High school football player dies from head injuries

CARTHAGE, N.Y. — A high school football player has died after sustaining a head injury during a weekend game, the 14-year-old's father said on social media.

"We all prayed for a miracle to happen for you to be saved. Sadly, the damage was just too much," Jason Christman wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday.

Tyler Christman, a freshman at Carthage High School, was injured during a junior varsity game against West Genesee High School on Saturday.

In a display of support Monday, students and families, many wearing the school's color red gathered at a local park for a rally illuminated by lights from first responders' vehicles, WWNY in Watertown reported.

"You will always be our hero and soon you will be a hero to the people that receive your life saving organ donations," Jason Christman wrote, "and a hero to all the family members who have spent many sleepless nights praying for their miracle."

Tyler Christman was at least the second high school football player to die of a head injury in recent months.

Dale Martin, 18, sustained a fatal brain injury during an April 1 game in Colville, Washington.

At least two other players have died after falling ill while practicing. Ivan Hicks, 16, collapsed on the field during warm-ups at West Catholic Preparatory High School in Philadelphia in July, local media reported. In August, 17-year-old Jack Alkhatib died at a hospital shortly after collapsing during practice at Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, South Carolina.

The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina tracked a total of 14 middle and high school football deaths in 2019.