Florida high school football player collapses during game, later dies

A high school football player collapsed during his game on Friday night and later died.

Chance Gainer was Port St. Joe High School’s wide receiver and defensive back, The Associated Press reported.

He was in the cornerback position when he was running toward a play on the other side of the field and collapsed the Northwest Florida Daily News reported.

Tim Davis, the school’s athletic director and vice principal, told the newspaper, “He just went to the ground suddenly.”

Paramedics, signaled by coaches, took the 18-year-old student to a hospital where he died.

Gainer had scored a 70-yard touchdown on Friday and returned a kickoff 83 yards the week before.

He was an honors student and had visited Vanderbilt University about possibly attending the school, WJHG reported.

Gulf District Schools Superintendent Jim Norton said Gainer’s death was a “tragic loss” and “our community is in profound sorrow.”

“He was a remarkable athlete, a beloved teammate, and an overall exceptional young man who loved Jesus,” Norton said in a statement, NBC News reported. “Chance was quiet but exuded captivating warmth and genuineness that drew people to him.”

There were still four minutes left in the game between Port St. Joe High School but the decision was made to let the game finish before telling Gainer’s teammates of his death.

“The scene was heartbreaking. Parents came down on the field to comfort their kids. Such a helpless feeling,” Davis told the newspaper.

The team eventually got on their bus and went to the hospital where Gainer died, taken by a police escort, before they went home.

Eventually, members of the community gathered at the school “just to be together,” Norton said, according to NBC News.

Port St. Joe beat Liberty Count High School on Liberty’s field 28-0.

Port St. Joe’s game this week was canceled.

So far at least six high school football players have died in the past month. Four had heart issues and two after being hit, the AP reported.

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