A South Carolina high school football standout has died due to complications from surgery on his leg, according to an announcement the district posted on Facebook.
According to CBS affiliate WSPA, Nick Dixon, a senior at Spartanburg (S.C.) High School, died on Friday during a surgical operation to repair a torn ACL and meniscus. Doctors worked to revive him after complications arose, but were unsuccessful. The coroner says he died at Spartanburg Medical Center shortly after 3 p.m.
Dixon had offers to play football at the collegiate level, and had just participated in the NC-SC Shrine Bowl last month. Dixon also excelled in the classroom, studying in an accelerated program that allowed him to earn college credit while finishing up his high school studies, according to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
“He could go anywhere he wanted to as far as school,” coach Chris Miller told the Herald-Journal. “He was very intelligent. He was a smart young man. And on the field, when Nick wanted to play, he flipped that switch and nobody could stop him.”
The high school held a candlelight vigil on Sunday to honor Dixon’s memory, and had grief counselors available to students on Monday.
