Bogan High School Football Player Dies After Injury During Game Thursday
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 17-year-old senior football player at Bogan High School has died of injuries suffered Thursday in a Public League playoff game.
Andre Smith was blocked hard to the ground, hitting his head on the final play of Bogan's 78-22 loss to Chicago Vocational.
He walked off the field but collapsed moments later and was hospitalized overnight. A school board spokesman said Andre died late Friday morning.
The Cook County medical examiner ruled Smith died from blunt force head injuries.
The news shocked the young man's peers. Students were warned by administrators not to comment but told WBBM there was crying in the hallways and that most of the senior football players left classes after learning of his death.
The fact that it was the final play of a winless season weighed hard on Donetta Hartley, whose son Trevon Jackson is a sophomore fullback on Bogan's junior varsity.
"It's hurtful. My son plays football," Hartley said. "That could have been my son."
The sophomore's mother said she would think twice before allowing her son to play football next fall.
Dozens of classmates left messages of shock and sorrow on Smith's Facebook page. An 18-year-old friend who graduated from Bogan in June, Daniel Smith (no relation), said everyone liked Andre and he got along with everyone.
"He was a cool person," Daniel Smith said. "He was joyful. He was playful. He played a lot."
Schools CEO Forrest Claypool issued a statement saying hearts are "heavy and saddened. A spokesman said the Public League follows all Illinois High School Association safety regulations.
The Illinois High School Association has released a statement saying in part, "Andre's death is the seventh nationally by a high school football player this year and the first in Illinois since a Hall High School (Spring Valley) player passed away from complications related to an enlarged heart in 2012. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Smith family and the entire Bogan community tonight."