Westlake High football player dies after severe asthma attack

The Westlake High School community is mourning the death of 17-year-old varsity football player Julius Poppinga, the son of former linebacker and Super Bowl champion Brady Poppinga.

Principal Jason Branham announced the death in an email to the school community Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Poppinga, a junior at the school in Thousand Oaks, had been hospitalized after a severe asthma attack last week, the Ventura County Star reported.

The 6 foot, 1 inch tall, 220-pound lineman apparently suffered a collapsed lung during his stay in the hospital and never recovered. He died Wednesday, the newspaper reported.

“Words can not even begin to describe the immense amount of love, kindness, compassion, humor, athleticism, knowledge, trustworthiness, consideration for others, sincerity, loyalty, and friendly characteristics Julius holds,” his sister Jasmine Poppinga posted on her Instagram account.

The Westlake football team offered condolences to the Poppinga family in a post on its Facebook page.

“Julius was a beloved member of our team and will be greatly missed by the entire tribe,” a portion of the post read.

Friends and students gathered at the high school in support of the Poppinga family Wednesday night.

Westlake is scheduled to host rival high school Thousand Oaks on Friday. There was no word on whether the game would be affected.

Brady Poppinga played six of his eight NFL seasons with the Green Bay Packers and was part of the 2011 Super Bowl championship team.

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