KEVIN RAUCH/FOR THE EXPRESS Despite frigid temperatures and an impending storm, members of the Renovo community and beyond turned out in droves on Saturday for a benefit to support Bucktail senior Xander Shearer, who is currently in the ICU at UPMC Williamsport following an accident in December.

KEVIN RAUCH/FOR THE EXPRESS
Bucktail seniors Xander Shearer, left, and Joey Bunsick took a turn at the photo booth over Flaming Foliage Weekend this past October. On Dec. 9, a vehicle accident left Xander at UPMC Williamsport in the ICU, leaving his family and classmates coping with not having their beloved son, brother and friend around and in the battle of his life.

RENOVO — A repeated theme in every graduating class at Bucktail High School is closeness. Students often see themselves as more like family than those who simply attend the same classes together over 13 years.

That closeness has been put on display following a recent tragedy that affected one of the 25 students set to receive their diplomas at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 year.

Classmates, and community members in and around Renovo, have turned their attention to offering support for classmate Xander Shearer, of Renovo, and his family following a devastating accident along state Route 120 late last year.

Following the accident on Dec. 9, Xander has been in the ICU at UPMC Williamsport, sedated since the accident. He faces many unknowns in the near future, but what left no doubt was how quickly the community responded with love and compassion.

“The GoFundMe raised over $14,000 in just a few days, it was pretty amazing,” said Xander’s older brother, Brad, of the online fundraiser held in the days following the accident.

A dinner on Xander’s behalf was held Saturday evening at the Renovo Fire Department, continuing to show the community’s dedication to their own.

“Everything that you see here, more than 50 baskets, the food, the firehall itself was donated, it’s been pretty incredible how the community has stepped up,” Brad said at the event.

Even as the Blizzard of 2026 was just hours away and as frigid, single-digit temperatures were found in gusting winds outside, the dinner was a success. It saw a non-stop group of supporters, just under 300, make their trek to the firehall for Xander.

Since he was a small child, Xander had been a fixture at Bucktail basketball events, often near the front doors greeting people as they walked in.

As he got older, he moved on to the court, playing for Bucktail junior high and varsity basketball teams.

As a pitcher Xander found his place on the Bucktail baseball team since his ninth grade season, leaving an impression on his coach, Casey Friese.

“Xander absolutely loves the game of baseball and he’s the kind of kid who puts in the work well beyond scheduled practices,” Friese said. “From competing on a strong travel team to grinding on his own to get better, he’s dealt with more than his share of injuries along the way but he kept fighting back, and heading into his senior season he was poised to make a real impact.”

“He’s a great kid and an even better teammate,” Casey said of Xander.

Outside of school sports, Xander had started to become a fixture on the Renovo cornhole phenomenon, even holding a tournament for the Knights of Columbus of Renovo as his senior project this past fall.

Classmates have rallied around Xander as best they can, including Saturday’s benefit dinner being taken on by Austin Mosher as his senior project.

Less than two months prior to his accident, Xander represented his school as an escort with hostess Emiliana DeMarte for Flaming Foliage Weekend.

Classmate Eva Sockman was happy to have shared the experience with him, as well as having him as a fellow 12th grader at Bucktail.

“Xander is the kind of classmate who makes the room feel lighter just by being in it. He’s friends with everyone,” Sockman offered. “He’s known for his passion for sports and being great at corn hole. Many of our classmates donated items to create a basket for this dinner.”

Sockman added, “we continue to pray for his recovery.”

As for his recovery, according to his brother, all that is really known is that it will be a long journey. But they have an entire town behind him and even beyond, that has been of tremendous mental support for the family.

Brad explained that Xander has not verbally responded yet following the accident, but that is expected as he is still in the initial stages and even recovery aspect of brain trauma.

“They haven’t said much about his future. But it does seem that they feel that he can recover well. We just all feel like it’s time for him to get to a different environment and onto the next step of recovery,” Brad said of future plans. He noted they are likely looking into the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.

“You can’t help but to see what Xander has meant to everyone, even people that we don’t know have contributed to him and us, everyone has been super supportive,” Brad said of the last month and a half.