Alabama high school football player dies after suffering injury during ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- An Alabama high school football player died Saturday, a day after he was critically injured during a game.

Morgan Academy quarterback Caden Tellier was hurt following a tackle in the third quarter of the school's game Friday night against Southern Academy in Selma, headmaster Bryan Oliver told Al.com. Tellier, a 16-year-old junior, suffered a brain injury and was flown to the University of Alabama at Birmingham hospital Friday night, Oliver said.

Tellier's family announced his death on social media, Al.com reported.

"Our boy, Caden Tellier has met Jesus face to face. We appreciate all of your prayers, and we covet them for the hard days ahead," their statement said. "Everyone who knows Caden has known kindness, generosity and love, and true to his nature, he is giving of himself one more time. Lives have been touched by the way he lived and now lives will be saved through his passing."

Oliver confirmed to the news website that Tellier was an organ donor.

"While we may not know the full story for some time, initial reports are that Caden likely suffered a ruptured blood vessel in his brain following a routine play in which he was tackled and made contact with the ground," Alabama Independent School Association Executive Director Michael McLendon told CNN in a statement.

Those in the crowd watching the game "likely did not witness anything unusual," he said.

"There are no words to describe how we feel as a school community and family," Oliver wrote Saturday night in a statement on the school's Facebook page. "Caden will never be forgotten for who he was and what he means to Morgan Academy."

The school is canceling all sports activities for the coming week, including this Friday's scheduled football game at Wilcox Academy, Oliver said.

There were 16 deaths among football players in 2023, including seven among high school players, according to data collected by the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research.

Among those deaths, three were traumatic brain injuries - two in high school football and one in youth league. All three occurred during games. The rest of the deaths in 2023 were considered exertional or medical, with deaths caused by heat stroke, sudden cardiac arrest and pulmonary embolism among them.

CNN Wire contributed to this report.