What happened to Morgan Academy quarterback Caden Tellier?
We are learning more about what may have happened to Morgan Academy quarterback Caden Tellier, who died after suffering an injury during Friday’s season-opening game.
Caden was a 16-year-old junior at Morgan Academy in Selma. He suffered an injury in the third quarter of the home game against Southern Academy of Greensboro and died Saturday at a Birmingham hospital.
Alabama Independent School Association Executive Director Michael McClendon said, “It is believed that Caden suffered a ruptured blood vessel in his brain following a routine play in which he was carrying the ball and was tackled to the ground.”
McLendon says the school is still gathering details, and it might be quite a while before they know for sure what happened to him.
The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research group says deaths during football games are rare.
It says last year, there were 16 deaths nationwide, seven involving high school players.
Among those seven, three were traumatic brain injuries, like what Caden likely experienced, and they all happened in games.
The rest of the deaths in 2023 were caused by other factors, such as heat stroke or cardiac arrest.
Morgan Academy went on to win the game.
It may seem odd that the game wasn’t called off as soon as Caden went down. But McLendon said those in the crowd watching the game “likely did not witness anything unusual” as he was taken off the field.
As we’ve reported, the school has cancelled all activities this week, including the upcoming game at Wilcox Academy.
Morgan Academy is a private, K-12 school with 339 students. But the outpouring of support has extended far beyond its campus. A GoFundMe page has been set up in Caden’s memory.
