High schools in the Placerville area wore the colors of Union Mine High today as a sign of solidarity after two of the school’s Junior Varsity football players suffered brain injuries during a football game on Friday.
Nick Brown and Justin Schwartz had just helped their team to a 52-27 victory over Foothill High when people noticed something was wrong with the pair. Brown then passed out and was transported to Sutter Roseville Medical Center by a medical helicopter. Schwartz was taken to emergency at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center.
Brown remains hospitalized after brain surgery. Schwartz has been released.
El Dorado County Sheriff’s (EDSO) detectives arrested a 17-year-old Union Mine student Monday for furnishing or providing narcotics to another student. The arrest is related to the two Union Mine High School football players who collapsed after the game but the relationship between the incidents has not been revealed.
During a August 31 press conference, Lt. Tom Murdoch of EDSO and El Dorado Union High School District Superintendent Stephen Wehr said investigators became involved after some students said the players may have taken Adderall which is a prescription stimulant often used for attention deficit disorder problems.
Game films are being reviewed by school district officials, looking for any “off-field factors” that may have led to the player’s injuries.
“It is very important that we take care of our kids,” Wehr said. “This shakes the adults within our system, too.”
The investigation is still ongoing. The juvenile has been booked into the El Dorado County Juvenile Hall.