Santa Clara Linebacker Dies After Game Injury

A sophomore football player at the University of Santa Clara who was taken to the hospital after a head-first tackle late in the game against Cal State Northridge Saturday night was found dead in his Santa Clara apartment Monday.

Dave Cichoke, 21, had walked to campus for a 9 a.m. class, but it was canceled and he returned to his apartment 30 minutes later, Santa Clara sports information director Mike McNulty said. Cichoke’s body was discovered at noon by teammates John Faylor and Kevin Collins. The Santa Clara County Coroner said the cause of death was a brain hemorrhage.

“It’s a tragedy,” Santa Clara Coach Terry Malley said. “Sometimes there is no justice in the world. Dave was young, vibrant and a pleasure to be around. His best days were in front of him.”

Cichoke, a 220-pound linebacker from Portland, Ore., who played most of the game Saturday night, crashed into Northridge tailback Richard Brown on a two-point conversion attempt with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Cichoke drove Brown out of bounds with a head-first tackle at the one-yard line, preserving Santa Clara’s 21-19 victory in a Western Football Conference game at CSUN’s North Campus Stadium.

Two hours after his death, the WFC announced that he had been named him defensive player of the week for his performance in that game. League officials said the selection had been made before they learned of Cichoke’s death.

Cichoke got up slowly but trotted off the field with the rest of the Santa Clara defense. He sat on the bench for the rest of the game, and later complained of a headache. He was immediately placed on a stretcher by paramedics and Santa Clara officials, his head secured to the stretcher with tape as a precaution against aggravating a possible neck injury.

Cichoke, who remained conscious, was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where the injury was diagnosed as a mild concussion, according to McNulty, who accompanied Cichoke to the hospital along with trainer Mike Cembellin.

Hospital spokesperson Ann Bethel said Cichoke was brought in at 10:47 p.m. and discharged one hour later following an examination.

He spent the night at a hotel near L.A. International Airport with Cembellin, and returned to Santa Clara on an 11 a.m. flight Sunday.

He was with friends at 11 p.m. Sunday when he again complained of a headache and returned to his apartment, McNulty said.

“On that play, no one really fell that hard,” Brown said after the Northridge team was told during practice Monday of Cichoke’s death. “During the game he had been getting his shots. That last play added to it, I guess.

“But it makes me wonder if it was me who hit him and could have caused it. It’s hard to bear.”

Northridge Coach Tom Keele was also stunned by the news.

“We took it hard. . . . It puts everything in perspective,” he said. “A lot of times the Lord takes people home early. But this is a drastic, terrible thing.”

Cichoke was an honor student and all-state swimmer at Portland’s Jesuit High School. He was also an outstanding javelin thrower on the track team in addition to playing two seasons on the varsity football team.

He had seen limited action on the Santa Clara team in his freshman and sophomore seasons because of leg and back injuries.