PRATTVILLE -- Less than 24 hours after the Prattville community celebrated a berth in next week's Class 6A state championship game, it gathered again Saturday afternoon -- this time to say goodbye to a friend.

More than 1,500 mourners packed the Prattville High School gymnasium to honor Lorenzo "Lo" Pickett, the 39-year-old Prattville High assistant football coach who died before practice on Thanksgiving Day.

He was remembered in a two-hour ceremony Saturday as a man of integrity and a man who loved the kids he coached and the people he worked with.

"You look at this gym, these people are a testament that actions speak louder than words," Prattville head coach Bill Clark said. "This speaks volumes about the kind of man Lo Pickett was."

Clark's team beat Opelika 23-16 on Friday night to remain undefeated and will play top-ranked Hoover on Saturday at Birmingham's Legion Field for the state championship.

Players and coaches alike said Saturday there is no doubt how Pickett, who helped the Lions win a state title as a player in 1984, would feel about the Lions' accomplishments.

"He'd be more excited than anyone," quarterback Larry Smith said. "He'd be elated that we have a shot to play for the same thing he did in 1984."

Linebackers coach Chuck Dunn said Prattville is focused on one goal now.

"We want to win next week and hold that trophy up high and let him look at it," Dunn said of Pickett.

Clark was one of many to speak at the funeral. He said Pickett's death was like "losing a brother or a son." Mayor Jim Byard said the "Prattville community is a better place because of Lorenzo Pickett."

Prattville High School Principal Lee Hicks spoke to the current and former students in the audience.

"The best way to honor him is to continue to live the way he encouraged you to, doing things the right way," Hicks said. "Lo Pickett's legacy is you."

Autauga County Superintendent Larry Butler was one of Pickett's coaches at Prattville in the early 1980s. Both were a part of the Lions' 1984 championship team. Butler recalled Pickett's success as a player and coach but said his impact was much greater.

"As great as he was on the football field and as great as he was as a coach, that's not what he would want to be remembered for," Butler said. "What he would want to be remembered for was how much he loved these kids."

Former Prattville player Austin Lindsey agreed. Lindsey was a linebacker on the 2004 team and is currently a student at Stillman College.

"He wanted us to be successful," Lindsey said following the service. "The things people have been saying today are true. He had a lot of love for a lot of kids. He stayed on us to do well in school. He made us do our homework. He was a great inspiration in so many areas."

Former Prattville running back Adrian Bradley said Pickett "changed a lot of people."

"He inspired a lot of young men and had a positive impact on us," said Bradley, a 2005 Prattville graduate and a current member of the Samford football team. "He pushed us to make our lives better."

Wetumpka head football coach Chad Anderson grew up in Prattville, graduating in 1994. He said it was hard not to know Pickett if you grew up in Prattville.

"It seems like I've always known him," Anderson said. "He always knew what was going on in the community. He knew how kids were and what they were up to."

Prattville coaches said Pickett, who had a history of seizures, suffered an attack on Thanksgiving morning.