It’s been a little over a week now. I am still mourning the loss of a friend from college. You have read about him in the newspaper, saw his face on the five o’clock news. The death of a New York State Trooper is and will always be newsworthy.

Nicholas “Nick” F. Clark was killed in the line of duty in his role as a New York State trooper.

According to First Deputy Superintendent of the New York State Police troopers Chris Fiori and Clark were responding to a “suicidal subject barricaded in his residence” in the town of Irwin, NY at approximately 3:30 a.m. on July 2 alongside the New York State Police, Steuben County’s Sheriff’s Office and the Corning Police Department when he was fatally shot.

But this Trooper was different. This one was my friend who I saw every Saturday before he went to battle on the field.

See from 2008-2010, I worked in the equipment room at Alfred University, a big football school. I took care of my guys throughout the week, whether it was to find them a practice jersey, fix their helmet or do their laundry.

Anytime Nick needed anything, he was extremely pleasant about asking and never demanded. Jokingly, I would tell him no. The look he gave following my decision was like one with puppy-dog eyes, begging me to meet his request.

“I was kidding. Of course I will Nick,” is what I said to him once he flashed the look.

Immediately, a smile from ear-to-ear and “You’re the best, thank you,” came from his mouth.

Now, Saturday mornings were a little different but that’s because he was in game day mode. As fierce of a competitor as Nick was, you knew he was mentality preparing for what was about to go down on the turf of Merrill Field at Yunevich Stadium.

Focused, Nick would come pick up his uniform. But he still did it with a smile on his face.

From the moment the ball was teed up for kick-off to the end of the final play of the game, Nick was seen everywhere. As a linebacker of one of the most talented linebacker groups I have witnessed (and I have watched a lot of football), Nick poured on the hits play after play while pounding through the opponent’s defense to score a touchdown every once in a while.

Mark Mangovski, Chad Pieri, Wes Mills and Nick Clark. They are four that other teams scouted well before the week they were due to face us.

After I was done with my equipment room duties at home games, I went to the press box to help the sports information director, Mark Whitehouse, with stats. I was a spotter for him, telling him who made the play defensively and where the ball ended up.

Mark and I had a bond that when I missed a weekend to come home for a visit or was away at a game for basketball, he told me I was never allowed to leave again.

During the years Nick was on the team and I was Mark’s right hand, we had a lot of fun. Of course we had fun because the team was good, but a lot of it was because of the great plays being made.

On offense it was the amazing catches that were made by Ryan Thon from the arm of Tom Secky or T.J. Killcar, or runs down field, for well more than first down yardage, by Vinson Hendrix or Austin Dwyer, and the kicks made by Eric Rockwood. It was the sacks by the D-line, the interceptions made by the DB’s and, of course, the hard hits put on by those four linebackers.

That was just for the 2010 year.

The 2010 season will stand out always. It was the year that Alfred University made it to the quarterfinals round of the Division-III NCAA Playoffs under the defensive mastermind head coach Dave Murray.

That year, Alfred went 10-3 with the last loss coming to Mount Union. It was also the year I remember Mark and celebrating a lot of the plays Nick made. He was well on his way to becoming Alfred University’s All-Time leading tackler. He finished his career as a Saxon a season later, with 377 total tackles.

2011 was also the year “Party in the U.S.A” was released by Miley Cyrus in August, before Alfred’s training camp started.

There wasn’t a day without sitting in the equipment room office and hearing that song blasting through the speakers of the football team’s locker room. There wasn’t a day that Nick didn’t come out ready for practice, fully padded with helmet in hand that he, Chad and Mark weren’t singing that at the top of the lungs on their way out to the field.

Once the season started, that song was played after a win at home and once again Nick was singing, often times getting me to join in with laughter to follow.

And yes, there was the party scene. It was college. There is nothing new there.

When I saw Nick out on the town, taking on the Alfred night life on the weekend, he was always having a good time with the smile that we will always have in our memories.

I remember the night we arrived home from Mount Union, the unfortunate end of an incredible season. It was a long, quiet ride home on the defensive bus. As I was gathering my belongings to get off the bus, Nick stopped to ask me if he would be seeing me at their house later that evening to celebrate.

I was puzzled. And Nick could tell.

“It was a season to remember. That’s what we will be celebrating. Some of the guys will be drowning in their sorrows but I’m going to have fun and make more memories for the season I’ll never forget.”

That was who Nick was. He always looked for the positive in any situation and looked out for anyone. I honestly can’t remember a time where he was ever really upset or mad.

In 2015, Nick joined the trooper brotherhood. There wasn’t a better career for him to have.

Mid-morning on Monday, I saw an emotional post on Facebook from a former athletic trainer at AU, saying she had worked closely with an individual for a few years. No names were mentioned at that point and I didn’t think anything of it.

But when I checked my phone later that day my heart immediately sank. Several friends who I went to school with at Alfred had posted about a New York State trooper being killed in the line of duty. I saw his picture. I wished it wasn’t true.

Countless memories and pictures flooded social media sites, flags across the state were flown at half-mast. The Buffalo Bills organization was among those who did. Nick tried out for the team in 2012 and was invited to mini-camps. It was the first time I cheered for the Bills (sorry Bills fans).

Sunday, he was laid to rest and his final call was made.

Nick, I’ll never forget the memories we shared and the person you were. As your final call said “Rest easy, we have the watch.”