Florida high school football player dies after collapsing during game in latest on-field tragedy

A Florida Panhandle high school football player has died after collapsing during a game on Friday night at Liberty County High School in Bristol.

Port St. Joe High School wide receiver and defensive back Chance Gainer collapsed during the game at Liberty County High School. 

The 18-year-old senior was playing cornerback when a play went to the opposite side of the field, said Tim Davis, Port St. Joe’s athletic director and vice principal.

Gainer was running toward the play when he collapsed, Davis told the Northwest Florida Daily News.

‘He just went to the ground suddenly,’ Davis said. Coaches ran to his side and then signaled for paramedics but they were unable to save his life.

He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died. 

Gainer died after collapsing during a game on Friday night at Liberty County High School in Bristol, Florida

Gainer had scored on a 70-yard touchdown earlier in the game and had returned a kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown last week.

Davis said there were about four minutes left in Friday’s game when administrators learned of Gainer’s death. 

The decision was made to let the game finish, with Port St. Joe winning 28-0. Gainer’s teammates were then told of his death.

‘The scene was heartbreaking. Parents came down on the field to comfort their kids. Such a helpless feeling,’ Davis said.

A police escort led the Port St. Joe team bus to the hospital where Gainer had died before the players returned home.

Gainer was an honors student and had recently visited Vanderbilt University to discuss attending there, Gulf County School Superintendent Jim Norton told WJHG.

 He was branded ‘one of the best young men ever to walk the halls at Port St. Joe High School’

Gainer had a grade point average above 4.0 and had recently visited Vanderbilt University to discuss a possible move there

Gainer ‘had world-class speed, but more importantly, had a world-class personality,’ Norton said.

‘He was a remarkable athlete, a beloved teammate, and an overall exceptional young man who loved Jesus. He was quiet but exuded captivating warmth and genuineness that drew people to him’, Norton went on.

He also revealed that the 18-year-old honors student did not have a pulse when paramedics first treated him. They did, however, detect one before he was put in an ambulance. 

Principal Godwin said of Gainer, ‘You may not have heard Chance in the crowd, but you could see his smile from across the room.’ 

Port St. Joe’s game next week has been canceled and a GoFundMe page has been set up to help Gainer’s family and pay for funeral expenses.

‘We want the Gainer family to feel that they are not alone in this heartbreaking moment,’ Norton said in a statement. 

The late football star had a grade point average above 4.0 and had recently visited Vanderbilt University to discuss a possible move there.  

Authorities are lining up grief counselors to come into the school next week to help players, students, teachers and staff following the tragedy. 

The National Federation of State High School Associations said last week that six high school players had died within the past month, four of them from heart issues and two from being hit.