Kansas teen eleventh U.S. high school football fatality since July

(Reuters) - A high school football player from western Kansas who collapsed on the sidelines during a playoff game has died, becoming the 11th confirmed U.S. high school football fatality since July, his family and researchers said. Luke Schemm, 17, who played eight-man football for Wallace County High School in Sharon Springs, Kansas, collapsed during the team's game on Tuesday night and was flown to a Denver hospital. Schemm's father, David Schemm, said in a posting on Facebook that he was removed from life support on Wednesday afternoon surrounded by family and friends. "A beautiful gift from God was taken away from Lisa and I last night," Schemm wrote. "Luke Schemm suffered trauma to the brain, causing it to swell and shut off blood flow to the brain." At a news conference, David Schemm said his son, a running back, had scored two touchdowns in the game. He collapsed on the sideline after being tackled on a successful two-point conversion play. The team defeated Otis-Bison High School, 65-20, on Tuesday and plays Ingalls High School on Saturday. Schemm's funeral is scheduled for Nov. 10. Including Schemm, there have been 11 high school football fatalities in the United State since July, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Among those deaths were Tyrell Cameron, 16, from on-field injuries in Louisiana in early September and Evan Murray later in September from an in-game injury in New Jersey. (Reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Bill Trott)