Kansas High School Football Player Dies After Collapsing at Game

After collapsing during a Kansas high school football playoff game Tuesday, multisport star Luke Schemm was taken off life support and died Wednesday night in the Denver hospital to which he was airlifted.  

According to the Associated Press (h/t CBSNews.com), the 17-year-old senior fell to the ground on the sideline shortly after scoring a touchdown for Wallace County High School. No hits to the head were detected during the game, and school principal Brian McVay is unsure of what caused the tragic incident: "The team was gathered on the sidelines getting ready to go for the kick. Before they even left the sideline, he just collapsed. But as far as why, I haven't had time to track that down."

Per Angela Smith of KWCH.com, Schemm's father, David Schemm, revealed that his son suffered brain trauma, which caused it to swell and shut off blood flow.

According to Deb Stanley of 7News in Denver, David Schemm released a statement regarding Luke, who played basketball and ran track in addition to playing football: "We have come to terms that Luke, our beautiful gift from God, is no longer with us. Luke gave everything in life that he had. He approached sports with that same passion. Life without risk is no life at all."

While the events that led up to Schemm's untimely death remain unclear, this represents the 11th fatality linked to high school football since July, per NBC Nightly News.

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