A high school sophomore and football standout died Wednesday, two weeks after sustaining a blow to the head during a game. Xavier McClain, a student at Linden High School in New Jersey, “suffered a traumatic brain injury while playing” a Big Central Conference game, Linden Mayor Derek Armstead wrote on Facebook. While authorities have not confirmed how Xavier sustained the fatal injury, a witness told NJ.com that the teenager sustained a blow to the head as he returned the second-half kickoff. Videos show that play stopped while an ambulance arrived on the sideline. The game happened just a day after a senior and budding football talent at a neighboring high school died in his sleep.
