FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The Fairhope High School football team will sit together this afternoon at Fairhope’s First Baptist Church for the funeral service of Steve Dorsey, fellow teammate and center.

“He could carry himself in any arena and was a blessing to all who knew him,” said FHS Athletic Director Mark Lasseter. “Everybody was better for having known him.”

Dorsey, an 18-year-old senior at FHS, died Friday night, Oct. 31, in an automobile accident on the Foley Beach Express north of Orange Beach.

A candlelight vigil Saturday at the municipal football stadium honored Dorsey’s life, with a table on the 50-yard line holding his picture, helmet and No. 57 jersey, said Gray Strickland, youth pastor at The Way Community Church in Montrose, which Dorsey attended.

“It was amazing to see the number of people whose lives Steve had touched,” Strickland said. “The paper said 800 came, but it seemed like there were more people there than ever at a football game. Coach Lasseter took a large candle and used that to light other ones, from which people turned and lit each other’s until all the candles were burning.”

Strickland said he gave 10 minutes for everyone “to turn to each other, share stories and celebrate Stephen’s life.”

“There was a lot of crying and laughter,” he said.

The Way Community Church had another ceremony Sunday, and FHS offered counseling and other services to students Monday morning, and for the football team Saturday before the vigil that night, said FHS Principal Beverly Thomas.

“All of that helped to get some of the emotions and thoughts out,” Thomas said. “Overall, the students have done surprisingly well.”

Visitation is from noon to 2 p.m. today, at First Baptist Church, which is located at 300 S. Section St. The service begins at 2. A graveside service will follow at Fairhope Memory Gardens.

“Steve was the best son a man could ask for,” said his father, Gene Dorsey. “He was loving, thoughtful and kind. He loved his many friends, enjoyed entertaining and clowning with them. He was devoted to his football team members and admired the coaching staff. His mother and I could watch him play forever.”

Dorsey also enjoyed hunting and fishing and was a gifted artist and guitar player, his father said.

“He was a faithful and talented student,” said Gerry Gambino, who taught him guitar for several years and is scheduled to play at the funeral service.

Prior to the service, students are invited to write a letter to Dorsey to be placed by the casket, according to Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Homes that is handling the arrangements. They will have paper and pens in the church’s Fellowship Hall for the letters.

“I’ve been talking with students today and one thing keeps coming back,” Strickland said Monday. “When you were having a bad day, Stephen could always bring a smile to your face. He had fun with life.”

Dorsey and two classmates, Justin Bunch and Greg Cunningham, both 18, were returning to Fairhope from Orange Beach Friday night, when the 1999 Ford Explorer Dorsey was driving swerved out of control and flipped several times, according to an Alabama State Troopers news release. Bunch and Cunningham were taken to South Baldwin Regional Medical Facility in Foley, where Cunningham was reportedly released shortly thereafter without serious injury. Bunch was transferred to Thomas Hospital in Fairhope where he remained in guarded condition Monday, said a hospital spokesperson that afternoon.

“I went by to see Justin today,” FHS teacher Danny Coleman said Monday. “He’s going to be fine but he’s got a lot of repairing to go through.”

Alabama State Trooper Cpl. Joe Pigott confirmed Monday that speed was likely the main factor in the accident, and alcohol was not involved.

“He was very charismatic and outgoing,” Lasseter said. “He never met a stranger.”

Lasseter described a time with Dorsey and other players during a practice when he was constantly fielding cell phone calls.

“I get hundreds of calls a day,” said Lasseter, who had trouble finishing the story. “He said to me, as I was taking another call, ‘Coach, there’s guys here who matter that need you.’ With that statement, he changed my life.”

Coleman, Dorsey’s high school engineering teacher, said Dorsey was scheduled to lead the project team to build his class’ well-known moon buggy starting in January, that would be entered in statewide competitions.

“You can tell how well-loved he was by the outpouring of support he has received,” Coleman said. “We will miss him. He was just a fine, fine person and student. You can’t replace a kid like that.”

Dorsey is survived by his parents, Gene and Pam Dorsey of Fairhope; sister, Carly Dorsey, currently attending the University of Alabama; maternal grandmother Barbara E. Harrington of Mobile; paternal uncles, George Dorsey of Decatur, Ga., David Dorsey and his wife, Karmen, of Dothan, Ala.; maternal uncles, Ralph Harrington Jr. and his wife, Laura, of Mobile, Harry Harrington and his wife, Mary, of Atlanta, Ga.; and maternal aunt, Shirley Jacobs of Mobile.

In lieu of flowers, donations are being accepted to support the FHS Pirate football program and can be mailed to Fairhope Pirate Booster Club, P.O. Box 84, Fairhope, AL 36533. Donations are tax-deductible, and the Dorsey family will receive a presentation during the fall football banquet, according to the Pirate Booster Club.

“I will love him and cherish his memory forever,” Gene Dorsey said. “If I could just hug him and tell him ‘I love you,’ one more time; there is no end to this story.”