Yahir Cancino, a junior varsity football player at Dalhart High School in West Texas, has died after suffering a head injury during a game Thursday night against Sundown High School near Amarillo in the panhandle.
Cancino, a sophomore, was unresponsive on the field after suffering the injury with less than seven minutes remaining in the game, according to a press release from Dalhart Independent School District Superintendent Jeff Byrd.
The young football player was airlifted to the nearby University Medical Center in Lubbock after emergency medical personnel could not revive him on the field.
The school district held a prayer vigil for Cancino at the Dalhart Stadium on Friday night, but in a Facebook post from the football team’s page on Saturday, Yahir’s death was announced.
Cancino’s mother, Araceli Hernandez, confirmed on Facebook that Cancino had died. She thanked everyone for their prayers and support.
“Thank you to the community of Dalhart and the Texas panhandle for all the prayers, the calls, text and messages but unfortunately Yahir passed from his injuries,” she wrote. “We ask for prayers for peace and healing not only for us but for all the people Yahir touched in his life. We have chosen to donate his organs because Yahir was always about helping people and we want to honor his memory.”
Byrd, the superintendent, said counseling services would be available for students and staff members and announced that the district would not hold extracurricular activities over the weekend.
“Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Yahir’s family. The Dalhart Community will continue to surround and support them,” Byrd said in the statement posted on Dalhart ISD’s Facebook page.
“Out of respect for this student and his family, the District will not disclose any further information,” the statement explained.