A Second High School Football Player Dies

The wire fence surrounding Coronado High’s football field was decorated Monday with green and white balloons. Flowers, letters, candles and poems had been placed there, along with photos of Adrian Taufaasau.

Taufaasau, the Islanders’ senior quarterback, died Sunday afternoon at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, two days after he was injured in a game against Costa Mesa. He had been tackled by three or four players and never regained consciousness. He was 17.

Taufaasau was the second Southern California high school football player to die this month.

Eric Hoggatt, a running back at Reseda High, died in his sleep hours after a game on Sept. 12. Hoggatt had complained of dizziness and numbness in his legs and arms during the game. Relatives said they were not informed of his symptoms. The cause of Hoggatt’s death has yet to be determined.

“My dad said these kind of things happen,” a 16-year-old Coronado junior, who declined to give his name, said Monday. “But not here. Not in high school. We’re not ready for this.”

An autopsy on Taufaasau on Monday was inconclusive, pending further examination. Rene Townsend, Coronado Unified School District’s superintendent, said Taufaasau had suffered seizures as a child, but none since the seventh grade. He was cleared to play football and had been Coronado’s starting quarterback since his junior year.

Taufaasau, the oldest of five children, was injured on a routine play, “like a thousand others played every weekend,” Townsend said. Taufaasau was tackled with 9:39 left in the game and Costa Mesa leading, 36-3.

“I stopped the game and brought both teams together for a prayer and got them off the field as soon as possible,” said Jerry Howell, Costa Mesa football coach and athletic director.

The game was called after the injury.

“This is something you hope never happens,” Howell said. “You have great concerns and empathy for the family, but what can you do?”

No classes were scheduled at Coronado on Monday because of a professional development day for the faculty, Townsend said. Still, counselors were made available to students.

The water polo team canceled its morning practice. But the football team practiced in the afternoon.

At Reseda, players were given the option of canceling their season but voted to continue. Counselors were made available the Friday Hoggatt’s death was announced. By the following Tuesday counselors were no longer needed for the players, Principal Robert Kladifko said.

“Football is a very a physical sport, you can get a lot of emotions out,” Kladifko said.

For other students, though, there is no such outlet.

Many of the 830 Coronado students showed up throughout the day to grieve. Police and parents kept players and other students isolated from reporters.

“These kids are very resilient,” Townsend said. “We have to let them grieve. We have to let them feel the full range of emotions and know that it is normal to feel bad about this.

“They will grieve and they will grow.”

Funeral services are tentatively set for Sept. 30 at the Sacred Heart Church in Coronado. A fund has been set up to help defray the medical costs. By Monday afternoon, the school had raised $1,000.

Donations may be made to the Adrian Fund, P.O. Box 180340, Coronado, 92118.

Costa Mesa officials will attend the services and the school will make a donation.

Howell said Coronado coaches reviewed the game film and called to tell him Costa Mesa players had done nothing illegal on the play.

The Costa Mesa team went on with its routine Monday. Many of the players have dealt with death before. Costa Mesa basketball coach Jason Ferguson died in January after a year of battling cancer.

“We’re trying to go back to being as normal as possible,” Howell said. “In 30 years, I’ve been fortunate never to have a situation like this.”

In 1995, nine high school football players nationally died of injuries or heatstroke, the most since the same number died in 1988. According to a National High School Federation survey, 955,247 students at 13,877 schools played football in 1995.

Yet with two deaths coming so close together, high school officials may look at the screening process for athletes. Rules regarding safety come from the National Federation but each of the 10 sections in California adopts its own rules regarding physicals.

“We will meet with our athletic injury committee and see if there is anything we need to get out to our schools,” Southern Section Commissioner Dean Crowley said.

Taufaasau became the Islanders’ quarterback last season and guided them into the San Diego Section playoffs. He was selected a team captain this year.

“He was our strongest and most intense player and he deeply loved the game,” Coronado Coach Bud Mayfield said. “Football was what he loved more than anything.”

Perry reported from San Diego and Foster from Costa Mesa.