Both young men played football at Princeton High School. Baker, 21, who graduated from Princeton High in 2007, was a wide receiver and defensive running back. Stewart, a 17-year-old senior, was on the offensive and defensive line.

Princeton football coach Russell Williamson said Stewart and Baker always pushed their hardest to succeed in any task, on or off the field.

“You know, Brandon always seemed happy and smiling,” Williamson said. “He was always giving us some kind of laughter. Matt, I don’t think I ever saw him really mad at anybody. It didn’t matter how much we screamed at him or how many ups and downs we gave him, he always seemed to come up smiling. He always gave us everything he had.”

But both young lives were cut tragically short in a traffic accident last Wednesday evening. Baker and Stewart were riding in a Saturn with driver Nathan Pearson and passenger Cody McConnell, both 17 and seniors at Princeton.

Pearson’s Saturn crossed the centerline on Fellowship Church Road and collided head-on with a Jeep driven by Rose Pendergraf Wilson of Kenly, said Trooper M.D. Williams of the Highway Patrol. Wilson, 80, was flown to Duke University Medical Center in Durham, where she remained Friday. The hospital would not release her condition, but Princeton High Principal Kirk Denning said Wilson had made it through surgery.

Pearson was driving 10 mph over the 55 speed limit, the trooper said. He and McConnell were in stable condition Friday at WakeMed in Raleigh. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all four families and also the lady in the hospital,” Denning said.

After the accident, Princeton School held classes as scheduled but canceled all after-school events. The football team had an open date this past Friday.

Williamson said his team was struggling with the loss. “We are hurting right now,” the coach said. “I don’t think either one of those boys would want us to stop doing what we are doing. They would want us to press on. We will press on and find some way to deal with it. We are not going to forget them by any means. We will find some way to keep going.”

Football was not the only thing Stewart and Baker had in common. They had birthdays close to each other. Baker, a son of Craig and Christy Baker, turned 21 Sept. 9. Stewart, a son of Danny and Julie Stewart, was going to be 18 on Oct. 15. They both wrestled and were members of several clubs at Princeton School.

Stewart, known as “Big Country,” embraced the country lifestyle, said the Rev. Rod Trusty, pastor of Princeton Church of God, where Stewart attended church. The jokester, who referred to his pickup as “Big Country,” often wore a cowboy hat and cowboy boots to school, the pastor said, and he attended country concerts in Raleigh and Fayetteville this summer.

Hard work was not foreign to Stewart, Trusty said. He had a true love for animals, including his horse Rock, and got up at 4 o’clock every morning to tend to an elderly neighbor’s animals before going to school. After school, Stewart worked at Sun Auto Wash in Smithfield.

It was important to Stewart to earn his own keep around the house, Trusty said. “He was very independent and free-spirited,” Trusty said. “When I say independent, I mean he would not take anything from anybody, not even his parents. His contribution I think in life is just the spirit of determination and independence he had in life. And it has made a huge impact on his peers in that regard.”

Trusty was unsure of Stewart’s plans after graduation but knew of at least one goal he wanted to achieve this year. “Last year, Matt was on the wrestling team at Princeton, and he made it all the way to the regionals,” he said. “He missed going to the state [finals] by one point. He was determined that he was going to win the state for his mom and dad this year.”

Denning thought Stewart had the best manners of any student he’d ever known. “It was always yes sir and no sir,” he said. “He was always very polite.”

Baker had more energy than most high school students, Denning said. “He had more energy than you could imagine,” he said. “He was also a good kid as well.”

Princeton High has been hit hard by tragedy this past year. Mamie Katlyn Bell and James Cook, both seniors, died in car accidents this past spring. Stewart and Baker’s deaths came at an especially hard time for students. Senior Gib Martin died in a car accident one day later last year.

“It is a not a good situation,” Denning said. “I think every time, it gets maybe a little bit more difficult.” Princeton High has taken steps to underscore the need to drive safely, Denning said. The school has formed a chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions, or SADD. Last year, junior and senior officers went of to a highway-safety program in Raleigh.

But ultimately, the decision to make smart decisions rests on the students, the principal said. “We are going to do whatever it takes to change the tide with these kids,” Denning said.