Football
Associated Press 17y

Mendoza family moving on from attack

GREELEY, Colo. -- In a back room of an Old Chicago
restaurant, the Mendoza family pushed together three tables and
gathered around for a two-hour lunch.

The pizzas, stories and smiles were plentiful for the 25 family
members, but this was not a celebration.

This was about closure -- putting to rest what happened to Rafael
Mendoza last Sept. 11.

That night Mendoza, the starting punter on the Northern Colorado
football team, was ambushed in the parking lot outside his
apartment and stabbed in his kicking leg.

On Thursday, a jury convicted former backup punter Mitch Cozad
of second-degree assault. He was acquitted of the more serious
charge of attempted first-degree murder.

Cozad, a 22-year-old from Wheatland, Wyo., faces up to 16 years
in a Colorado prison when he's sentenced Oct. 2.

"We're glad he (Rafael) can go back to his regular routine,"
Mendoza's mother, Florence, said Thursday.

And that's all he wants to do -- get back to his life before the
attack.

"I hope we can put this behind us," he said.

After devouring a couple thick slices of pizza, Rafael Mendoza
made his way around the table, hugging aunts and uncles, cousins
and his brother and sisters. Florence Mendoza watched her son and
the grin he flashed.

The Rafael she's always known is returning.

Still, Florence Mendoza can't help but feel sympathy for the
Cozad family. She said she thought about them a lot over the
nine-day trial.

"My heart has gone out for his family," she said. "They're
going through hard times. It's a sad situation.

"I told my son there's got to be forgiveness. (Cozad) did
wrong. He made a bad choice. I put myself in their shoes, and my
heart breaks."

Yet her own son is still struggling with the aftermath of the
attack.

He still doesn't feel safe at night and carries a long stick
with him. Mendoza also moved into a house with a garage.

The one place he does feel comfortable is the football field,
where he has been booming 50-yard punts since practice began
Wednesday.

"I want to be a leader on the team," Mendoza said at a news
conference after the verdict. "I want to be a role model for the
freshmen."

And that means moving on.

The only question that remains for Mendoza is how much jail time
Cozad will receive.

"Personally, I hope he gets the max," he said. "But that's
just me. It's setting a statement for every other athlete in the
nation. If he gets the minimum, (the message is) it's OK to do
it."

Mendoza's father just wants Cozad to change.

"The good thing about it is this young man will be out in a few
years, and I hope he'll straighten his life from there on and live
a good life," Rafael Mendoza Sr. said. "That's the only thing we
can hope for them."

Florence Mendoza said the incident has drawn the family even
closer. Aunts and uncles from as far away as San Jose, Calif., came
to town just to be there.

"This is how our family is -- we support each other," she said.
"We're here for each other.

"We're just glad it's now over."

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