Dennis Mitchell suffered cardiac arrest during an away game Friday.
A Mississippi community is in mourning after a young high school football player collapsed on the field and later died.
Dennis Mitchell, a sophomore at Byhalia High, was playing at an away game in Coahoma County when authorities say he went into cardiac arrest.
Dennis was rushed to a hospital, where he would later be pronounced dead. He was just 16.
"Our BHS family mourns the loss of Dennis Mitchell, a beloved student-athlete who collapsed on the field during Friday night’s game at Coahoma," the high school wrote on Facebook. "Please keep his family, our coaches, the team, students, administrators, faculty, and staff in your thoughts and prayers."
Christa Linville, who's known Dennis for years and whose daughter dated him off and on, told WREG that many at the school will be devastated by the loss.
"We are just super, super sad to have this happen," she said.
Friends and teammates gathered Saturday at Byhalia High School's football field to grieve and recall their fond memories of the teen who was taken from them so prematurely.
It comes as no shock that those hit hardest come from Dennis' family.
"My mama, she’s been crying all night – since 9 o’clock last night," his sister, Toni Mitchell, said. "My dad, he’s been crying. They’re not handling it well at all."
Loved ones have been encouraged to meet back at the football field Monday at for a memorial and balloon release.
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