Denver East’s soccer team will have an angel on its shoulder in Saturday’s Class 5A state championship game.

“I dedicate every game to Luis,” said senior Theo Scott. “Every game I write a message on my wrist tape to remember him. Some games can get hard and you get tired, but we think, ‘If he could fight for his life, we can fight to win a soccer game.’”

Luis Garcia was shot Feb. 13 in his car near East 17th Avenue and City Park Esplanade. The East junior died March 1. He was 16 years old.

Behind the bleachers at the school’s practice field, a sign reads “We play for LuisGarcia#11.”

During the nearly three weeks when Garcia fought for his life, his shocked teammates held vigil. When he died, they experienced profound grief. Now they draw inspiration from their memories of him.

“He’s been a huge part of our season, for sure,” said junior Clayton Thomas, who played club soccer with Garcia before they became teammates at East. “Our bond really grew over the last few years and we got pretty close. If I wanted to know something about soccer, he’s the guy I went to.”

Garcia, described by those who knew and loved him as a “soccer fanatic,” helped the Angels win the 5A title last season when they beat Fairview, 1-0. Saturday night, the fourth-seed Angels will face the seventh-seeded Broomfield Eagles at Switchbacks Weidner Field in Colorado Springs.

“We are still motivated by Luis,” coach Krik Bast said. “He loved the game so much. I’d have to say he loved his family first and soccer second.”

Garcia was small, just 5-foot-4, 135 pounds, but the winger was mighty.

“He was super ripped, super strong,” Thomas said.

Garcia’s work ethic was off the charts. Bast said that many times Garcia would stay late after practice to work on his game.

“I’d have to lock up the gates to the field but Luis wanted to say longer, so he’d say, ‘That’s OK, coach,’ I’ll just hop the fence when I’m done,” Bast recalled. “I think of that and it still makes me smile.”

Garcia’s teammates recalled a player who showed up an hour early for every practice.

“The hard work he put in was unimaginable, and his perseverance was unmatched,” senior Liam Sloan said. “That’s something I try to strive for to this day.”

Not that Garcia was perfect.

“He dribbled too much sometimes,” Scott said.

“Yeah, I don’t disagree with that,” Sloan said with a laugh.

Scott recalled Garcia as a “super-confident” player who liked to attempt flashy moves when he got the chance. A rainbow, in which the player scoops the ball up behind them using one foot, then kicks the ball forward and over their head using the heel of their opposite foot, was one of Garcia’s favorite moves.

“I remember one time, he got the ball in the corner during a tight game and he tried to rainbow someone,” Scott said. “It’s such a hard skill, so I kind of shook my head. But he was able to pull it off.”

The Angels lost a lot of players to graduation from last year’s championship team, but the core players on this year’s team had to come to terms with the violent death of their teammate.

“We didn’t go through nearly what Luis’ family went through, of course,” Bast said. “But we were at the hospital and we went back to see him a couple of times in the ICU before he died. That’s a very intense experience. I don’t want to put words in the kids’ mouths, but I think it’s been a motivator this year.”

The Angels started off the season 1-3 but found their footing and will chase the fifth state soccer title in school history on Saturday.

“When we first found out the news about Luis, it was awful. We didn’t know what to think or how to react,” Sloan said. “As time passed, we still thought about what we lost, but we’ve tried to remember Luis and appreciate his existence, as an East Angel and as a human being who lived with a lot of joy and integrity.”