 32 seconds of silence to honor Jarrell Stewart just before Mandarin High School's first home game. His jersey number was 32.

Witnesses said Stewart got caught in a rip current and slipped under the water Monday afternoon. His body was found the next morning on Ponte Vedra Beach, about a mile south of where he disappeared.

Stewart was a senior at Mandarin, where he played running back for the Mustangs. His coach said Stewart was a pretty good swimmer.

"Anytime you lose anybody you care about, it's tough. And when you lose somebody so young and full of potential, it seems to cut a little bit deeper," coach Jason Robinson said the next day. "All of our hearts go out to the family. We're praying for a miracle, but also understanding that if that's not the case, they're going to need a lot of love."

Family and friends close to Stewart are considering him a hero.

"A lot of people say that he's a hero, but we'd rather have him here than be a hero," Stewart's aunt Carla Washington said. "It's hard for everybody. It's just real hard for everybody. It's just a tragedy, something that shouldn't have happened."