16-year-old Morgan Academy football player Caden Tellier suffered a brain injury during a game.
An Alabama high school football player died Saturday at the age of 16 after suffering a brain injury during his team’s opening game Saturday night.
Caden Tellier, Morgan Academy’s junior quarterback, suffered a blow to the head after a tackle in the third quarter of his team’s 30-22 victory over Southern Academy in Selma, Alabama.
Tellier was taken by helicopter to the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital, but succumbed to his injuries on Saturday evening.
The Alabama teenager’s death was the fourth fatal accident in high school football this month.
“Our boy Caden Tellier has come to know Jesus face to face,” his family said in a statement shared on social media. “We appreciate all of your prayers and ask for them for the difficult days ahead.”
Caden Tellier, a high school football player in Alabama, died at the age of 16 from a brain injury
“Everyone who knows Caden has experienced kindness, generosity and love, and true to his nature, he gives of himself once again. His life touched lives, and now his death will save lives. We will walk by his side in his earthly body for the next few days, knowing that his spirit rejoices in heaven.”
There was initial confusion about the incident when a statement from Michael McLendon, executive director of the Alabama Independent School Association, was shared on social media around 12 p.m. ET on Saturday.
The statement said the school had suffered a “tragic loss” before being deleted and replaced with a new post later that afternoon, clarifying that Tellier had suffered a “tragic injury” and was in critical condition at the time.
Tellier died later that evening. The family said a memorial service would be organized soon.
“It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Caden Tellier has gone to be with his Lord and Savior. Caden loved the Lord with all his heart and was a shining light every day he walked into the halls of Morgan Academy. He was a student, a friend, an athlete and, most importantly, a follower of Christ,” Bryan Oliver, principal of Morgan Academy, told Fox News.
“There are no words to describe how we feel as a school community and family. We will come together and support Jamie, Arsella and Lyla with all our hearts. We also extend our deepest condolences to the Telliers’ extended family.”
Tellier, the junior quarterback of Morgan Academy, suffered a blow to the head during the game
His family confirmed the 16-year-old’s death in a statement on social media
“I want to thank all the schools and individuals who helped us during this difficult time. Caden will forever be remembered for who he was and what he meant to Morgan Academy.”
Oliver confirmed that the school will cancel all sports activities for next week, including a football game scheduled for Friday at Wilcox Academy.
Tellier was a dual-sport athlete, playing both football and baseball for Morgan Academy.
In his first year as a sophomore in 2023 as a varsity starter, he threw for 1,228 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions in eight games. In baseball, he posted a .311 batting average with two home runs and 10 RBIs last spring.
Tellier’s death was the second incident on a football field in southern Alabama and the fourth in the entire United States this month.
Semaj Wilkins, a freshman at New Brockton High School, died last week at age 14 after collapsing during a practice in sweltering heat.
Wilkins suffered a medical emergency around 4:30 p.m. on August 13, when the area was under a Level 3 heat risk, which is considered high. Temperatures in the area were around 100 degrees at 4 p.m., according to local station WDHN.
Speaking to WDHN, the players defended the school’s heat protocol.
Semaj Wilkins, a freshman at New Brockton High School, died at the age of 14 after a collapse
15-year-old Ovet Gomez Regalado died in a medical emergency after training
Later that week, a Missouri high school football player tragically died after suffering a medical emergency following a practice in 100-degree heat.
Ovet Gomez Regalado, a 15-year-old sophomore at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in Kansas City, Missouri, was participating in offseason football practice for the school team he has played for since his freshman year.
Jayvion Taylor, 15, another high school football star, died in front of his teammates after suffering a heart attack during practice in early August.
Last Monday evening, he had already trained for about 40 minutes at Hopewell High School when he collapsed after a drink break.
Two trainers attempted to resuscitate Taylor and called 911. Paramedics arrived and took him to the hospital, where he died.
Taylor was a Year 10 student who played football for the school. The school has since remembered him as a “genuine and remarkable student.”
