Bogan High School Player Dies after Injured During Football Game

A football player from Bogan High School died Friday after being injured during a game against Chicago Vocational High School.

Andre Smith, 17, was transported from the field at Stagg Stadum to Advocate Christ Medical Center Thursday evening.

“It was a kick-return play,” Stagg Stadium announcer Jimmy Smith told the Chicago Sun-Times. “(Smith) was running and a guy blocked him, hit him pretty good and that was it. He went down and he got back up and walked back to the visitor’s side of the field.”

A paramedic at the game examined Smith and later called the ambulance. Smith was breathing but unconscious when he was taken from the field in critical condition. He never regained consciousness, and was pronounced dead at 6:10 a.m. Friday. An autopsy is likely for Saturday. His family is of the 4200 block of 188th Street in Country Club Hills, but Smith lived in Chicago. He had two sisters and one brother. Smith began his high school career at Rich Central in Olympia Fields, transferring to Bogan last year.

Friends opened up about Smith Friday, describing him as ”an exciting kid,” who lived the sport—and loved to shop. He had goals of playing at the collegiate level, with hopes of walking on the team at Western Illinois next year.

“He was just a great kid, never negative,” friend Cantrell Davis told the Chicago Sun-Times. “His smile was just perfect.”

He was a jokester, his stepfather Dwayne told the Chicago Tribune—”a good guy who was always a lot of fun.”

CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said in a statement that grief counselors were on-site Friday morning.

“For all of us at Chicago Public Schools, our hearts are heavy and saddened this morning to learn that one of our student athletes at Bogan High School has passed away,” the statement read. “We ask that you respect the privacy of the student’s family and keep them in your thoughts and prayers.”

The IHSA will seek additional information on how the injury occurred.