Ezekiel "Zeke" Legette may have had "the worst set of hands on a human being" when playing football, but his shortened life taught a lesson to a packed auditorium at Aynor High School on Sunday.

"If the one reason God sent Zeke Legette into our lives was to show us that life is brief, then we need to live each day as a precious gift from God," said the Rev. Chris Jordan of the Antioch Baptist Church in Aynor, who is also the football team's chaplain. "We have no promise of tomorrow."

Three days after a crash claimed the Aynor High School sophomore's life, a crowd at least as large as the school's enrollment gathered in its auditorium to say a final farewell.

Family, friends and loved ones of the 15-year-old packed into the auditorium Sunday afternoon to lean on each other as tears rolled and voices raised to thank God for the chance to know him and gain strength from how deeply he touched all of their lives.

"I met Zeke last year at the start of the football season, when I led the team's daily devotions, and one thing I always noticed about him was that he always had a smile on his face," said Jordan. "And after the devotions, he would come up to me and say 'Thanks preacher. That was a good devotion, preacher. That was deep, preacher.'"

Jordan said the question he's heard most since Legette's death has been, "Why?"

"I don't know why. God doesn't grant us the privilege of knowing why. ... Quite possibly Zeke, in those few short years, he affected more people than many do in a lifetime," Jordan said, adding that one thing he hopes people will take from Legette's death is that life is short.

Like Jordan, Aynor football coach Jody Jenerette reminded the crowd on Sunday how important each day should be.

"Today is a great day to be alive and a great day to get better," Jenerette said, similar to how he begins the team's practices.

Jenerette remembered Legette's steadfast determination, devotion to his team and his constant improvement despite having "the worst set of hands on a human being."

Jenerette shared a fond memory about another coach, remarking, "I believe his hands are on backwards."

Yet, you'd never know it by the way he played, the coach said.

"He never fumbled a ball at a game as long as I've been coach at Aynor High School," Jenerette said. "He wouldn't let his team down like that."

Teammate T.J. Johnson said he believes Legette would have said two things Sunday if he were there.

"First, he'd ask, if we were to die right now, do we know where we would go," Johnson said. "Second, he'd also ask what kind of legacy we'd leave behind."

Johnson said he remembers Legette as "a great guy" - someone he liked being around, whether at practice, a game, in school or just playing video games.

"It was always a great time being around Zeke," he said.

Visitors were given a chance to pass by his open casket, flanked on the left by a pedestal bearing his football helmet and on the right by a portrait of him, proudly wearing an Aynor sweatshirt.

No charges will be filed in the crash that killed Legette on Thursday night at U.S. 501 and Hallie Martin Road, said Patrol Lance Cpl. Sonny Collins of the S.C. Highway Patrol.

The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash, Donald Johnson, was flown to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C., where he was treated and released Thursday, a nursing supervisor said Sunday.