Teen dies after head injury during high school football game

Melissa Alonso and Amy Simonson, CNN

(CNN) — An Alabama organization is successful mourning pursuing nan decease of a precocious schoolhouse backmost who suffered a encephalon wounded during nan school’s play opener Friday night, according to statements from schoolhouse officials and nan teen’s family.

Caden Tellier was taken to a infirmary successful captious information aft a caput wounded successful John T. Morgan Academy’s crippled against visiting Southern Academy successful Selma, officials said Friday. His decease was announced nan adjacent day.

Tellier was 16, CNN connection WSFA reported. The school’s headmaster, Bryan Oliver, confirmed Tellier was an organ donor, AL.com reported.

“Our boy, Caden Tellier has met Jesus look to face,” Tellier’s parents said Saturday successful a statement. “Everyone who knows Caden has known kindness, generosity and love, and existent to his nature, he is giving of himself 1 much time.”

“Lives person been touched by nan measurement he lived and now lives will beryllium saved done his passing,” his parents’ connection said.

“While we whitethorn not cognize nan afloat communicative for immoderate time, first reports are that Caden apt suffered a ruptured humor alloy successful his encephalon pursuing a regular play successful which he was tackled and made interaction pinch nan ground,” Alabama Independent School Association Executive Director Michael McLendon told CNN successful a statement.

School officials are still gathering specifications astir nan incident, McLendon said, and it could beryllium “quite immoderate clip earlier we person much accusation astir nan wounded and wide incident,” he said.

Those successful nan crowd watching nan crippled “likely did not witnesser thing unusual,” he said.

Deaths during shot games are uncommon crossed each levels of play, experts say.

There were 16 deaths among shot players successful 2023, including 7 among precocious schoolhouse players, according to information collected by nan National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research.

Among those deaths, 3 were traumatic encephalon injuries — 2 successful precocious schoolhouse shot and 1 successful younker league. All 3 occurred during games. The remainder of nan deaths successful 2023 were considered exertional aliases medical, pinch deaths caused by power stroke, abrupt cardiac apprehension and pulmonary embolism among them.

Oliver called Tellier a sparkling ray who graced nan halls of his backstage school. “He was a student, a friend, an jock and astir important a Christ follower. There are nary words to picture really we consciousness arsenic a schoolhouse organization and family,” Oliver said successful a connection posted connected societal media.

A work will beryllium scheduled soon, nan Tellier family said. Morgan Academy schoolhouse officials person suspended each schoolhouse activities this week, according to nan schoolhouse association.

By early Monday, a Go Fund Me campaign to thief screen aesculapian and different expenses for nan family had raised much than $76,000.