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By Victoria St. Martin and Julia Terruso/The Star-Ledger

Seventeen-year-old Jose Pacheco Holley sometimes missed his 11 p.m. curfew.

Usually his dad, Darryl Holley, didn’t think anything of it, but on Friday night he walked outside to look for his son because something just didn’t feel right.

Then the phone rang.

"It was a friend calling, saying my son had been stabbed," Darryl Holley said.

Authorities said the Rahway teen, who was going to be a senior at his city’s high school this fall, was killed during a large fight on Donald Avenue -- about a mile from his home.

Rahway police were called to the street of well-kept homes and lawns after midnight Friday, after reports of brawling were called in to dispatchers, according to a press release from the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.

Officers found Holley suffering from stab wounds and rushed him to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway, where the teen died from his injuries at 12:37 a.m. Saturday.

Investigators have not made any arrests in the killing and are unclear how many people were involved or what prompted the fight, Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said in a release.

As an autopsy was under way and police continued to gather statements Saturday, Holley’s father sat at the family’s dining room table. He was looking at framed photographs of his son and reminiscing about the first time he saw the boy.

"His face just stood out — his eyes and his mouth," Darryl Holley said of the child he adopted as a single father after years of fostering him. "He just looked at me. He just stared at me."

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The younger Holley, originally from Puerto Rico, moved to New Jersey and entered the foster care system around the age of 2, his father said. The two met when the boy was 7, and by the time the adoption was finalized three years later, Darryl Holley decided his son should keep his birth surname, Pacheco, as a middle name.

Often called "Pacheco" by friends, the elder Holley said his son was a loving and affectionate kid. The teen was a football linebacker who had dreams of going to Rutgers University — and someday playing in the NFL. He recently began practicing with Rahway High School’s football team.

Last night, Kyle Thomas found himself drawn to the Pop Warner football field where he had coached Holley for years. Thomas wondered how he’d tell his 4-year-old son — who called Holley "Potato" instead of "Pacheco" — that the big kid he idolized was dead.

"It just didn’t have to happen this way," said Thomas, who led Holley and his 2009 team to the No. 4 spot in the nation among Pop Warner midget teams.

Another Pop Warner coach also remembered Holley fondly.

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"Jose was a great kid. He had a bright future," said Donnell Powell. "Definitely one of the top prospects in Rahway, and it’s a shame that his life was cut short."

Darryl Holley said he can’t help but think the same thing. His son, who was going to celebrate his 18th birthday in October, used to watch Rahway High School graduations from the family’s dining room window.

"He’s always seen the kids graduate in that field, and I was looking forward to watching my son graduate right here," Holley said as he looked toward the spot where his son would have received his diploma.

Holley left the house around 6 p.m. Friday to hang out with friends, family friends said. Darryl Holley said he was told his son went to a party later that night and a fight broke out as the celebration ended.

"What started out as something good turned out to be a nightmare," said a neighbor who declined to give his name.

Before leaving for the night, Holley went over to his father, gave him a kiss and said he loved him.

"And I told him I loved him, but remember your curfew is 11 o’clock," Darryl Holley said.

Star-Ledger staff writer Stefanie Dazio contributed to this report.