Florida high school football player dies after collapsing during game in latest on-field tragedy
A Florida Panhandle high school football player has died after fainting during a game Friday night at Liberty County High School in Bristol.
Port St. Joe High School wide receiver and defensive back Chance Gainer collapsed during the game at Liberty County High School.
The 18-year-old senior was playing cornerback when a ball went to the other side of the field, said Tim Davis, Port St. Joe’s athletic director and assistant principal.
Gainer was running toward the game when he collapsed, Davis told the Daily news from Northwest Florida.
“He just suddenly went to the ground,” Davis said. Coaches ran to his side and then signaled for emergency services, but they were unable to save his life.
He was taken to hospital by ambulance, where he died.
Chance Gainer, 18, collapsed during a game in Port St Joe on Friday night and died
Gainer died after collapsing during a game Friday night at Liberty County High School in Bristol, Florida.
Gainer had scored a 70-yard touchdown earlier in the game and a kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown last week.
According to Davis, there were about four minutes left in Friday’s game when administrators learned of Gainer’s death.
It was decided to let the game run, and Port St. Joe won 28-0. Gainer’s teammates were then told that he had died.
“The scene was heartbreaking. Parents came onto the field to comfort their children. What a helpless feeling,” Davis said.
The Port St. Joe team bus was taken to the hospital under police escort, where Gainer died. The players then returned home.
Gainer was an excellent student and had recently visited Vanderbilt University to discuss attending, said Jim Norton, Gulf County school superintendent WJHG.
He was called ‘one of the finest young men to ever walk the halls of Port St. Joe High School’
Gainer had a grade point average above 4.0 and had recently visited Vanderbilt University to discuss a possible move there
Gainer “had world-class speed, but more importantly, he had a world-class personality,” Norton said.
“He was a remarkable athlete, a beloved teammate, and an overall exceptional young man who loved Jesus. He was quiet, but exuded a charming warmth and sincerity that drew people to him,” Norton continued.
He also revealed that the 18-year-old honours student had no pulse when paramedics first treated him, but they detected one before he was placed in an ambulance.
Director Godwin said of Gainer, “You may not have heard Chance in the audience, but you could see his smile from across the room.”
Next week’s Port St. Joe game has been canceled and a GoFundMe A page has been set up to help Gainer’s family and pay for funeral expenses.
“We want the Gainer family to know that they are not alone in this heartbreaking moment,” Norton said in a statement.
The late soccer star had a grade point average above 4.0 and recently visited Vanderbilt University to discuss a possible transfer there.
Authorities are in the process of hiring grief counselors who will come to the school next week to help players, students, teachers and staff in the wake of the tragedy.
The National Federation of State High School Associations reported last week that six high school players have died in the past month, four of them from heart problems and two from blows.