An Alabama high school football player died after suffering a brain injury in a game on Friday night between John T. Morgan Academy and Southern Academy played in Selma.
Junior quarterback Caden Tellier, 16, was injured on a tackle during the third quarter. He was flown to UAB hospital in Birmingham, where he died on Saturday.
Full details of what happened aren’t yet reported, but Alabama Independent School Association Executive Director Michael McLendon told CNN that reports indicated Tellier likely suffered a ruptured blood vessel in his brain when he made contact with the field on a routine tackle.
“Everyone who knows Caden has known kindness, generosity and love, and true to his nature, he is giving of himself one more time,” the Tellier family said in a statement, via ABC News. “Lives have been touched by the way he lived and now lives will be saved through his passing.”
McLendon added that Morgan Academy has canceled all classes and activities this week, “giving their community time to come together, reflect and support one another through this heartbreaking time.” That will include Friday’s scheduled game at Wilcox Academy.
A GoFundMe page has been established to cover Tellier’s funeral expenses and has raised more than $75,000 toward its $100,000 goal, according to NBC News. Morgan Academy headmaster Dr. Bryan Oliver confirmed that Tellier was an organ donor.
