Lafayette football players get surprise visit as step-dad comes home from Iraq

Branden and Conner Layne, brothers and football players for Lexington’s Lafayette High School, thought the highlight of Monday night’s Fayette school board meeting would be that their team was honored for coming in second in the 6A football state championship.

Instead, unbeknownst to the boys, their stepfather Army Sgt. Anthony Steinman, had arrived home from a tour of duty in Iraq and surprised them and their 5 year old sister Victoria Steinman at the meeting.

There were plenty of tears. Sgt Steinman had been gone for nine months. He left on Mother’s Day.

“I was surprised,” said Conner, 15, “I had no idea he was coming in today.”

“I couldn’t wait to see them,” said Sgt. Steinman.”I’m glad it’s a surprise. I was worried they would see Facebook.”

Branden,17, said he expected that his stepfather would come home sometime in the next several days.

“When he was gone I really tried to step up and help my mom,” he said.

“We’d been trying to plan surprising them for the last couple of days, but my flights kept getting delayed. I was going to try to catch them at school today and it didn’t work out,” Sgt.Steinman said.

With her husband’s absences “it’s a tough lifestyle,” said the boys’ mother Jennifer Steinman,” but we’re blessed.”

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 8:08 PM with the headline "Lafayette football players get surprise visit as step-dad comes home from Iraq."