Tragic Loss of Andre Smith
speechless….
October 23, 2015
REVISED: October 25, 2015
Bogan high school football player, Andre Smith (17), dies after being hit on final play in the final game of his senior year Thursday at Stagg Stadium.
Smith started high school at Rich Central and transferred to Bogan last year.
“It was a kick return play,” Stagg Stadium announcer Jimmy Smith said. “(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 backed to the visitor’s side of the field.”
Garret Weston, the paramedic that first treated Smith, said he wasn’t sure what play Smith was injured on.
“I didn’t notice anyone come out of the game or anything like that,” Weston said. “I was on the home side of the field (Bogan was on the visiting side).
Weston said he was called over just as he was starting to walk out of the stadium.
“I was on my out and then they told me someone collapsed,” Weston said. “They told me he was hit in the helmet and he had a headache. He was unconscious by the time I got to him. I checked his vitals and gave him oxygen.”
The teenager “was unconscious but was breathing when he was taken in critical condition” to Advocate Christ, Langford said. He did not know the nature of the injury.
He was pronounced dead at 6:10 am Friday at Christ Hospital, according to the medical examiner’s office.
UPDATE: Andre Smith died of “blunt-force head injuries due to a football accident,” said the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
It appears that Smith was hit with a helmet-to-helmet blow on the final play of the game. His family says he had massive swelling of the brain.
“I don’t know what to do,” said Andre’s brother Erick smith, on Chicago’s ABC-7 news. “It just killed everything inside of me.”
IHSA statement on the death of Bogan’s Andre Smith ~click here!
“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,” CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said in a statement. “CPS grief counselors are on-site at Bogan to provide counseling for our students. We ask that you respect the privacy of the student’s family and keep them in your thoughts and prayers.”
We remember this young fella from his early days back with the Matteson Youth Athletic Association, as he played multiple years. Dre loved the game and described him as a jokester.
“He was just an exciting kid,” Cantrell Davis, a good friend who played football with Smith at Rich Central, said. “He liked to go shopping more than anything. He always said that money comes and money goes so you might as well go shopping.”
Smith also played on the basketball team and ran track his first year of high school. He was hoping to walk on with the football team at Western Illinois next year.
Andre Smith is the seventh high school football player in the country to die from game-related injuries this season.
Please keep his mom, Jeanine and his brother Erick close to your heart and your prayers.
People also read the following…
Be sure to bookmark our site, as well as follow us on Social Networks below…
Amateur Sports News Network
“Capturing the Art of Sport in Motion”
www.AmateurSports365.com
info@ASNN365.com
2014-15 IHSA Basketball Tournaments
Tournaments you should check-out…
November 2014
Chicago Elite Classic
This major kick off tournament gets things started with a superb national showcase at an affordable price point in the Midwest MECCA – Chicago. Things tipoff December 5th with Oak Park-River Forest-Fenwick followed by St. Joseph-Redondo Union (Calif.) and the nightcap of Whitney Young-Southwind (Tenn.).
Now on Sunday, December 6th…. Plainfield East-Hillcrest, Bogan-Lone Peak (Utah), St. Rita-Christ the King (N.Y.) and the nightcap of Simeon-Lancaster (Texas).
For more information, click here.
“Building Men and Women via Athletics”
McDipper
One of the most overlooked tournaments nowadays, but based on pure atmosphere, thrills, and top-performing teams, do NOT sleep on this tournament held at Rich South High School. All but one of the 16 teams are from Chicago’s South Suburbs and that team is defending Indiana Class A champion Marquette.
The complete field is as follows:
Bolingbrook
Crete-Monee
Hales Franciscan
Joliet Central
King
Leo
Marian Catholic (defend champions)
Marquette Catholic (Ind.)
Perspectives Charter
Rich Central
Rich East
Rich South
Seton Academy
Thornton
Tinley Park
University High
And like all the other teams, they are coming to town to dethrone defending champs Marian Catholic. Tournament tips December 26 and runs through the 30.
For more information about the McDipper, click here.
Proviso West Holiday Tournament
Proviso West Holiday Tournament is always one of the premier high school basketball events in the Chicagoland area, and this year, they slimmed back down from 32 teams to 18.
The field of 18 teams in the 54th annual tournament is still extremely strong, though two-time defending 3A champ Morgan Park is no longer at Proviso West. Coach Nick Irvin’s Mustangs lost in the championship game of the Proviso West Holiday Tournament last year and decided to move on to something new.
On the other hand, Stevenson, led by Player of the Year favorite Jalen Brunson, will be the headliner as the returning champ, while several other teams that will certainly be ranked when the season tips off in November include St. Joseph, St. Rita, Kenwood and Rockford Auburn.
In addition to the host school, Proviso West, the tournament field also includes Fenwick, Morton, Proviso East, Uplift, Maine South, Hinsdale Central, Providence St. Mel, St. Viator, New Trier, Homewood-Flossmoor, Hillcrest and Brooks.
The tournament will tip off with two games on Dec. 20, followed by eight games on Dec. 22 and nine games on Dec. 23. The tournament will continue Dec. 26 and conclude Dec. 27 with consolation championship, third-place and championship games.
For more, visit PWHoops by clicking here.
City-Suburban Showdown
As it is being reported that this showcase puts top local recognized teams such as Stevenson against Simeon in a possible State Finals. Stevenson beat Simeon in last year’s event after Simeon beat Stevenson in the 2012 Class 4A final. The opening act features All-State forward Evan Boudreaux and Lake Forest against underrated point guard David Sachs and Highland Park. Everything tips February 21 at Niles West.
MORE TO COME….
People also read the following…
Be sure to bookmark our site, as well as follow us on Social Networks below…
Amateur Sports News Network
“Capturing the Art of Sport in Motion”
www.AmateurSports365.com
info@ASNN365.com
IHSA AP Boys Rankings
SECOND EDITION of IL High School Boys Basketball AP Rankings
January 15, 2014
By Associated Press
Local schools in our coverage area sits on top…
CLASS 4A
SCHOOL (First-place voice)
RANKINGS – SCHOOL – POINTS for 1st – RECORD – TOTAL VOTES – PREVIOUS
1 Marian Catholic (5) 13-1 119 2
2 Curie (6) 13-1 115 3
3 Zion Benton (1) 13-1 88 7
4 Young 9-4 85 5
5 Simeon 10-2 75 4
6 Stevenson 13-1 72 1
7 Edwardsville (1) 12-0 69 6
8 Alton 12-1 41 8
9 Fremd 14-0 32 9
10 St. Viator 12-3 8 NR
Others receiving votes: Proviso East 3, West Aurora 2, Rockford Auburn 2, Larkin 1, Ottawa 1, Rockford Boylan 1, St. Rita 1
CLASS 3A
Team (first-place votes)
RANKINGS – SCHOOL – POINTS for 1st – RECORD – TOTAL VOTES – PREVIOUS
1 Lanphier (14) 15-0 165 1
2 Lincoln 14-0 144 3
3 Morgan Park (1) 11-3 118 2
4 Orr (2) 10-1 102 6
5 Normal U-High 13-2 95 9
6 North Chicago 13-2 80 T4
7 Bogan 15-2 67 7
8 Limestone 13-2 32 10
9 Rockford Lutheran 14-1 29 NR
tie (tie) Centralia 14-1 29 T4
Others receiving votes: Althoff Catholic 22, Carbondale 17, St. Joseph 9, Champaign Centennial 9, Cahokia 7, Peoria Manual 2, Metamora 2, Sacred Heart-Griffin 2, Chicago Uplift 2, Carmel 1, Fenwick 1
CLASS 2A
Team (first-place votes)
RANKINGS – SCHOOL – POINTS for 1st – RECORD – TOTAL VOTES – PREVIOUS
1 Rockridge (15) 15-0 159 1
2 Monmouth-Roseville 14-1 136 2
3 Providence-St. Mel (1) 12-5 124 3
4 Sterling Newman 15-0 105 5
5 St. Joseph-Ogden 12-2 67 6
6 Bismarck-Henning 14-1 66 4
7 Decatur St. Teresa 12-1 56 9
8 Teutopolis 10-3 39 8
9 Warrensburg-Latham 11-2 24 7
10 Bloomington Central 11-3 23 NR
Others receiving votes: Winnebago 18, Kewanee 15, Harrisburg 12, Immaculate Conception 7, St. Edward 6, Clifton Central 6, Hales, Breese Central 3, Newton 3, PORTA 3, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 2, Breese Mater Dei 2
CLASS 1A
Team (first place votes)
RANKINGS – SCHOOL – POINTS for 1st – RECORD – TOTAL VOTES – PREVIOUS
1 Payson-Seymour (12) 41974 151 1
2 Mounds Meridian (2) 14-1 132 2
3 Madison 41853 116 3
4 Colfax Ridgeview (1) 15-0 104 4
5 Brimfield (1) 12-0 80 6
6 Waterloo Gibault 41975 73 5
7 Kewanee (Wethersfield) 14-1 68 7
8 Lanark Eastland 41914 28 8
tie Polo 16-2 28 NR
10 Mooseheart 41853 18 10
Others receiving votes: Arthur-Lovington 16, Putnam County 11, St. Anne 9, Springfield Lutheran 7, Woodlawn 7, Aquin 7, Cissna Park 6, Liberty 5, Henry 4, Milford 2, Milledgeville 2, Effingham St. Anthony 2, Sidell (Jamaica)-Salt Fork 2, Okawville 1, East Dubuque 1
People also read the following…
Be sure to bookmark our site, as well as follow us on Social Networks below…
Amateur Sports News Network
“Capturing the Art of Sport in Motion”
www.AmateurSports365.com
info@ASNN365.com
