One of Morrow High School’s football legends was among the American Airlines passengers who died last week when his plane collided with a U.S. Army helicopter near Washington.
Brian Ellis, a 1989 graduate of the Clayton County high school, graduated four years later from the U.S. Naval Academy, the academy’s alumni association and foundation spokesperson John Schofield confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. Ellis, 53, was one of 67 people, including at least three with Georgia ties, killed in Wednesday night’s crash.
The midair collision was the United States’ deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century. It occurred as the plane was attempting to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
“It was a gut punch,” Larry Volman, Ellis' high school band director, said of learning the news. “This is certainly a tragedy of one who was a shining light in the community ... it was just heart-wrenching.”
Ellis took over the quarterback job at Morrow during his junior year and quickly became “the hottest college football prospect in Clayton County,” the AJC reported at the time. He played during the Mustangs’ most successful era, including being part of the team that won the Class AAAA state title in 1987.
Credit: Kenneth Walker/AJC File Photo
Credit: Kenneth Walker/AJC File Photo
Credit: Kenneth Walker
Credit: Kenneth Walker
Upon graduation, Ellis was accepted into three service academies — Army, Navy and Air Force, according to the AJC report. He ultimately chose to attend the Naval Academy, where played on the football team from 1991 to 1992.
“Our hearts go out to all those who experienced loss through this devastating event. Among those on board was one of our own — Brian Ellis ’93, a former Navy football player and proud graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy,” the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation said in a statement.
Credit: U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation
Credit: U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation
“We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and the entire Naval Academy community who mourn his passing.”
The two others with Georgia ties in the crash who’ve been confirmed dead were Ryan O’Hara, an Army staff sergeant who graduated from Gwinnett County’s Parkview High School in 2014 and was one of three soldiers aboard the helicopter, and Sam Lilley, a coastal Georgia native and Georgia Southern University graduate who was a copilot of the American flight.
The news of Ellis’ death left the city of Morrow in disbelief that one of their “All-American boys” was one of the victims.
“This is a small community, so when someone goes to Annapolis, everybody keeps up with it,” Volman said.
Ellis was described by both his elders and peers as a multi-talented “renaissance man,” his high school assistant football coach, Mike Creasman, said.
“He was gifted not only in football but also in the band and then in the academic excellence he portrayed in the classroom,” Creasman said.
Ellis played the trombone in the school’s marching band before turning his focus to academics and athletics in his last couple of years.
“Every personality trait you’d want a kid to have, I think Brian had,” Volman said.
Credit: David Johnson
Credit: David Johnson
It was Ellis’ impeccable work ethic that drove his success. Ellis, whose full name was James Brian Ellis, served in the U.S. Marines for two decades before going to work as a senior manager for Deloitte, according to a report from the Baltimore Banner. He was returning home from a work trip in Kansas when the crash took place, the news outlet reported. Deloitte did not respond to a request for comment from the AJC.
James Brian Ellis entered active duty in the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the Marines from May 1993 to February 2015, according to his military personnel file provided to the AJC. He achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel and received numerous awards including the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal and Combat Action Ribbon. Ellis deployed to Iraq in 2007.
He was a helicopter pilot and a weapons and tactics instructor, according to the military file. His last duty assignment was at the U.S. Marine Corps headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
One of his former Morrow High schoolmates, Matthew McCord, said everyone in their hometown “was just super proud of Brian and who Brian was.”
Credit: Photo provided by Mike Creasman
Credit: Photo provided by Mike Creasman
McCord, now a judge in Hampton, said he held a moment of silence for Ellis last week.
“Morrow was just the neatest little place to grow up. We all loved each other really well and took care of each other,” he said. “We were all so proud of him.”
Credit: AJC archive
Credit: AJC archive
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