California high school football player collapses on sideline, later dies

The night high school football largely returned to California was met with tragic news near the state Capitol on Friday.

According to the Sacramento Bee, Kennedy (Sacramento) senior lineman Emmanuel Antwi collapsed on the sideline in the fourth quarter of the team's season opener at home with Hiram Johnson. He later died.

The game was stopped in the fourth quarter and did not resume after Antwi received medical attention, including 10 minutes of CPR, before being taken to a local hospital, according to media reports.

A Sacramento City Unified School District press release on Saturday read: "Today we learned that Emmanuel Antwi, a John F. Kennedy senior athlete, died after a medical emergency during Friday night's football game. We do not have many details to share beyond this. Our hearts go out to Emmanuel's family and our school community during this difficult time. We ask all to give them privacy and time for healing and comfort as they grieve."

A gofundme.com page was set up to help with Antwi's funeral costs. Along with request came this from the organizer: "After waiting months due to COVID-19, the first football game of the season was finally here! He just told his football coach that he finally got his driver's license. He was so excited. Emmanuel "Manny" was loved by so many and he was a great young man and he definitely was too young to pass away."

The high school football season resumed March 12 in some parts of the state, a year after sports were put on pause throughout the country due to the coronavirus pandemic. Friday, however, was the opening date for the majority of the football teams in California, including Kennedy.

Citing a National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) annual study, the Bee reported there have been 34 football-related deaths the last 10 years among middle and high school-age kids. None were reported during the 2020 fall season, which football was played by 35 states.