Former STM soccer star killed in terrorist attack in NO | News

The two just had great visits with former St. Thomas More football and lacrosse star Tiger Bech, not knowing it would be his last with his former teammate and friend.

Bech, 27, died Wednesday as a result of injuries sustained in a suspected terrorist attack in New Orleans.

Bech was taken to a New Orleans hospital after the attack, where he died Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday afternoon, friends gathered for a vigil for Bech in the school chapel.

Trevor Begue, who played wide receiver alongside Bech at STM, and former STM assistant coach and current director Marty Cannon met with Bech during his holiday visit home.

The 2021 Princeton graduate with a bachelor’s degree in finance lived in New York as a trader at a New York brokerage firm.

“Tiger was one of a kind,” Cannon said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone who could do things on a football field that Tiger could do. I’ve seen a lot of good ones at St. Thomas and I saw a lot when I played college football (at UL).

“Tiger could do things that were just inexplicable for that body type and that short stature, but with all that power.”

Bech was a first-team All-District and All-Acadiana player for STM in 2014. The versatile athlete racked up 1,646 total yards and 19 touchdowns, including 630 rushing yards and five TDs, 874 passing yards and 11 scores, and caught eight passes for 142 yards and three more scores.

“When you watched Tiger Bech play, whether it was on the lacrosse field or the football field, he was a special player, a special human being,” Begue said.

During his three-year career at Princeton, Bech caught 53 passes for 825 yards and three touchdowns.

“I actually got to see him on Monday and we had a good conversation,” Begue said. “We talked about Jack and how he was about to go to the (NFL) draft and how proud I was of him. “I’m very sad for the family and very sad for Jack.”

Begue remembers Bech as a selfless teammate.

“He was a great player and a great person,” Begue said. “We all admire him. He was the main receiver in that room.

“He made everything look so easy. He was a willing teacher, because I didn’t play that position like the first one.

“At first I was a runner. He lifted me onto his wing and really showed me the position. “He was a really humble guy.”

However, Cannon’s memories of Bech’s impact went far beyond her athletic ability.

“I just got here as a senior,” Cannon said. “Throughout that year, I got to know Tiger and found this tremendous depth and maturity in him.

“What may sometimes seem like overconfidence to some and maybe even arrogance, he was actually a very, very deep person who draws you in. He was such a special guy.”

Due to the exploits of her younger brother Jack, Cannon and her former coaches and teammates saw Bech quite frequently over the years for someone who worked so far away.

“I’m very grateful for the time I got to know him,” Cannon added. “When he went to Princeton, he often came back to watch Jack play and he always stopped by to say hello.

“It sure touched my life, so when I found out this morning, I was devastated. “It was hard.”