Florida high school football player dead at 18 after collapsing during game

close

Video

Fox News Flash Top Sports Headlines for September 8

Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

A Florida high school football player died after collapsing during a game on Friday night.

Chance Gainer played wide receiver and defensive back for Port St. Joe High School. The 18-year-old senior collapsed during a game at Liberty County High School.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Gainer was running toward the play when he went down, Port St. Joe athletic director, Vice Principal Tim Davis, told the Northwest Florida Daily News. Coaches rushed to his side when he went down and called for paramedics immediately.

"He just went to the ground suddenly," Davis told the outlet.

The incident occurred on Friday night. (Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Gainer, who scored a touchdown in the game, was taken to a hospital in an ambulance. He later died at the hospital. 

GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL WHERE DEADLY SHOOTING HAPPENED GETS WAVE OF EMOTIONAL RESPONSES FROM FOOTBALL RIVALS

Davis said there were about four minutes left in Friday’s game when school officials learned of the teen’s death. The decision was made to finish the game with Port St. Joe winning, 28-0.

Gainer’s teammates were then told of his death.

The scene was heartbreaking. Parents came down on the field to comfort their kids. "Such a helpless feeling," Davis said.

Gainer was an honors student who visited Vanderbilt University to discuss possibly attending there, Gulf County School Superintendent Jim Norton told WJHG-TV.

Chance Gainer was an honors student.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Gainer "had world-class speed, but more importantly, had a world-class personality," Norton said.

There were seven deaths of high school and middle school football players in August alone, prompting warnings from parents and officials about taking better safety measures.

Marty McNair, father of 19-year-old Jordan McNair of Randallstown, Maryland, who collapsed during football practice in 2018 and died of heatstroke, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview that has the fall football season really gets into the thick of it, parents should prioritize their children's safety first.

The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research reported 16 total football-related deaths in 2023. Nine of those 16 victims were in middle or high school.

In the months of July and August over the past three academic years, there were six football deaths in 2021, three in 2022 and two in 2023, according to NCCSIR statistics.

Fox News' Audrey Conklin and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.