Sports
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) — A Florida Panhandle high school football player has died after collapsing during a game, officials said.
Port St. Joe High School wide receiver and defensive back Chance Gainer collapsed during Friday night’s game at Liberty County High School. The 18-year-old senior was playing cornerback when a play went to the opposite side of the field, said Tim Davis, Port St. Joe’s athletic director and vice principal.
Gainer was running toward the play when he collapsed, Davis told the Northwest Florida Daily News.
“He just went to the ground suddenly,” Davis said.
Trainers ran to his side and then signaled for paramedics. He was taken by ambulance to hospital where he died. Gainer had scored a 70-yard touchdown earlier in the game and had returned a kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown last week.
Davis said there were about four minutes left in Friday’s game when administrators learned of Gainer’s death. The decision was made to allow the match to end, with Port St. Joe who won 28-0. Gainer’s teammates then learned of his death.
“The scene was heartbreaking. Parents came down on the field to comfort their children. Such a helpless feeling,” Davis said.
A police escort led the team bus from Port St. Joe to the hospital where Gainer had died before the players returned home.
Gainer was an honor roll student and had recently visited Vanderbilt University to discuss attending, Gulf County School Superintendent Jim Norton told WJHG-TV.
Gainer “had world-class speed, but more importantly, had a world-class personality,” Norton said.
Port St. Joe’s match next week has been cancelled.
The National Federation of State High School Associations said last week that six high school players had died in the past month, four of them from heart problems and two from being hit.
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This version corrects that Friday’s match was not canceled after Gainer’s collapse.