Florida high school football player died at age 18 after collapsing during game

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

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Gainer was running toward the field when he fell to the ground, Port St. Joe's athletic director, vice principal Tim Davis, told the Northwest Florida Daily News. When he fell to the ground, coaches rushed to his side and immediately called emergency medical services.

“He just suddenly fell to the ground,” Davis told the outlet.

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

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Davis said school officials learned of the teen's death about four minutes before the end of Friday's game. The decision was made to end the game, with Port St. Joe winning 28-0.

Gainer's teammates were subsequently informed of his death.

The scene was heartbreaking. Parents came onto the field to comfort their children. “It's such a helpless feeling,” Davis said.

Gainer was a model student who visited Vanderbilt University to discuss a possible admission there, Gulf County Schools Superintendent Jim Norton told WJHG-TV.

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Gainer “had world-class speed, but more importantly, he had a world-class personality,” Norton said.

In August alone, seven high and middle school football players died, prompting parents and authorities to advise stronger safety precautions.

Marty McNair, father of 19-year-old Jordan McNair of Randallstown, Maryland, who collapsed and died of heat stroke during a football practice in 2018, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview that as the fall football season gets into full swing, parents' top priority should be the safety of their children.

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

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

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

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