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Jersey Shore senior football player Max Engle has died, according to a heartbreaking statement from his family that was shared on the school district’s Facebook page Saturday.
The news comes just more than a week after Engle collapsed on the field during his team’s game against Selinsgrove.
In its statement posted Saturday, the family expressed its “immense gratitude and appreciation for the love and support” it has received while Engle fought for his life in a hospital.
“The huge outpouring of love of thoughts and prayers have been of great comfort to us during this time,” the statement read. “Max has been fighting hard through this week, but he needed to move on to fulfill a greater purpose.
“On Friday, September 15th, he joined the Lord and those who loved him and have gone before him,” the statement continued. “Please know he felt all your love and prayers.”
The statement said Engle was the type of person who liked to “bring people together.”
“We feel he has been bringing people together during this time of uncertainty,” the statement read. “We choose to believe he is proudly smiling at this unification of community. The generous gifts you have bestowed upon our family will be used to honor Max as well as to move forward a message of togetherness, community and love.”
Engle collapsed with 11.4 seconds left in last Friday’s game against Selinsgrove, according to The Daily Item, and “trainers and EMTs worked on the Bulldogs’ senior for nearly 10 minutes before he was taken away in an ambulance.”
Jersey Shore Superintendent Brian T. Ulmer updated his status Tuesday with a heartbreaking statement on the district website.
“It is with heavy hearts that we must share distressing news regarding one of our own,” Ulmer wrote. “Max Engle’s condition has rapidly declined and the medical prognosis is not good.”
Jersey Shore postponed Friday’s game against Shikellamy.
“We will play again,” a post from the district read. “But our players and the rest of the Bulldogs need some time.”
Many programs and fan bases across the state wore orange in honor of Engle during Friday’s games.
“Max was a warrior on the football field and fought hard to earn a place amongst his Brothers in Orange,” Saturday’s statement from his family read. “He had respect for his coaches and competitors. Above all, was his loyalty to his teammates. We are thinking of them during this time and are also praying for all those who have been affected by this tragedy. Max was lucky to have a close group of friends that were like family. We are holding them close to our hearts.
“Our family feels immensely blessed to have spent 17 beautiful years with Max,” it continued. “It is difficult not to feel cheated, but we are trying to focus on how fortunate we are to have had him in our lives. He will be greatly missed every single day and we know he will be with us in everything we do. Although Max’s next adventure is not what we thought, we know he is doing greater things than we had hoped for.
Also on Friday, Oil City’s Hayden Wilson was stretchered off the field in a neck brace and flown to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, according to The Derrick, after suffering a neck injury. Wilson has reportedly since been released from the hospital.
Another player, Karns City quarterback Mason Martin, continues to battle for his life in a Pittsburgh-area hospital as well after collapsing in the third quarter of his team’s Sept. 1 game against Redbank Valley.
According to D9Sports.com, he had just played a defensive series and went out on the field as part of the kick return team when the head official, identified as Mike Vasbinder, said he saw the player “wobble and sway.”
The report said that Vasbinder asked Martin if he was OK, and the player responded, “No,” before he fell to the turf.
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