West Virginia eighth-grader dies after head injury during football practice

Cohen Craddock, a 13-year-old West Virginia football player, died Saturday after suffering a head injury during a practice Friday, his father, Ryan Craddock, told several news outlets.

Cohen Craddock, a defensive player at Madison Middle School, was injured in a tackle. An ambulance was called, but by the time it arrived, Cohen had collapsed, according to multiple reports. Ryan said his son’s oxygen levels were low and his brain was swollen when he was taken to the hospital Friday.

Cohen, who had just started eighth grade three days earlier, died the next day.

“You wish it was a bad dream that you could wake up from,” Ryan said.

“He was Mr. Personality,” Ryan said. “He liked to joke around and make you smile. Even when he was feeling bad, he wanted to make you feel good. That’s the kind of person he was. Just a big heart, a big teddy bear.”

Ryan noted that his son loved football because of the camaraderie, WSAZ reported. The father is now also pushing for players to receive Guardian Caps, soft covers for helmets that can prevent head injuries.

“I think with the Guardian Cap, there could have been a slightly different outcome,” Ryan told NBC News. “And I want to at least protect all the other kids that I can, starting at the district level, if I can take it to the state or federal level, to get those kids to at least wear Guardian Caps at practice or however far they want to go.”

“I’m willing to accept the loss of my boy to protect the other boys,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “I don’t want anyone else to go through what we’re going through.”

Every school in the Boone County school system honored Craddock on Monday by wearing red, the color of Madison Middle School.

Boone County Superintendent Matthew Riggs said in a statement that Cohen “was loved by his classmates, his teachers, his supervisors and the entire Madison Middle School staff.”

“Cohen was also a member of the Red Hawks football team. Numerous additional support measures will be in place beginning Monday as our MMS students, student-athletes, faculty and staff mourn this tremendous loss,” Riggs’ statement said, according to multiple media outlets. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Cohen’s family, friends, teammates, classmates and the entire MMS staff. While our thoughts and prayers are with Cohen’s family, we ask the community to do the same so that his family can find healing, comfort, protection and strength.”

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(Photo: Andy Abeyta / The Desert Sun / USA Today)