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Western Kan. high school football player dies after collapsing UPDATE

Luke Schemm- courtesy photo
Luke Schemm- courtesy photo

SHARON SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas high school football player who collapsed on the sideline during a game died Wednesday after being taken off of life support, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Luke Schemm had just scored the extra point after a touchdown when the 17-year-old ran to the sidelines and collapsed, his father, David Schemm, said at a news conference earlier Wednesday at Swedish Medical Center in the Denver suburb of Englewood, where the teen had been declared brain-dead.

“Luke, our beautiful gift from God, is no longer with us,” Schemm said.

Hospital spokeswoman Nicole Williams told The Associated Press that Luke Schemm was “kept on life support so family and friends can pay their respects.” She later confirmed that life support was withdrawn Wednesday afternoon and the teen was declared dead.

Brian McVay, superintendent and principal of Wallace County schools, said he didn’t know why Schemm collapsed during the Eight-Man Division II game at Wallace County High in Sharon Springs, Kansas.

“The team was gathered on the sidelines getting ready to go for the kick. Before they even left the sideline, he just collapsed,” McVay said. “But as far as why, I haven’t had time to track that down.”

He said Schemm was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, then flown to the hospital in Colorado, about 220 miles west of Sharon Springs.

Asked by a reporter whether he thought Schemm’s team should still play in Saturday’s quarterfinal playoff game against Ingalls, Schemm indicated that the players should push through their grief and compete.

“Luke gave his all on the field,” he said. “He lived his life with a passion, and that’s what we want them to do.”

Gary Musselman, executive director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association, said game officials didn’t see Schemm sustain any head or neck contact during the game.

He said if Schemm’s death is determined to be football-related, it would be the third in Kansas in 17 years.

“Any death is one too many,” Musselman said. “We just are heartsick any time a youngster prematurely passes because of whatever reason.”

From July through Wednesday there have been 11 reported deaths in high school football in the U.S., according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The center said seven of those deaths were directly related to a football trauma and four were indirectly related, meaning other health issues contributed to the death.

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SHARON SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — The father of a Kansas high school football player who collapsed on the sidelines during a playoff game says his son is on life support but has no brain activity.

David Schemm held a news conference Wednesday outside Swedish Medical Center in the Denver suburb of Englewood, where his son Luke was flown Tuesday night.

He says the Wallace County High School senior had just scored the point after a touchdown and ran to the sidelines, where he collapsed.

Schemm says his son had no prior health issues. He doesn’t know what caused his injuries.

A hospital spokeswoman says Luke is being kept on life support so family and friends can pay their respects. She says he has been declared brain-dead.

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SHARON SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — A western Kansas high school football player has died the day after collapsing during a game.

Brian McVay, superintendent and principal of Wallace County schools, said Wednesday that Luke Schemm, a senior at Wallace County High School, died at a Denver hospital where he had been taken after collapsing during the game Tuesday night.

He says it’s unclear if Schemm suffered any injuries during the Eight-Man Division I game, but that Schemm had just scored a touchdown and an extra point when he collapsed on the sidelines.

Gary Musselman, with the Kansas State High School Activities Association, says officials didn’t see Schemm sustain any head contact during the game. He says if Schemm’s death is determined to be football-related, it would be the third in Kansas in 17 years.

On Wednesday, Luke’s father David Schemm shared on social media, “A beautiful gift from God was taken away from Lisa an I last night. Luke Schemm suffered trauma to the brain, causing it to swell an shut off blood flow to the brain. Thank you to everyone for your prayers an reaching out to is. Please continue to reach out to us, it is going to be a very difficult time for us, an we will only be able to make it thru with the help of God, family, friends, an community.”

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