A Florida high school football player died after collapsing on the field during a game Friday night, becoming the seventh young athlete to die in the sport in the past month.
Less than a month after his 18th birthday, Port St. Joe High School senior cornerback Chance Gaynor lost consciousness just before halftime of Friday's game against Liberty County High School in Bristol, Florida. According to NPR.
He collapsed while running toward a play that was unfolding on the other side of the field, according to Tim Davis, athletic director and vice principal at Port St. Joe High School.
“All of a sudden he fell to the ground,” Davis said.
Coaches rushed to the field and called paramedics, who took Gaynor to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
The talented player has been outstanding this season, throwing a 70-yard touchdown on Friday and returning a kickoff 83 yards for a score last week.
The teams finished the game with Port St. Joe winning, 28-0, but Gaynor's teammates were notified of his death afterward.
“It was heartbreaking,” Davis said. “Parents came down onto the field to comfort their children. It was a really helpless feeling.”
Following the horrific tragedy, family, friends, and school officials gathered at the school to show their support for Gaynor's family, who were joined by Gaynor's family, according to NPR.
“We want the Gaynor family to feel that they are not alone in this heartbreaking moment,” Gulf District Superintendent Jim Norton said in a statement.
“Gaynor was a great athlete, a beloved teammate and a wonderful young man who loved Jesus,” Norton said, adding that although Gaynor was quiet, “he exuded an infectious warmth and sincerity.”
“He's a fine young man who could be a hero,” Norton said. According to CNN:“I would like to call Chance a friend.”
Port St. Joe School Principal Cissy Godwin agreed, saying, “You may not have heard Chance's voice in the crowd, but you could have seen his smile from across the room.”
Gaynor, a senior and honors student, is considering attending Vanderbilt University and recently visited the campus, Norton said.
The superintendent added that Gaynor “had world-class speed but, more importantly, had world-class character.”
According to a GoFundMe set up for her family, Gaynor was “not only a star athlete, but also a beloved classmate.”
“The team, school, community and most importantly the family are truly saddened by Chance's passing,” a fundraiser said. “Your participation will not only help financially, but also show the heartwarming community spirit that we so cherish.”
As of Monday afternoon, the GoFundMe had raised nearly $65,000 of its $75,000 goal.
Gaynor's tragic end is the latest in a string of deaths of high school football players across the country.
Last week, the National Association of State High School Athletic Associations announced that six student-athletes had died in the past month.
Two died from severe head injuries and a further four died from heart problems, according to reports.
With post wire
